From: "mart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> link at BHHRG http://www.bhhrg.org/belarus/belarus%20pres%202001/belarus%20preelection/OSC E%20NG%20article.htm (I like Matt Taibbi's alter acronym for OSCE - Organization for Sanctioning Corrupt Elections - and of course for anathematizing clean ones. jy) The OSCE in Belarus as the Midwife of instability by Nataliya Airepatova The last ten years have seen the active expansion of the OSCE across the whole post-Soviet expanse and, in spite of this, one cannot say that the presence of missions in the countries of the CIS, or the manner in which they work, is entirely suited to new realities. In spite of its fundamental raison d'être and goals, the OSCE, starting in around 1994, has turned itself completely on its head with respect to its own declarations. As a result, the presence of OSCE missions (or of other OSCE structures) in CIS countries frequently leads to interference in that country's internal affairs. This interference, in its turn, produces a threat (which is occasionally checked in time) to the stability and sovereignty of that country, whether it be Russia, Georgia, Moldava, or Belarus. And to the extent that Belarus provides the very best example of the OSCE's technical working over (including involvement in pre-election affairs), it is useful to examine the experience there (especially if we mean to take into account the fact that missions and other OSCE structures are often headed by professionals from Western secret services, as is the case in Belarus and Moldova). In this context the occurrences in the run up to the presidential elections in Belarus have an entirely precise and significant character. Take for example, the presence on her territory of the OSCE's advisory and monitoring group group (AMG). Let us remember that this doubtful gift to Minsk was made to Belarus by the great "friend of Belarus" Evgenii Primakov, who forced our allies to accept (without any basis) the practically permanent presence of the AMG. The Group began its work in 1998 and was headed by Mr. Hans Georg Wieck - former German ambassador to the USSR in the 1970s, permanent representative of Germany to the council of NATO at the beginning of the 1980s, and president of the Federal spy service of Germany (BND) in the mid-1980s. It is curious that between 1993 and 1996 Hans Georg Wieck was advisor to the government of Georgia and "worked" fully with George Shevardnadze (after which, it must be pointed out, Georgia made her well-known "achievements" in the development of democracy, the defence of human rights, and likewise, in her subsequent anti-Russian politics, which have prepared her for the "invitation" to join NATO). According to Mr. Wieck, "the OSCE is only the midwife" for the change, but the "product", as he revealed to Nezavisimaya Gazeta's investigator, lies in the soil. Today however, the OSCE is more akin to the midwife of instability in Belarus and moreover, this instability is only strengthening over time, very much "thanks" to the presence of the KNG. Let us not forget that the AMG's mandate covers, first and foremost, working with the Belarusian authorities to develop democratic institutions - that is to say, cooperation with the government. However, the AMG in the Belarusian side's opinion, has concentrated its activity in quite the opposite direction by providing assistance (including, here, financial help) to the Belarusian opposition. To be more precise, the AMG has occupied itself with the active formation of the opposition, with consolidating it and even to some extent with making its conception appear to be an independent one. So the recent "feat" of the Belarus coalition in unifying around a single candidate for the presidency in the person of Vladimir Goncharyk - follows wholly and directly from the activity of the US Ambassador and the OSCE AMG (The Belarusian authorities have put forward the most astonishing evidence of this activity). The result of all this is that the OSCE is operating the harsh imposition of "democratic standards" while at the same time completely disregarding national laws and structures; it is continually overfeeding a politically unreliable opposition (unreliable in the sense of its intellectual capacity); it is forming what one Belarusian called "its own local administration" and, likewise, oversupplying them; it is establishing throughout the country a broad network of various "information coordination centres" (with the wholehearted sponsorship of the USA), which the Americans unsurprisingly call "resources" in spite of the fact that what it really is is a resource for the preparation for whatever kind of overthrow you care to think of (any political revolution is preceded by an "informational revolution"). All this creates parallel structures of power and means that it is no longer possible to talk about any kind of stability in a country, whichever country happens to have been the focus for such operations. It is clear that in the face of such a total attack on governmental power of Belarus by outside "third forces", and the synchronisation of all-sided support for the opposition, the development of a normal dialogue between the government and non-governmental structures was going to be problematic from the start. At the same time Mr Wieck of course denies any interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country regardless of the repeated protests of the Belarus authorities: "We are not here to interfere but rather to offer a hand of help to both the government and the opposition because we are interested in the most democratic procedures and not in any particular result in favour of Mr A or Mr B" said the head of the AMG to the NG investigator. But if you run a little further down the Russian alphabet then it is quite clear what Mr G, that is Goncharyk will gain from the midwife and indeed how good it is going to be for Mr D (Domash), both of whom, thanks to the AMG and the US embassy have become leaders in Belarus' Presidential race. Minsk has presented reliable evidence of the fact that Mr Wieck presided at a confidential meeting of the Belarus opposition in the autumn of last year in an East European capital. At this meeting, the opposition, which had been arguing amongst itself, received a serious talking to from the leadership of the OSCE AMG in which the "younger brothers" were severely reprimanded for their loss at the parliamentary elections. Judging by this source, Mr Wieck called on those present to put forward one candidate for the presidential elections and in this way the "unique phenomenon" of the unification of the opposition which the AMG speaks openly about, was created by Mr Wieck himself even though he generously attributes the "authorship" to his Belarusian comrades. Amongst the evidence in the hands of the Belarusian authorities is another interesting document: this is a copy of a letter, sent by the treasurer of the Parliamentary assembly of the OSCE in Spring 2000 connected with which the debts of the former Supreme Soviet 13th convention are to be extinguished.by the OSCE AMG guaranteed by the very same Mr. Wieck! Moreover the "debts" would be covered at the political level until the next annual assembly. It would be interesting to know who gave the power to the head of the OSCE AMG to freely use the budget of the European organisation to pay off the debts of Belarusian politicians who are no longer active on the political scene? Subsequently, the money of Western taxpayers or charitable sponsors are spent through OSCE channels on upholding a local opposition which seems to have no future. And just as the Western investigator, like the Western European governments, doesn't doubt the negative image of Minsk thanks to the efforts of Mr Wieck and his colleagues, so, it seems, they do not suspect that their money is essentially being used for the destabilisation of a European country and not to the ends of supporting the victory of democracy. The completely specific actions of the AMG and its head irritates the representatives of European countries. The reports of the head of the AMG about the situation in Minsk directed by the European embassies and structures display such a detailed and tendentious character that one is instinctively reminded of the saying that there is no such thing as an ex-spy. However, a similar informational tendentiousness (which real spying "for one's own" would not tolerate with the exception of planned provocations) prepares "the necessary" and inadequate reaction of the Western countries with regard to Belarus - as a blow to various international ties. In the words of our source who wishes to remain anonymous, the tendentiousness of the head of the AMG does not in any way allow for a new quality of relations between, for example Minsk and Berlin, which both would be interested in. Germany is reckoning on the energetic expansion of Belarus in various spheres but the tendentiousness on the part of the head of the AMG seriously gets in the way of this. And so discussions with potential German partners have fallen apart many times only because for a counter-argument, they looked to the rather "particular opinion" of the former head of the BND for the counter-arguments. The head of the OSCE AMG subsequently creates a virtual image of the Belarusian opposition as a real organisational power (which it is not), and one which poses a serious threat to Aleksandr Lukashenka. Imagine this bluff in the form of solid reports from a solid person relayed to the ambassadors of the Western countries and European structures - it makes sense that they will not spare any means to support the "interesting phenomenon" and the "long term coalition" of the opposition, which has no basis in nature. In this way the cultivation of Belarusian political humunculuses are paid for year after year from the OSCE budget. It might be thought that it would be in the OSCE's interests to change the negative image created by its interfering in the internal affairs of a country, and likewise, to take measures to restore its reputation as an authoritative European organisation. And if we are talking about the necessary civilised (lawful) reformation of Belarusian authority, then the time has come to speak also about the reformation of the OSCE whose declarations and real aims today are clearly at divergence with each other. _____________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
