Belarussian Union Leader Released from Prison

Posted to the IUF website 01-Oct-2003

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On September 28, Belarussian trade union leader Aleksander Yaroshuk was released from 10 days imprisonment in solitary confinement.

Yaroshuk, who heads the Belarussian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BDKP), was formerly President of the Agro-Industrial Workers Union and in that capacity served as a member of the IUF Executive Committee and as an IUF Vice-President. In a police operation last year, the Agro-Industrial Workers Union lost its independence and was incorporated into the Belarussian state, along with the national center FTUB. Following the state takeover, the agro-food workers were suspended from IUF membership. Since then, independent trade unionism in Balarus has converged around the BDKP.

Yaroshuk was tried and immediately sentenced to serve 10 days in prison by a district court in Minsk for a newspaper article he published on August 21, in which he criticized the court procedures leading to the illegal dissolution of the union of air traffic controllers

On returning to work the following day, Yaroshuk again criticized the policies of the Lukashenko regime, accusing it of "camouflaging social problems" and hiding growing unemployment.

The campaign for Yaroshuk's release generated widespread international protest, including many union protests in Russia and Ukraine. "Every hour in the cell", Yaroshuk told friends and supporters, "I felt the solidarity and support given by the unions of Belarus and Russia, ICFTU, IUF and the International Labour Organization".

The IUF will continue to give its full support to the struggle for trade union rights and the independence of the trade unions in Belarus.