Stop discrimination in Belarusian universities

Minsk Moscow district court has not satisfied the claim of the former student of Political Science department of Law Faculty of BSU Tatyana Shaputska to the Ministry of Education and BSU. Tatiana was expelled immediately after she had been invited to participate in the Civil Society Forum \Eastern Partnership\ 16-18 November 2009 in Brussels, and because of this missed 3 days of classes. “Honestly, I was hoping that Judge Yuri Shestakov would show more interest in the process”, says Tatiana. “He almost did not get into disputes of the parties and did not ask any questions. It seemed that he knew what decision to make the next day and that is why didn’t see any sense in taking part in the process”. I was surprised and a little amused by legal advisers of the Ministry of Education and BSU Tatyana Marchenko and Oksana Khoroshko, who made very emotional speeches on the topic how I made an open challenge to the society and caused moral damage to the university by my trip to Brussels without having warned anyone about it. They were so convinced in the criminal nature of my intentions, that I was afraid they would ask to punish me with capital punishment. After the adoption in 2005 of the presidential decree № 3 \On Some Measures of Counteraction Against Human Trafficking\ and developed by the Ministry of Education instructions to the implementation of this decree students have lost the possibility to choose whether to study in Belarus or abroad, they can not even travel to other countries for short periods with the aim of educational, social or cultural contacts. A student must ask the administration of his university for the permission to leave, what contradicts Belarusian legislation and international norms on freedom of movement. Moreover, universities require from students to collect a large number of documents to obtain a permit, after the documents are collected a student usually doesn’t get the permit anyway, because the administration of educational establishment does not want to assume responsibility towards the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the office of social and educational work of the Ministry of Education. “This is a serf system” – evaluates the situation expert Yuri Chavusau. “The authorities can not stand that there are people who travel abroad freely. The authorities think that these people do not deserve it and that this practice has to be stopped”. In the majority of Belarusian universities there is such situation today when the rector's order prohibits all unauthorized contacts of teachers and students with representatives of foreign countries during the implementation of approved educational programs. Emphasis of deans’ offices is given not to the development of academic relationships but to control over students and unconditional submission to the demands of the administration. During Tatyana Shaputska’s trial the representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Harry Pahanyajla asked the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law Andrew Shydlouski whether he considered the participation of student of political science department in the event organized by the European Commission to be an excuse for the absence at classes. In response, Shidlovsky was forced to acknowledge the fact of the invitation of Belarusian student to the European forum of such level as positive, but quickly added that she was not supposed to leave the country without permission, so the reason for her absence is not recognized as valid, and it should result in disciplinary sanctions. Shaputska’s lawyer Mariana Semashko noted that student’s visit to the event that was not organized by BSU is not the subject of Ministry’s of Education instructions relating to the Decree № 3, which is referred by the representatives of Belarusian State University. The instructions control the points relating to legal persons, institutions or individual entrepreneurs, who organize travels abroad for students about what they should report and which they should coordinate with the Ministry. Individuals, who travel abroad, are not obliged to follow this law. On the basis of what normative act Tatiana Shaputska had to get permission from dean in order to travel, and not simply say about her three day absence? BSU representatives were unable to give grounded answers to this question. This enables us to say: Belarusian universities are trying to limit educational and social contacts of students with foreign countries. Young people are among the most pro-European part of the Belarusian society. They are well educated and are not interested in the system of values that the existing regime offers. To avoid the expansion of these sentiments, state universities – as the ideological instrument – are developing the system of prohibitions and penalties for freethinking. Only in 2008-2009 about 20 students had been expelled from universities for independent political views. Most of them, as Tatiana Shaputska had good academic results: Yuri Oleinik (Academy of Management under the President of RB), Dmitry Zhaleznichenka (Gomel State University) Franak Viachorka (Belarusian State University) Tatyana Tishkevich (Academy of Physical Culture), Pavel Kuryanovich (Minsk State Radio Technical College), Ekaterina Solovieva (Vitebsk State University) and others. The pattern according to which universities get rid of \too active\ students was worked out at the state level: after taking part in peaceful civil action or a picket, young people receive administrative punishment, about which Interior Ministry immediately reports to educational establishment. The university administration reacts by another punishment for the student: his case is considered by the Council of crime prevention, after it the student gets reprimand or is expelled. For example, Tatiana was charged with the minor hooliganism for having distributed leaflets \Communism under the tribunal\ in the streets on the anniversary of the October Revolution. This fact together with the missing 22 hours of classes during her visit to Brussels, gave reasons for her expulsion with the phrase “for the systematic violation of BSU’s regulations”. In her lawsuit Tatiana mentioned: “I believe that my expulsion from the university for active civic position is the discrimination on political beliefs. Other students were not expelled for missing the same number or even more classes”. “Tatiana Shaputska asserts she was discriminated against and this is quite a serious allegation”, said Harry Paganyayla the representative of BHC, - Prohibition of discrimination is written in the Constitution of Belarus and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This Covenant is the part of our national legislation and is to be implemented. However, the facts of discrimination clearly identified in the course of this trial have not received any legal assessment neither from the representatives of the Ministry of Education, nor from the representatives of BSU or from the court. The answer, which Tatiana Shaputska received from the Ministry for her complaint is purely formal. It has no reference to the regulations governing the disciplinary measures, Tatiana’s characteristic and her excellent studies were not taken into account. Therefore, we consider her expulsion as illegal restriction of the rights to freedom of movement and education. Claiming that by default there is no discrimination in the sphere of education in the country, BSU and the Ministry had not provided de-facto any evidence that Tatiana was not discriminated and that under the similar circumstances other students were also expelled for having missed 20 or more hours of classes. It does not matter how many hours Shaputska had missed. It is important that she has a civic position and is involved in political life of the country, that she is a member of youth initiative \Young Front\. These facts were considered as the manifestation of indiscipline, disloyalty to the university and the state. We consider this approach to student to be a manifestation of discrimination. Representatives of different political spectrum can not be refused in their wish to get higher education. Minister of Education Radkov recently proposed to ban the activities of political parties in educational establishments, and this shows that he is infected with this discriminatory approach. If this approach prevails, Belarus will finally become a police state. “The international community definitely showed its position by the resolution of European Parliament: Belarus should guarantee political rights and freedoms by ending the practice of politically motivated prosecutions, including expulsions from universities, what happened with Tatiana Shaputska, who was expelled from the university for participation in Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership” said Harry Pahanyajla.