1995 Belarusian referendum
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A four-question referendum was held in
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
on 14 May 1995, alongside parliamentary elections. The four issues were the possibility of giving the Russian language equal status with Belarusian, whether new national symbols should be adopted, whether there should be economic integration with
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
and changes to the
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
that would allow early elections if Parliament systematically violated the constitution.Nohlen & Stöver, pp255-256 According to official results, all four were approved by at least three-quarters of voters, with a turnout of 64.8%. The
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE (OSCE PA) is an institution of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The primary task of the 323-member Assembly is to facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue, an important aspect of the o ...
stated that the referendum violated international standards. Members of the opposition claimed that the organisation of the referendum involved several serious violations of legislation, including the constitution.


Background

Before becoming president in 1994,
Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...
had tried to hold a similar referendum on state symbols in 1993 while still an MP, but had failed to obtain parliamentary support. Two months before the May 1995 referendum, Lukashenko proposed a flag design that consisted of two small bars of green and one wide bar of red. While it is not known what became of this suggestion, new designs (called "projects" in Belarus) were suggested a few days later, which were then put up to vote. On 11 April 1995 Parliament considered the questions for the referendum, approved the date, but approved only the question regarding economic integration with Russia. Lukashenko declared that he would not change his decision and would accept personal responsibility for the referendum, and left the Parliament, announcing that it would be his last discussions with Parliament in its current form. Nineteen MPs from the
Belarusian Popular Front The Belarusian Popular Front "Revival" (BPF, be, Беларускі Народны Фронт "Адраджэньне", БНФ; ''Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie"'', ''BNF'') was a social and political movement in Belarus in the late 1 ...
, including
Zianon Pazniak Zianon Stanislavavič Pazniak ( be, Зянон Станіслававіч Пазняк, born 24 April 1944) is a Belarusian nationalist politician, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Conservative Christian ...
, Piatro Sadoŭski and others, decided to carry out a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
within Parliament, protesting against the president organizing the referendum despite the parliament's decision. They were beaten and forcibly removed by
OMON OMON (russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения , translit = Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya , translation = Special Purpose Mobile Unit, , previously ru , Отряд Милиции Осо ...
. The parliamentarians sued the special forces for
battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
but were unsuccessful. A conciliatory commission was called upon to resolve the conflict between the President and Parliament, and decided in favour of President Lukashenko.


Questions

Voters were asked four questions: #Do you agree with assigning the Russian language the status equal to that of the Belarusian language? #Do you support the actions of the President aimed at economic integration with Russia? #Do you support the suggestion about the introduction of the new State flag and State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Belarus? #Do you agree with the necessity of the introduction of changes into the acting Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, which provide for early termination of the plenary powers of the Supreme Soviet by President of the Republic of Belarus in the case of systematical or gross violations of the Constitution?


Results


Reactions


Domestic

The opposition questioned the validity of the 1995 referendum itself. According to
Siarhei Navumchyk Siarhei Iosifavich Navumchyk ( be, Сярге́й Іосіфавіч Наву́мчык; russian: Серге́й Ио́сифович Нау́мчик, born January 15, 1961) is a Belarusian journalist and politician. Navumchyk was born in Pastav ...
, former parliament member, the referendum was illegal and thus its results have no legal power: *According to the 1995 Law on national referendums (Закон аб усенародным галасаванні (рэферэндуме)), the national symbols and official language were not allowed to be questioned on a referendum at all; *Formalities of approval of the referendum by the Parliament have not been carried out; *The opposition had limited access to media, observers from the opposition have reported fraud in vote counts. The opposition raised several other issues related to organisation of the referendum: *The referendum was preceded by a heavy campaign in the overwhelmingly state-owned media that stressed the fact that the then current emblem was used by Nazi collaborators ( Belarusian Central Council) during the
Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...
. For example, the first leader of the post-Soviet Belarus,
Stanislav Shushkevich Stanislav Stanislavovich Shushkevich ( be, Станісла́ў Станісла́вавіч Шушке́віч, translit=Stanisłáŭ Stanisłávavič Šuškiévič,; russian: Станисла́в Станисла́вович Шушке́вич; ...
, in an interview mentioned that
Pahonia The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is als ...
was portrayed by the state-owned media then as a "fascist symbol". *Before the final announcement of the results of the referendum, Lukashenko's Chief of Administration Ivan Titenkov personally hoisted down the old flag from the Palace of Government and shredded it in public. *The referendum question was formulated in a vague way: a number of people claimed to have voted in the belief that the "new" symbols were the ones already introduced in 1991 *The number of voters who approved the symbols, as only 48.6% of the total electorate approved of the new emblem, since over a third of the eligible voters did not express an opinion. Some claim that this failure to win a majority is a violation of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
, but the imperfection and incompleteness of the Belarusian Law did not resolve the issue (in particular, the Constitution does not define the acceptance threshold). *Finally, the
BPF Party The BPF Party ( be, Партыя БНФ, Partyja BNF; russian: Партия БНФ, Partiya BNF) is a political party in Belarus. It was de facto established after the split of the social movement Belarusian Popular Front ( abbr. BPF; be, Бел ...
and other influential opposition parties state that the referendum, followed by mass closing of
Belarusian language Belarusian ( be, беларуская мова, biełaruskaja mova, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language. It is the native language of many Belarusians and one of the two official state languages in Belarus. Additionally, it is spoken in some p ...
schools and minimizing of Belarusian language programmes on national TV and radio, has had a harmful effect on the Belarusian language and culture. According to Mikhail Pastukhov, a former judge of the Constitutional Court of Belarus, the referendum are "invalid from the legal point of view and should be abolished". He agrees with the point that numerous issues related to national history, traditions, culture and language were put to the referendum in violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. According to Pastukhov, Pahonia and the white-red-white flag remain the state symbols of Belarus
de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
.


International

The Russian State Duma issued a statement supporting the official results of the referendum. The
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE (OSCE PA) is an institution of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The primary task of the 323-member Assembly is to facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue, an important aspect of the o ...
stated that the referendum violated international standards and noted concerns over governmental control over the media, interference with the voting process, and obstacles to the opposition's activities. The US Department of State also criticized the Belarusian government over the referendum."Parliamentary elections in Belarus, the U.S. State Department Statement on the elections and referendum in the Republic of Belarus",''Belarusian Business Newspaper, 22 May 1995


Aftermath

The decrees about the new state flag and new
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
were signed by Lukashenko on 7 July 1995.


References

{{Belarusian elections Referendums in Belarus 1995 in Belarus
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
Alexander Lukashenko Constitutional referendums National symbols of Belarus Languages of Belarus Flag referendums Russian language in Belarus Russification Neo-Sovietism