Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05MINSK1199
2005-09-30 13:12:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Minsk
Cable title:
EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - September 30,
how-toVZCZCXRO4866 RR RUEHCD RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE DE RUEHSK #1199/01 2731312 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 301312Z SEP 05 FM AMEMBASSY MINSK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3083 INFO RUCNOSC/ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION IN EUROPE RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MINSK 001199
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - September 30,
2005
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MINSK 001199
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - September 30,
2005
1. The following are brief items of interest compiled
by Embassy Minsk over the past week.
--------------
Civil Society
--------------
2. Hail to Luka Youth!
President Lukashenko signed a presidential edict on
September 24 restoring the Soviet era name, Lenin
Komsomol of Belarus, to the Brest Drama and Music
Theater, allegedly at the request of the Belarusian
National Youth Union (BNYU). BNYU is the modern-day
successor to Komsomol and often dubbed as "Lukamol." In
Soviet times, Komsomol (Communist Union of Youth) served
as a system of teaching Communist Party values and
introduced youth to Soviet politics. Members received
privileges and preferences in promotion. At its height,
Komsomol had tens of millions of members. The BNYU's
membership is around 305,000.
3. Gangs Are To Blame
At a September 27 press conference, vice secretary of
the SCC Yuri Krivosheyev theorized that local youth
groups orchestrated the recent blasts in Vitebsk as part
of a turf war. Krivosheyev stated how many groups, such
as skinheads, HMR enthusiasts, thieves, etc. often
gather at the places where the explosions occurred.
Krivosheyev stressed that the bombs were made by
amateurs and could hardly be classified as acts of
terrorism. On September 29, the phantom Belarusian
Popular Liberation Army (BPLA) sent a letter to the
local Vitebsk news agency claiming responsibility for
the two explosions and threatened to continuing bombing
unless the GOB fulfilled BPLA political demands. KGB
Vice Chief Viktor Vegera informed the press that the KGB
does not consider BPLA a suspect in the bombings and
views the events as mere acts of hooliganism.
4. Ethnicity Now A Factor?
Leaders of student groups at Belarusian State University
are now obliged to present the Dean's office with lists
of students who identify themselves as Lithuanian or
Polish. As reported in the independent newspaper BDG
Delovaya Gazeta on September 26, the university
administration claimed the new policy is simply to
determine the percentage of international students. In
a related story, an analyst from the Belarusian National
Security Institute, Valeri Bobyshev, informed reporters
that people connected with terrorist organizations may
be amongst foreign students in Belarus. According to
Bobyshev, several foreign students were found to have
connections to Hezbollah and similar organizations in
the Middle East. In a recent case, three foreigners
from Jordan and Ghana who tried to illegally enter
Ukraine were students enrolled in Minsk colleges.
Bobyshev blamed the problem on profit-hungry colleges
and irresponsible administrators.
--------------
Human Rights
--------------
5. Marinich Denied Parole
A prison parole board denied opposition activist and
former ambassador Mikhail Marinich's appeal for an early
release on September 23. The parole board concluded
Marinich had not "taken the path of correction" and,
according to Marinich's son Pavel, ignored factors such
as Marinich's good behavior and poor health. Marinich
was sentenced to five years in December 2004 for
allegedly misappropriating office equipment he received
from the US Embassy. In February, a judge shortened
Marinich's sentence to 3.5 years for his past service to
the state and deteriorating health. In August,
Marinich's sentence was reduced by one year under an
amnesty law.
6. Journalist Threatened With Jail
On September 26, the Prosecutor General's Office
summoned Irina Khalip, Belarusian correspondent for the
Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, to warn her officially
that she would face criminal prosecution if she
continues to call for the overthrow of the government.
MINSK 00001199 002 OF 004
The warning was in response to Khalip's August article
in which she analyzed the possibility of a revolution in
Belarus. According to the Prosecutor's warning, the
journalist would be charged with destabilizing public
order and changing the constitutional system by illegal
means and sentenced from one to five years in prison if
she repeats the offense. Khalip, who is also deputy
editor of the Belarusian newspaper BDG, was amazed that
the GOB could issue warnings for publications in Russian
newspapers.
7. Editors Fined
A Minsk district court on September 26 fined Aleksei
Korol, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper
Zhoda, and his deputy editor Aleksandr Sdvizhkov USD
1300 each for allegedly disseminating knowingly false
information. Zhoda had recently printed composite
photographs of prominent political figures pasted into
classic paintings. Korol considered the fines as
another attack on the independent press and doubted he
would win the appeal. In March, police raided the
newspaper's office in response to an anonymous complaint
about Zhoda's alleged "subversive" activity. Criminal
charges were dropped, but the authorities never returned
the computer equipment.
8. Skrebets In Prison Hospital.Again
The lawyer for jailed political activist and former MP
Sergei Skrebets informed the press that his client was
again transferred from a Minsk pre-trail detention
center to the National Prison Hospital on September 26.
Skrebets began his second hunger strike on September 13
to protest what he describes as his politically
motivated imprisonment. Following his arrest in May for
alleged bribery, Skrebets went on a 40-day hunger strike
and lost 25 kilograms. In August, the ex-MP was taken
to the prison hospital and had just returned to the
detention center last week. In addition to his pending
charges, investigators in September charged Skrebets
with illegal involvement in business activities.
9. Trade Union Activist Fined
A district court judge on September 28 fined trade union
activist and Salidarnast reporter Ivan Roman USD 600 for
allegedly acting on behalf of an unregistered
organization. On August 17, the head guard of Grodno
Plant of Automobile engines (GZA) accused Roman of
distributing a trade union bulletin allegedly containing
biased information with foul language that could provoke
the destabilization of the workers at the plant.
Despite the documents proving that Roman's union, the
Union of Electronic Industry Workers (REP),was in fact
registered, the judge ruled against Roman on the grounds
that REP had no local chapter in Grodno. Roman plans to
appeal the court's decision.
10. Day of Our Solidarity
At a September 29 press conference in Minsk, leader of
the civil initiative We Remember and member of Free
Belarus Irina Krasovskaya, Zubr leader Mikita Sasim, and
independent journalist Irina Khalip called on
Belarusians to switch off their apartment lights for 15
minutes on October 16 at 20:00 and place a candle on
their windowsills. The leaders named October 16 as the
Day of Solidarity to pray for the disappeared, political
prisoners, and their families. Khalip called the move a
silent protest that everyone can participate in without
fearing job loss, academic expulsion, or physical harm.
--------------
Economics
--------------
11. Authorities Overstate Grain Figures
On September 27, the Gomel regional State Control
Committee (SCC) reported that it had discovered multiple
instances of local authorities misreporting harvest
figures. According to the SCC, Zhitkovichi and
Oktyabrskoye district executive committees "severely"
overstated the amount of grain gathered from private
land plots and the Rogachev district authorities could
not provide documents confirming reported yields. Some
authorities admitted they had simply multiplied the
average yield per hectare with the total area sown to
grain crops. The SCC also found discrepancies in yield
MINSK 00001199 003 OF 004
figures in the Kalinkovichi, Rechitsa, Lelchitsy, Gomel,
and Buda-Koshelyovo districts. The Gomel region
reported a 1.2 million-ton yield following the harvest.
12. Incomes Grow
The Ministry for Statistics and Analysis announced on
September 27 that the aggregate incomes of Belarusian
households increased 15.6 percent on the year to USD 11
billion. Incomes grew 28.5 percent while the consumer price
index increased 11 percent in the same period. Wages
accounted for 60 percent of incomes. The average salary
increased 22 percent on the year to USD 208, surpassing the
government's 15-17 percent target. Household expenses
totaled USD 10.5 billion; 83 percent on goods and service,
12.6 percent on taxes and compulsory payment, and 7.6
percent on savings and foreign currency transactions.
13. Stronger Nationalization Powers
The GOB on September 28 approved new regulations giving the
state absolute rule over golden-share companies. The new
rules enable state agencies to have their decisions
fulfilled even if such decisions are in violation of the
decision-making formalities stipulated in the gold share
regulations. The golden share is a mechanism allowing the
state to interfere in an enterprises' activities if the
enterprise is in an unfavorable socio-economic state.
Legally, the state can only apply the golden share rule on
businesses/companies that the state has shares in or once
owned. De facto, the state can apply this mechanism whether
it has a stake in the company or not.
--------------
Bilateral Relations
--------------
14. China, Our Friend
Head of the Presidential Administration Viktor Sheiman
announced at a September 26 meeting with the Chinese
Communist Party's Central Committee member Wu Guanzheng that
cooperation with China is Belarus' top foreign policy
priority. Sheiman emphasized the bilateral relations and
expressed gratitude to the Chinese leadership for supporting
Belarus in the international arena. Wu, who is also the
secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline
SIPDIS
Inspection, arrived in Minsk on September 25 to met with the
chair of the SCC Anatoly Tozik and President Lukashenko.
Lukashenko plans to visit China in December.
15. Russia' New Ambassador To Belarus?
According to the independent, online news source
Interfax, the new Russian ambassador to Belarus may be
the former Russian Minister of Transport Routes Gennady
Fadeyev. Fadeyev confirmed that the first ambassadorial
hopeful and former governor of the Saratov Region
Dimtriy Ayatskov is no longer under consideration for
the position. Fadeyev was born in 1937 in Russia's Amur
Region and graduated from Khabarovsk Railway Engineering
Institute in 1961. He served as Minister of Transport
Routes from 2002 - 2003 and then became the President of
Russian Railways OJSC. In 2005, he was appointed Aide
to the Russian Prime Minister.
--------------
International Relations
--------------
16. Belarus Elected to IAEA Board of Governors
The MFA announced on September 29 that Belarus had been
elected to the Board of Governors of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for 2005 - 2007. The Board
of Governors is composed of 35 member states that are
designated and elected by the General Conference. The
Board meets five times a year to plan IAEA's accounts,
program, and budget. Belarus was last elected to the
Board in 2000.
--------------
Quote of the Week
--------------
17. At a September 29 press conference, KGB Vice Chief
Viktor Vegera accused foreign organizations of training
Belarusian revolutionaries:
"Young people are taught how to destabilize the
MINSK 00001199 004 OF 004
situation in Belarus under the disguise of scientific
workshops or educational conferences. Belarusian law
enforcement agencies prevent them from organizing these
trainings in the country, that is why they attend these
workshops in foreign countries."
In his words, dozens of foreign organizations are
engaged in this "profitable business", including
Georgian KMARA and Ukrainian PORA.
KROL
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - September 30,
2005
1. The following are brief items of interest compiled
by Embassy Minsk over the past week.
--------------
Civil Society
--------------
2. Hail to Luka Youth!
President Lukashenko signed a presidential edict on
September 24 restoring the Soviet era name, Lenin
Komsomol of Belarus, to the Brest Drama and Music
Theater, allegedly at the request of the Belarusian
National Youth Union (BNYU). BNYU is the modern-day
successor to Komsomol and often dubbed as "Lukamol." In
Soviet times, Komsomol (Communist Union of Youth) served
as a system of teaching Communist Party values and
introduced youth to Soviet politics. Members received
privileges and preferences in promotion. At its height,
Komsomol had tens of millions of members. The BNYU's
membership is around 305,000.
3. Gangs Are To Blame
At a September 27 press conference, vice secretary of
the SCC Yuri Krivosheyev theorized that local youth
groups orchestrated the recent blasts in Vitebsk as part
of a turf war. Krivosheyev stated how many groups, such
as skinheads, HMR enthusiasts, thieves, etc. often
gather at the places where the explosions occurred.
Krivosheyev stressed that the bombs were made by
amateurs and could hardly be classified as acts of
terrorism. On September 29, the phantom Belarusian
Popular Liberation Army (BPLA) sent a letter to the
local Vitebsk news agency claiming responsibility for
the two explosions and threatened to continuing bombing
unless the GOB fulfilled BPLA political demands. KGB
Vice Chief Viktor Vegera informed the press that the KGB
does not consider BPLA a suspect in the bombings and
views the events as mere acts of hooliganism.
4. Ethnicity Now A Factor?
Leaders of student groups at Belarusian State University
are now obliged to present the Dean's office with lists
of students who identify themselves as Lithuanian or
Polish. As reported in the independent newspaper BDG
Delovaya Gazeta on September 26, the university
administration claimed the new policy is simply to
determine the percentage of international students. In
a related story, an analyst from the Belarusian National
Security Institute, Valeri Bobyshev, informed reporters
that people connected with terrorist organizations may
be amongst foreign students in Belarus. According to
Bobyshev, several foreign students were found to have
connections to Hezbollah and similar organizations in
the Middle East. In a recent case, three foreigners
from Jordan and Ghana who tried to illegally enter
Ukraine were students enrolled in Minsk colleges.
Bobyshev blamed the problem on profit-hungry colleges
and irresponsible administrators.
--------------
Human Rights
--------------
5. Marinich Denied Parole
A prison parole board denied opposition activist and
former ambassador Mikhail Marinich's appeal for an early
release on September 23. The parole board concluded
Marinich had not "taken the path of correction" and,
according to Marinich's son Pavel, ignored factors such
as Marinich's good behavior and poor health. Marinich
was sentenced to five years in December 2004 for
allegedly misappropriating office equipment he received
from the US Embassy. In February, a judge shortened
Marinich's sentence to 3.5 years for his past service to
the state and deteriorating health. In August,
Marinich's sentence was reduced by one year under an
amnesty law.
6. Journalist Threatened With Jail
On September 26, the Prosecutor General's Office
summoned Irina Khalip, Belarusian correspondent for the
Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, to warn her officially
that she would face criminal prosecution if she
continues to call for the overthrow of the government.
MINSK 00001199 002 OF 004
The warning was in response to Khalip's August article
in which she analyzed the possibility of a revolution in
Belarus. According to the Prosecutor's warning, the
journalist would be charged with destabilizing public
order and changing the constitutional system by illegal
means and sentenced from one to five years in prison if
she repeats the offense. Khalip, who is also deputy
editor of the Belarusian newspaper BDG, was amazed that
the GOB could issue warnings for publications in Russian
newspapers.
7. Editors Fined
A Minsk district court on September 26 fined Aleksei
Korol, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper
Zhoda, and his deputy editor Aleksandr Sdvizhkov USD
1300 each for allegedly disseminating knowingly false
information. Zhoda had recently printed composite
photographs of prominent political figures pasted into
classic paintings. Korol considered the fines as
another attack on the independent press and doubted he
would win the appeal. In March, police raided the
newspaper's office in response to an anonymous complaint
about Zhoda's alleged "subversive" activity. Criminal
charges were dropped, but the authorities never returned
the computer equipment.
8. Skrebets In Prison Hospital.Again
The lawyer for jailed political activist and former MP
Sergei Skrebets informed the press that his client was
again transferred from a Minsk pre-trail detention
center to the National Prison Hospital on September 26.
Skrebets began his second hunger strike on September 13
to protest what he describes as his politically
motivated imprisonment. Following his arrest in May for
alleged bribery, Skrebets went on a 40-day hunger strike
and lost 25 kilograms. In August, the ex-MP was taken
to the prison hospital and had just returned to the
detention center last week. In addition to his pending
charges, investigators in September charged Skrebets
with illegal involvement in business activities.
9. Trade Union Activist Fined
A district court judge on September 28 fined trade union
activist and Salidarnast reporter Ivan Roman USD 600 for
allegedly acting on behalf of an unregistered
organization. On August 17, the head guard of Grodno
Plant of Automobile engines (GZA) accused Roman of
distributing a trade union bulletin allegedly containing
biased information with foul language that could provoke
the destabilization of the workers at the plant.
Despite the documents proving that Roman's union, the
Union of Electronic Industry Workers (REP),was in fact
registered, the judge ruled against Roman on the grounds
that REP had no local chapter in Grodno. Roman plans to
appeal the court's decision.
10. Day of Our Solidarity
At a September 29 press conference in Minsk, leader of
the civil initiative We Remember and member of Free
Belarus Irina Krasovskaya, Zubr leader Mikita Sasim, and
independent journalist Irina Khalip called on
Belarusians to switch off their apartment lights for 15
minutes on October 16 at 20:00 and place a candle on
their windowsills. The leaders named October 16 as the
Day of Solidarity to pray for the disappeared, political
prisoners, and their families. Khalip called the move a
silent protest that everyone can participate in without
fearing job loss, academic expulsion, or physical harm.
--------------
Economics
--------------
11. Authorities Overstate Grain Figures
On September 27, the Gomel regional State Control
Committee (SCC) reported that it had discovered multiple
instances of local authorities misreporting harvest
figures. According to the SCC, Zhitkovichi and
Oktyabrskoye district executive committees "severely"
overstated the amount of grain gathered from private
land plots and the Rogachev district authorities could
not provide documents confirming reported yields. Some
authorities admitted they had simply multiplied the
average yield per hectare with the total area sown to
grain crops. The SCC also found discrepancies in yield
MINSK 00001199 003 OF 004
figures in the Kalinkovichi, Rechitsa, Lelchitsy, Gomel,
and Buda-Koshelyovo districts. The Gomel region
reported a 1.2 million-ton yield following the harvest.
12. Incomes Grow
The Ministry for Statistics and Analysis announced on
September 27 that the aggregate incomes of Belarusian
households increased 15.6 percent on the year to USD 11
billion. Incomes grew 28.5 percent while the consumer price
index increased 11 percent in the same period. Wages
accounted for 60 percent of incomes. The average salary
increased 22 percent on the year to USD 208, surpassing the
government's 15-17 percent target. Household expenses
totaled USD 10.5 billion; 83 percent on goods and service,
12.6 percent on taxes and compulsory payment, and 7.6
percent on savings and foreign currency transactions.
13. Stronger Nationalization Powers
The GOB on September 28 approved new regulations giving the
state absolute rule over golden-share companies. The new
rules enable state agencies to have their decisions
fulfilled even if such decisions are in violation of the
decision-making formalities stipulated in the gold share
regulations. The golden share is a mechanism allowing the
state to interfere in an enterprises' activities if the
enterprise is in an unfavorable socio-economic state.
Legally, the state can only apply the golden share rule on
businesses/companies that the state has shares in or once
owned. De facto, the state can apply this mechanism whether
it has a stake in the company or not.
--------------
Bilateral Relations
--------------
14. China, Our Friend
Head of the Presidential Administration Viktor Sheiman
announced at a September 26 meeting with the Chinese
Communist Party's Central Committee member Wu Guanzheng that
cooperation with China is Belarus' top foreign policy
priority. Sheiman emphasized the bilateral relations and
expressed gratitude to the Chinese leadership for supporting
Belarus in the international arena. Wu, who is also the
secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline
SIPDIS
Inspection, arrived in Minsk on September 25 to met with the
chair of the SCC Anatoly Tozik and President Lukashenko.
Lukashenko plans to visit China in December.
15. Russia' New Ambassador To Belarus?
According to the independent, online news source
Interfax, the new Russian ambassador to Belarus may be
the former Russian Minister of Transport Routes Gennady
Fadeyev. Fadeyev confirmed that the first ambassadorial
hopeful and former governor of the Saratov Region
Dimtriy Ayatskov is no longer under consideration for
the position. Fadeyev was born in 1937 in Russia's Amur
Region and graduated from Khabarovsk Railway Engineering
Institute in 1961. He served as Minister of Transport
Routes from 2002 - 2003 and then became the President of
Russian Railways OJSC. In 2005, he was appointed Aide
to the Russian Prime Minister.
--------------
International Relations
--------------
16. Belarus Elected to IAEA Board of Governors
The MFA announced on September 29 that Belarus had been
elected to the Board of Governors of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for 2005 - 2007. The Board
of Governors is composed of 35 member states that are
designated and elected by the General Conference. The
Board meets five times a year to plan IAEA's accounts,
program, and budget. Belarus was last elected to the
Board in 2000.
--------------
Quote of the Week
--------------
17. At a September 29 press conference, KGB Vice Chief
Viktor Vegera accused foreign organizations of training
Belarusian revolutionaries:
"Young people are taught how to destabilize the
MINSK 00001199 004 OF 004
situation in Belarus under the disguise of scientific
workshops or educational conferences. Belarusian law
enforcement agencies prevent them from organizing these
trainings in the country, that is why they attend these
workshops in foreign countries."
In his words, dozens of foreign organizations are
engaged in this "profitable business", including
Georgian KMARA and Ukrainian PORA.
KROL