EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - November 25, 2005

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MINSK 001433

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - November 25, 2005



1. The following are brief items of interest compiled
by Embassy Minsk over the past week.

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Human Rights
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2. New Life Church's Building is NOT a Cow Barn

On November 17, the New Life Church filed its third
application for registration at the address of the
former cow barn. This time, however, the church
received a new "technical passport" (registration
document) reclassifying the cow barn as a "building
specializing in religious purposes." This allows the
church to legally conduct services in the building.
Separately, the New Life Church announced it would work
in conjunction with the "Day of Solidarity" organizers,
offering convocations on the 16th of every month for
those persecuted by the GOB.


3. Belarus is an "Enemy of the Internet"

On November 16, Reporters Without Borders labeled
Belarus an "enemy of the Internet" because of government
attempts to control people's access to the web. The GOB
can easily control web page content via the state
telecommunications monopoly Internet access provider,
RUP Beltelecom. On November 21, independent press
reported the GOB bought equipment from China to monitor
internet traffic.


4. Police Seize 700 Opposition Bulletins

On November 11 in Svetlogorsk, police seized from local
youth activist Vadim Bogdan 700 opposition bulletins
advertising the November 16 "Day of Solidarity". Police
charged him with illegally using public transport to
bring the bulletins from Minsk to Svetlogorsk, where 30
people participated in the day of solidarity.


5. GOB Will Not Block Foreign TV

On November 17, Lukashenko criticized foreign television
programs for their violent content, but announced he
would not block their broadcast. In turn, he praised
Belarusian television channels for their truthful
coverage and lauded Belarusian TV reporters as "decent,
honest, and truthful," but lacking professionalism.
Lukashenko also promised to continue to regulate the
media sector, but in a civilized manner.


6. Restricted Travel

Belarusian border guards detained Union of Belarusian
Poles (UBP) activists Andrei Pochubot and Meczyslav
Yaskiewicz for three hours at the border as they
returned from Poland on November 19. The UBP activists
were returning from a visit with Polish Prime Minister
Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz when the guards confiscated
their passports, claiming passports' exit stamps had
been annulled. On November 23, border guards prevented
UBP activists Angelica Arechwa, Andrei Lisowski, and
Inessa Todryk from crossing the border into Poland. The
guards allegedly doubted the authenticity of the
issuer's signature in the UBP activists' passports. The
activists were to travel in Warsaw to speak with a UN
special rapporteur on Belarus.


7. Former UBP Head Questioned

On November 22, Grodno investigator Dmitry Labotsky
questioned former UBP head Angelica Boris as a witness
in connection with the alleged misuse of UBP funds.
Since the case's reopening in January, Boris has been
questioned 50 times. In a press statement, Boris
claimed authorities are accusing her of misusing funds,
stealing, and organizing a teachers' conference with
sponsors' money. According to Boris, the investigators
are using interrogations to put psychological pressure
on her and her supporters.


8. Newspaper Appeals Registration

On November 18, editor of the satirical newspaper
Navinki, Pavel Konovalchik, appealed to the Supreme
Economic Court against the Ministry of Information's
(MoI) decision to annul its registration. Deputy
Minister of the MoI Liliya Ananich annulled Navinki's
registration on October 24 for failing to publish an
issue within the last 12 months. Konovalchik admitted

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his newspaper did not appear for 11 months, however the
MoI also counted the three months when the newspaper was
suspended by the MoI in August 2004.


9. Activist Fined for Leaflets

A Gomel district judge on November 21 fined opposition
activist Maria Bogdanovich USD 95 for distributing
leaflets on November 7 without the printer's name and
address. Bogdanovich plans to appeal the ruling because
of her doubt about the judge's impartiality. The
leaflets, according to Bogdanovich, were designed to
attract public attention to sharp increases in utility
and maintenance service rates.


10. Narodnaya Volya Loses, Again

Judge Nelli Orlovskaya of the Minsk City Economic Court
threw out Narodnaya Volya's (NV) lawsuit on November 21
against its former distributor Minoblsoyuzpechat, a
subsidiary of Belsoyuzpechat, for abruptly annulling its
distribution contract with NV. NV intends to appeal.


11. Milinkevich's Unsuccessful Meeting

Presidential hopeful Aleksandr Milinkevich arrived in
Bobruisk on November 24 to meet with local activists and
residents, hold a press conference, and answer
residents' questions on a hot line. However, two hours
before the scheduled events, authorities disconnected
the electricity and phone connections in the apartment
where the hot line was to take place. Bobruisk painters
and theater actors, with whom Milinkevich was to meet,
were prohibited from speaking to him.

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Civil Society
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12. Number of HIV Cases Approaches 7,000

On November 17, the National Center for Public Health
announced that 6,867 Belarusians have been diagnosed
with HIV. Gomel region has the highest rate of
infection, with 3,821 reported cases. Intravenous drug
use accounted for 67.6 percent of the cases. Deputy
Minister of Health Mikhail Rimzha predicted the HIV
infection rate would decrease within the next two years.


13. A New Writers' Union

The Union of Belarusian Writers (UBW) is planning to
expel 53 members, including detective novel writer and
MP Nikolai Cherginets, for attending a founding
conference for a pro-government writers' union.
Cherginets and his supporters created the new Union of
Writers of Belarus (UWB),to which Cherginets was
unanimously elected as the chair, after Cherginets
stepped down as UBW's chair in disagreement over the
union's alleged "nationalistic" stance. Lately, the
state media has accused the 582-member UBW of practicing
politics and not literature while Cherginets accused the
union of not recognizing President Lukashenko or GOB
symbols and using the nationalist red-and-white flag to
"cause pressure" within the union. The Belarusian
Confederation of Artistic Unions and Cultural
Foundations fear the creation of the pro-government UWB
would bring greater government harassment to the UBW and
its eventual closure.


14. Symphonies in the Villages

Director of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society
Aleksandr Grabar on November 15 confirmed GOB plans to
establish 215 philharmonic halls in villages under the
2005-2010 rural revival program. Grabar stated that the
main difficulty in the project was that villagers were
not yet able to "understand" symphony. However, the
concert halls, which would be set up at village houses
of culture, could also be used for other activities.


15. Regional Officials Punished

On November 21, the chair of the Mogilev Regional
Executive Committee Boris Batura recommended the
dismissal of the region's top official in charge of the
state retail network for poor performance. The decision
came following President Lukashenko's visit to the
region and his criticism of local authorities' inability
to improve living standards. Batura issued reprimands
to four deputy chairpersons of the Mogilev Regional

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Executive Committee and other district-level officials.
He also demanded district government heads hear
complaints and requests from citizens at least once a
week.


16. More Riot Police

OMON (riot police) regiment commander Yuri Podobed
reported on November 22 that the country's 350-men
strong OMON force would increase to 500 men. The move
is to increase security at public events, such as
football and hockey matches and concerts. According to
Podobed, who is on an EU visa ban list for crushing
demonstrations, claimed that 30 percent of OMON troops
have university degrees and over 50 percent were college
students. Only one in ten applicants pass the OMON
entrance tests.


17. Lukashenko Will Not Take Money

On November 24, President Lukashenko told Parliament
that the West was ready to offer him and his family
safety and money if he did not run in the 2006
elections. The president stated that he rejects such
offers. Chairman of the upper house Gennady Novitsky
expressed his concern about the West's political
pressure, including its "unprecedented" attacks on
Belarus' "independent" policy. Therefore, the GOB's
task is to consistently advance national interests,
spread objective information, and "show up" double
standards. In a November 23 press conference, however,
Lukashenko stated that he welcomes the positive
direction Western governments are taking in recognizing
that he will win the elections.

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Election
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18. www.milinkevich.org

On November 16, opposition presidential candidate
Aleksandr Milinkevich launched his website,
www.milinkevich.org. On the first day, the Belarusian
language web page - Russian and English versions will be
launched soon - had 1,200 hits. The site contains
biographic and campaign information, interviews and
articles, a photo gallery and documents on the National
Congress of Democratic Forces.

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Economics
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19. Less Beer Produced

The deputy head of the state food processing company
Belgospischeprom, Aleksei Rubets, announced on November
16 that production targets for beer would be reduced
from 72 million deciliters to 49 million deciliters.
The decision came after 2005 beer exports fell 51
percent to 665,000 deciliters, although the 2006-2010
state plan expects 12 million deciliters of beer in
exports in 2006. Less than ten percent met first-class
requirements. The five-year program envisages doubled
beer production by 2010, costing the state USD 139
million in investment.


20. Temporary Tariffs?

The Council of Ministers signed resolution no. 1263 on
November 17, which raised import duties on various
consumer goods for nine months in order to protect
domestic producers. Import duties on paints and
varnishes increased from five to 15 percent of their
customs value, drills and vacuum cleaners from 15 to 50
percent, electric tea kettles from 15 to 20 percent, and
lighting equipment from 20 to 30 percent.


21. Tax Arrears Increase

The Ministry of Taxes and Duties reported on November 18
that tax arrears increased 42 percent to USD 155 million
in 2005. Unpaid VAT, excise tax, and sales tax (33, 26,
and 14 percent respectively) accounted for most of the
arrears. Delayed tax payments dropped 14 percent to USD
109 million. Tax revenues totaled USD 11.6 billion.


22. Construction Companies Under State Control

On November 22, PM Sergei Sidorsky insisted the GOB

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redistribute the construction market in the government's
favor. According to Sidorsky, 20 percent of all
facilities are built under state control while the
remaining 80 percent is carried out by private
companies. Sidorsky suggested, "turning the pyramid
upside down," granting the state 80 percent control and
private companies only 20 percent. President Lukashenko
will hold a meeting on December 20 to discuss this
issue.


23. Average Salary Increases

The Minister of Economy Nikolai Zaichenko announced on
November 22 that the average salary rose to USD 233 per
month, up from USD 211 in January-October. The biggest
salaries were in the petrochemical industry and the
lowest in agriculture. Seven percent of companies in
Belarus offer salaries below USD 100. According to
Zaichenko, average December salaries in the healthcare,
education, culture, and science spheres should total USD
236, 226, 226, and 333 respectively. The highest
salaries remain in the oil refining industry, where
workers earn USD 539 per month.

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Quote of the Week
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24. Lukashenko, at a four-hour November 17 speech to
university students:

"We should not crave the European community, abandoning
our national culture, traditions, and state structure.
We are situated in the center of Europe, and will be
able to establish the European living standards on our
own. As true Europeans, we will not bend our neck....
Even the avowed enemies of Belarus, the IMF and the
World Bank, have to admit that Belarus has chosen the
right way of development."

KROL