EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - December 20, 2005

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 001524

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - December 20, 2005



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

--------------
Elections
--------------


2. "Ambassador's Residence is Opposition's Meetinghouse" - State
TV

On December 17, Post held its annual children's holiday party for
U.S. Embassy staff at Ambassador's residence. State ONT television
channel, however, reported that the gathering was an opposition
meeting being held in response to the announcement of the early
presidential elections date. ONT claimed that the opposition
activists turned to their "sponsors" for advice.


3. Police Prevent Meeting with Opposition Candidate

On December 14, police in Brest broke up a meeting of the local
intelligentsia and the single opposition candidate, Aleksandr
Milinkevich. Approximately 20 minutes after the meeting started,
police entered the apartment where the "unsanctioned" meeting was
being held and threatened to call the riot police unless the 70
participants vacated the premises.


4. Criminal Code Amendments Influence Formation of Political
Coalition

On December 15, pro-Lukashenko MP and presidential hopeful
Sergei Gaidukevich canceled plans to hold a congress to
establish a political coalition to support him in his bid for
presidency. Gaidukevich, the Liberal Democratic Party leader,
changed his mind about the congress for fear of punishment
under the new amendments to the criminal code, which make it
illegal to participate in an unregistered organization.
Instead, Gaidukevich will use the proposed name, "Novaya
Belarus - Yedinstvo" (New Belarus - Unity),of the political
coalition he planned to form as his presidential campaign
slogan.


5. Communist Youth Supports Opposition Candidate

On December 11, the Lenin Communist Youth Union of Belarus
(LKSMB) - the successor to the Soviet-era state-run communist
youth organization, Komsomol - came out in support of 10+
Coalition candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich. [Note: The LKSMB is
the youth component of Sergei Kalyakin's Communist Party of
Belarus. Kalyakin is Milinkevich's campaign manager.] LKSMB
promised to remain in opposition of the GOB's policies and
pledged "every kind of assistance" possible to the Milinkevich
campaign.


6. Phone Plan Canned Allegedly Due to Association with Single
Candidate

On December 13, mobile phone service provider Velcom denied
rumors that it canceled the popular cellular phone rate plan
"Yediny" (Single) - which offered a single rate on all calls -
because of the name's close association with the "single"
opposition candidate, Aleksandr Milinkevich. The company said
it chose to suspend its promotion of the plan - which it had
launched in mid-November - to focus on promotional efforts for
the New Year season.

--------------
Human Rights
--------------


7. Amendments to the Criminal Code Become Law

On December 20, press reports indicate that Lukashenko signed the
amendments to Belarus' criminal code into law. The amendments
introduce severe penalties for activities deemed "revolutionary"
and harmful to the public. Under the amendments, participating in
street demonstrations, "discrediting" Belarus' image abroad,
appealing to foreign nations and international organizations to
"act to the detriment of Belarus," and spreading "false"
information about Belarus are criminal offenses warranting up to
three years in prison. The amendments will take effect on December

30.


8. Advisor to the Polish PM Denied Entry to Belarus

On December 11, Belarusian border guards did not allow advisor to
the Polish Prime Minister Michal Dworczyk to enter Belarus. Guards
looked through his passport, told him he was not allowed to enter
Belarus and suggested he return to Poland. Dworczyk planned to
travel to Belarus to meet with allies of Anzhelika Borys, the
unrecognized leader of the Union of Belarusian Poles. The other
two diplomats traveling with Dworczyk were allowed to enter into

MINSK 00001524 002 OF 003


Belarus.


9. Polish Journalist Denied Entry to Belarus Twice in Three Days

On December 10, Belarusian border guards refused to allow Polish
journalist Agnieszka Romaszewska to enter Belarus to open a TVP
public television network correspondent bureau in Minsk. On
December 13, Romaszewska again attempted to gain entry to Belarus
at the Minsk International Airport, but border guards promptly
detained her and tried to force her back on the same plane
returning to Warsaw despite her valid visa and accreditation from
the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was sent home the
next day.


10. GOB Restricts Travel of UPB Activist

On December 12, Grodno authorities returned Union of Belarusian
Poles (UBP) activist Andrzej Poczobut's passport with a stamp and a
hand written note temporarily barring him from leaving Belarus.
Border guards seized his passport on November 19 when he was
returning to Belarus from Poland. Poczobut insisted that the GOB's
ban will not prevent him from traveling because he will simply
travel from Belarus to Europe via Russia as he has done in the
past.


11. Independent Newspapers Evicted from Premises

On December 9, the management of the Pinsk area hotel Sport
informed the independent newspaper "Myastsovy Chas (MC)" that its
rental contract, which was valid until July 2006, will expire on
January 31, 2006. The hotel, which is a member of the Belarusian
Defense and Sports Technical Society, did not provide an
explanation for the early termination of its contract. MC editor-
in-chief Viktor Yarashuk stated that the paper always pays its
bills and rent on time and viewed this action as another GOB
attempt to smother the independent press. [Note: the state postal
monopoly, Belpochta, has refused to include MC on its 2006
subscription catalogue.] Separately, on December 15, the editorial
office of independent newspaper "Gazeta Dlya Vas" in the
Ivatsevichy district was told that the Ivatsevichy district
executive committee plans to break its rental agreement with the
paper. The authorities claim that they need the space to prepare
for the September 2006 harvest festival. Representatives from the
paper claimed that this decision was a politically motivated move.


12. Leader of Election Monitoring NGO Partnership Arrested

On December 17, police took Partnership director Nikolai Astreiko
to a special detention center so that he could serve the remainder
of his prison sentence. Astreiko had become ill and was taken to a
hospital after serving only four days out of his 15-day prison
sentence for holding an unsanctioned meeting to elect a new board
of directors for Partnership in October. Astreiko should be
released on December 27 or 28.


13. Amendments to the Anti-TIP Decree Pass the Lower House

On December 13, the lower house of parliament adopted a series of
amendments to the March 9 presidential decree on trafficking in
persons. The amendments state that any student wishing to study
abroad for more than 30 days or work abroad without a direct
employment contract must receive permission from the Belarusian
Ministry of Education. In addition, the amendments also require
all websites soliciting and distributing personal information,
including on-line dating websites, to obtain a special operating
license.


14. Police Raid Muslim Community

On December 12, the independent weekly "BDG Delovaya Gazeta"
reported that Belarusian law enforcement officials recently raided
the homes of local Muslims under the pretext of looking for
suspects connected with the Vitebsk bombings. During the searches,
the police detained and questioned Muslims and confiscated
religious literature.


15. NV Contributor's Death His Own Fault

On December 15, the Minsk Prosecutor's Office representative Igor
Shkatulo told independent news source "Interfax" that the death of
independent weekly "Narodnaya Volya's" contributor Vasiley
Grodnikov was not a murder but instead "resulted form his own
careless actions." Therefore, Shkatulo concluded there was no need
to open a criminal investigation. Grodnikov was found dead in his
apartment on October 18. Coroner reports indicated that his death
was caused by a blow to the head with a blunt object.


16. Political Prisoner Banned from Sending Letters to Foreign
Embassies and from Attending his Father's Funeral

On December 9, prison officials banned political prisoner and

MINSK 00001524 003 OF 003


activist Valery Levonevsky from sending letters to foreign
embassies. In the past, Levonevsky, who is serving a two-year
prison sentence for defaming the president, sent letters to foreign
embassies asking for funding for the prison's dilapidated library.
Citing internal prison regulations, the prison officials said that
individuals may only send letters to foreign embassies of which
they are citizens. Levonevsky disagrees with the prison officials'
interpretation of the regulation and said he had "read the article,
but found no such rules" outlining restrictions on sending letters
to embassies. Separately on December 15, the prison officials
denied Levonevsky's request to attend his father's funeral despite
having filed all the paperwork correctly because they claimed
Levonevsky persistently breaks official prison rules.


17. Activist Fined for Keeping Opposition Papers

On December 14, a Svetlogorsk district court fined Francisak
Skaryna Belarusian Language Society activist Vadim Bogdan BYR
300,000 [USD 140] for "violating the procedure of producing and
distributing printed matter." Bogdan disagreed with the court's
decision because he neither printed nor distributed the bulletins,
but simply had them in his apartment. The police found them when
they conducted a raid on his house on November 22.

--------------
Bilateral Relations
--------------


18. Belarus and Iran Are Getting Closer

On December 15, Iranian Speaker of Parliament Gholam Ali Haddad
Adel met with Speaker of the Belarusian House of
Representatives Vladimir Konoplev in Minsk. Adel offered
Belarus support in withstanding international pressure. Adel
stated that Iran wants "Belarus to be a powerful state and will
never put up with attempts by international organizations to
put pressure on your state. Rather, we will help counter such
attempts." During his visit, Adel also met with First Deputy
Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko and other GOB officials.

--------------
Quote of the Week
--------------


19. On December 16, after the announcement of the March 19, 2006,
presidential elections date, Central Election Committee Chairperson
Lidiya Yermoshina outlined restrictions on campaigning for
volunteers while collecting nomination signatures:

"While initiative groups are collecting signatures from voters,
they have the right to present written information about the
candidate to the citizens, but not to distribute this information."

KROL