Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MINSK1226
2006-11-29 11:47:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Minsk
Cable title:
EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - NOVEMBER 24,
how-toVZCZCXRO7606 RR RUEHAST RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHSK #1226/01 3331147 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 291147Z NOV 06 ZDK FM AMEMBASSY MINSK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5372 INFO RUCNOSC/ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION IN EUROPE RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 001226
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - NOVEMBER 24,
2006
MINSK 00001226 001.6 OF 003
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 001226
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - NOVEMBER 24,
2006
MINSK 00001226 001.6 OF 003
1. The following are brief items of interest compiled by
Embassy Minsk.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LUKASHENKO PRESS CONFERENCE
--------------
- Lukashenko Admits GOB Falsified Presidential Vote (para. 2)
- Lukashenko Explains Reasons for "Last Dictator" (para. 3)
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
--------------
- Saddam Hussein Helped Fund National Library in Minsk (para. 4)
- CIS Defense and Foreign Ministers Meet (para. 5)
CIVIL SOCIETY
--------------
- Belarus Opposition Leader Detained for Two Hours (para. 6)
- Border Officials Convicted of Bribery (para. 7)
- Date Set for Dashkevich's Sentence Appeal Hearing (para. 8)
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
--------------
- Belarus' Trade With Russia up 30.7 percent (para. 9)
DOMESTIC ECONOMICS
--------------
- Monetary Policy to Hold Inflation Below Eight Percent (para.
10)
- Unemployment in Belarus Down 25.2 Percent (para. 11)
SOCIETY
--------------
- Vandals Deface Signboard of Protestant Community (para. 12)
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK (para. 13)
--------------
LUKASHENKO PRESS CONFERENCE
--------------
2. Lukashenko Admits GOB Falsified Presidential Vote
On November 23, independent media reported that President
Lukashenko revealed that March's presidential election had been
rigged, claiming that he had won many more votes than the
election authorities announced. Lukashenko stated that the
election authorities falsified the election because as much as
93.5 percent of the voters had voted for him and the West would
not recognize the election unless the President won by "European
figures."
3. Lukashenko Explains Reasons for "Last Dictator"
On November 23, independent media reported President Lukashenko
explaining why he had been branded "the last dictator in Europe."
Lukashenko claimed that some people could not handle Belarus
doing so well because they were rivals. The West's imperialist
ambitions are causing them to spend hundreds of millions of
dollars on revolutions that have all failed. Lukashenko figures
this makes them bitter.
--------------
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
--------------
4. Saddam Hussein Helped Fund National Library in Minsk
On November 23, President Lukashenko told Ukrainian reporters
that the former president of Iraq had provided USD 500,000 of his
own money for the construction of the new building for Belarus'
National Library. While the library was built with entirely
Belarusian labor, Lukashenko stressed, everyone, including Saddam
Hussein, funded the project.
5. CIS Defense and Foreign Ministers Meet
On November 23, the Council of Defense Ministers of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Council of
Defense Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
met in Brest. Press reported the ministers discussed topics such
as joint personnel training, united communications systems, and
the integrated air defense system. The ministers agreed to
establish a system of control over the CSTO's collective security
forces and facilities. On November 27, the Council of Foreign
MINSK 00001226 002.5 OF 003
Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
convened a session in Minsk. Representatives from the 12 CIS
member countries heard a report on ways to increase the
efficiency of CIS' activities and decided to set up an interstate
commission of deputy foreign ministers to continue studying the
CIS' operation and generate proposals for reform. The Ministers
also discussed draft agreements on the basic principles of
cooperation in the field of migration and the Anti-Terrorist
Center.
--------------
CIVIL SOCIETY
--------------
6. Opposition Leader Detained in Fatal Car Accident Case
On November 24, independent media reported that opposition leader
and former presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich had been
detained over his alleged involvement in a fatal car accident.
Police claimed that his car resembled the one that had fled the
scene of a previous accident in which one person had died.
Milinkevich's press secretary told post that the detention
occurred in the northern region of Vitebsk.
7. Border Officials Convicted of Bribery
On November 21, nearly 50 former border guards and customs
officers were sent to prison for bribery, according to the
Belarusian Military Prosecutor's Office. The Belarusian Military
Court sentenced a border control unit's former head and 13
servicemen, five officers of the Oshmyany Customhouse and two
civilians to between five and 14 years in prison for accepting
bribes to let trucks cross the Lithuanian border into Belarus
without paying import duties. The Kotlovka checkpoint had 27
inspection officers who were also given prison terms varying
between six and a half and seven years for allowing some 600
trucks carrying food, household appliances and other goods to
cross the border without paying duties between 2002 and 2004.
8. Date Set for Dashkevich's Sentence Appeal Hearing
On November 23, independent media reported that on December 15 a
Minsk City Court judge is scheduled to examine an appeal from the
defense team of imprisoned Dmitriy (Zmitser) Dashkevich, age 25,
against his conviction and jailing. Dashkevich was sentenced to
18 months in a minimum-security correctional institution on
November 1 after having been found guilty of running an
unregistered organization (Malady Front).
--------------
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
--------------
9. Belarus' Trade with Russia up 30.7 percent
On November 22, the Economics Ministry reported that Belarus'
trade with Russia rose by 30.7 percent compared with last year.
Belarus' exports so far this year totaled USD 4.9 billion and
imports USD 9.8 billion. Russia accounts for 87.4 percent of
Belarus' trade with the Commonwealth of Independent States, which
experienced a 30.4 percent increase to USD 16.9 billion. Belarus
boosted trade with Kazakhstan by 60.4 percent to USD 237.1
million. Belarus' trade with Moldova rose by 5.6 percent to USD
125.1 million, with exports exceeding imports by USD 13.7
million. Trade with Ukraine totaled USD 1.7 billion so far in
2006, a 28.5-percent rise, with an export surplus of USD 2.7
million.
--------------
DOMESTIC ECONOMY
--------------
10. Monetary Policy to Hold Inflation Below Eight Percent
On November 21 Pyotr Prokopovich, head of the National Bank of
Belarus, promised President Lukashenko that the country's 2007
monetary policy will be aimed at decelerating inflation and
stabilizing the national currency's exchange rate. According to
Prokopovich, the inflation rate should not exceed eight percent
by the end of 2007. He added that the National Bank's Base
Refinance Rate is expected to be lowered to seven to nine
percent, which will help reduce an average interest rate on loans
to 10 to 12 percent.
11. Unemployment in Belarus Down 25.2 percent
On November 22, the Ministry of Statistics and Analysis reported
that the number of officially registered unemployed people in
Belarus decreased 25.2 percent compared to last year's numbers.
The Ministry has registered 53,000 unemployed as of the end of
MINSK 00001226 003.6 OF 003
this past October, which put the official unemployment rate at
1.2 percent of the economically active population. The highest
reported unemployment rates were in the Vitebsk, Brest and
Mogilyov regions (1.5 percent),compared with the lowest rate of
0.5 percent in Minsk. Women account for 66 percent of the
unemployed people; under 30 years old made up 45 percent of those
out of work.
--------------
SOCIETY
--------------
12. Vandals Deface Signboard of Protestant Community
Independent media reported on the night of November 20, that
unidentified vandals painted "Don't Believe Sects!" on a
billboard in Baranovichi that directed people to the Salvation
Church, an affiliate of the Union of Evangelical Faith Christians
in the Republic of Belarus. Officials and media expressed the
opinion that drunken teenagers might be the vandals. The church
claimed that this was an organized action.
--------------
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
--------------
13. On November 23, President Lukashenko said he had deserved
the nickname "batka" (father in Belarusian) because he conducted
a policy different from the one that would be pursued by "a small
intellectual coming from an intellectual family where the table
is set with tableware, with forks and spoons at their places,
etc. I did not learn this anywhere. I came and started ruling
the country the way I could. Maybe there's something good in
this 'dictatorship.' I'm putting the word in quotation marks.
We know many dictatorships where people are eaten and abducted in
the street, there's nothing of the kind in our country."
Stewart
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - NOVEMBER 24,
2006
MINSK 00001226 001.6 OF 003
1. The following are brief items of interest compiled by
Embassy Minsk.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LUKASHENKO PRESS CONFERENCE
--------------
- Lukashenko Admits GOB Falsified Presidential Vote (para. 2)
- Lukashenko Explains Reasons for "Last Dictator" (para. 3)
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
--------------
- Saddam Hussein Helped Fund National Library in Minsk (para. 4)
- CIS Defense and Foreign Ministers Meet (para. 5)
CIVIL SOCIETY
--------------
- Belarus Opposition Leader Detained for Two Hours (para. 6)
- Border Officials Convicted of Bribery (para. 7)
- Date Set for Dashkevich's Sentence Appeal Hearing (para. 8)
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
--------------
- Belarus' Trade With Russia up 30.7 percent (para. 9)
DOMESTIC ECONOMICS
--------------
- Monetary Policy to Hold Inflation Below Eight Percent (para.
10)
- Unemployment in Belarus Down 25.2 Percent (para. 11)
SOCIETY
--------------
- Vandals Deface Signboard of Protestant Community (para. 12)
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK (para. 13)
--------------
LUKASHENKO PRESS CONFERENCE
--------------
2. Lukashenko Admits GOB Falsified Presidential Vote
On November 23, independent media reported that President
Lukashenko revealed that March's presidential election had been
rigged, claiming that he had won many more votes than the
election authorities announced. Lukashenko stated that the
election authorities falsified the election because as much as
93.5 percent of the voters had voted for him and the West would
not recognize the election unless the President won by "European
figures."
3. Lukashenko Explains Reasons for "Last Dictator"
On November 23, independent media reported President Lukashenko
explaining why he had been branded "the last dictator in Europe."
Lukashenko claimed that some people could not handle Belarus
doing so well because they were rivals. The West's imperialist
ambitions are causing them to spend hundreds of millions of
dollars on revolutions that have all failed. Lukashenko figures
this makes them bitter.
--------------
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
--------------
4. Saddam Hussein Helped Fund National Library in Minsk
On November 23, President Lukashenko told Ukrainian reporters
that the former president of Iraq had provided USD 500,000 of his
own money for the construction of the new building for Belarus'
National Library. While the library was built with entirely
Belarusian labor, Lukashenko stressed, everyone, including Saddam
Hussein, funded the project.
5. CIS Defense and Foreign Ministers Meet
On November 23, the Council of Defense Ministers of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Council of
Defense Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
met in Brest. Press reported the ministers discussed topics such
as joint personnel training, united communications systems, and
the integrated air defense system. The ministers agreed to
establish a system of control over the CSTO's collective security
forces and facilities. On November 27, the Council of Foreign
MINSK 00001226 002.5 OF 003
Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
convened a session in Minsk. Representatives from the 12 CIS
member countries heard a report on ways to increase the
efficiency of CIS' activities and decided to set up an interstate
commission of deputy foreign ministers to continue studying the
CIS' operation and generate proposals for reform. The Ministers
also discussed draft agreements on the basic principles of
cooperation in the field of migration and the Anti-Terrorist
Center.
--------------
CIVIL SOCIETY
--------------
6. Opposition Leader Detained in Fatal Car Accident Case
On November 24, independent media reported that opposition leader
and former presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich had been
detained over his alleged involvement in a fatal car accident.
Police claimed that his car resembled the one that had fled the
scene of a previous accident in which one person had died.
Milinkevich's press secretary told post that the detention
occurred in the northern region of Vitebsk.
7. Border Officials Convicted of Bribery
On November 21, nearly 50 former border guards and customs
officers were sent to prison for bribery, according to the
Belarusian Military Prosecutor's Office. The Belarusian Military
Court sentenced a border control unit's former head and 13
servicemen, five officers of the Oshmyany Customhouse and two
civilians to between five and 14 years in prison for accepting
bribes to let trucks cross the Lithuanian border into Belarus
without paying import duties. The Kotlovka checkpoint had 27
inspection officers who were also given prison terms varying
between six and a half and seven years for allowing some 600
trucks carrying food, household appliances and other goods to
cross the border without paying duties between 2002 and 2004.
8. Date Set for Dashkevich's Sentence Appeal Hearing
On November 23, independent media reported that on December 15 a
Minsk City Court judge is scheduled to examine an appeal from the
defense team of imprisoned Dmitriy (Zmitser) Dashkevich, age 25,
against his conviction and jailing. Dashkevich was sentenced to
18 months in a minimum-security correctional institution on
November 1 after having been found guilty of running an
unregistered organization (Malady Front).
--------------
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
--------------
9. Belarus' Trade with Russia up 30.7 percent
On November 22, the Economics Ministry reported that Belarus'
trade with Russia rose by 30.7 percent compared with last year.
Belarus' exports so far this year totaled USD 4.9 billion and
imports USD 9.8 billion. Russia accounts for 87.4 percent of
Belarus' trade with the Commonwealth of Independent States, which
experienced a 30.4 percent increase to USD 16.9 billion. Belarus
boosted trade with Kazakhstan by 60.4 percent to USD 237.1
million. Belarus' trade with Moldova rose by 5.6 percent to USD
125.1 million, with exports exceeding imports by USD 13.7
million. Trade with Ukraine totaled USD 1.7 billion so far in
2006, a 28.5-percent rise, with an export surplus of USD 2.7
million.
--------------
DOMESTIC ECONOMY
--------------
10. Monetary Policy to Hold Inflation Below Eight Percent
On November 21 Pyotr Prokopovich, head of the National Bank of
Belarus, promised President Lukashenko that the country's 2007
monetary policy will be aimed at decelerating inflation and
stabilizing the national currency's exchange rate. According to
Prokopovich, the inflation rate should not exceed eight percent
by the end of 2007. He added that the National Bank's Base
Refinance Rate is expected to be lowered to seven to nine
percent, which will help reduce an average interest rate on loans
to 10 to 12 percent.
11. Unemployment in Belarus Down 25.2 percent
On November 22, the Ministry of Statistics and Analysis reported
that the number of officially registered unemployed people in
Belarus decreased 25.2 percent compared to last year's numbers.
The Ministry has registered 53,000 unemployed as of the end of
MINSK 00001226 003.6 OF 003
this past October, which put the official unemployment rate at
1.2 percent of the economically active population. The highest
reported unemployment rates were in the Vitebsk, Brest and
Mogilyov regions (1.5 percent),compared with the lowest rate of
0.5 percent in Minsk. Women account for 66 percent of the
unemployed people; under 30 years old made up 45 percent of those
out of work.
--------------
SOCIETY
--------------
12. Vandals Deface Signboard of Protestant Community
Independent media reported on the night of November 20, that
unidentified vandals painted "Don't Believe Sects!" on a
billboard in Baranovichi that directed people to the Salvation
Church, an affiliate of the Union of Evangelical Faith Christians
in the Republic of Belarus. Officials and media expressed the
opinion that drunken teenagers might be the vandals. The church
claimed that this was an organized action.
--------------
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
--------------
13. On November 23, President Lukashenko said he had deserved
the nickname "batka" (father in Belarusian) because he conducted
a policy different from the one that would be pursued by "a small
intellectual coming from an intellectual family where the table
is set with tableware, with forks and spoons at their places,
etc. I did not learn this anywhere. I came and started ruling
the country the way I could. Maybe there's something good in
this 'dictatorship.' I'm putting the word in quotation marks.
We know many dictatorships where people are eaten and abducted in
the street, there's nothing of the kind in our country."
Stewart