STATE MEDIA VILIFIES AMERICA, OFTEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 MINSK 000173

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL BO
SUBJECT: STATE MEDIA VILIFIES AMERICA, OFTEN

REF: 05 MINSK 1538

Classified By: Classified by Ambassador George Krol for Reasons 1.4(B,D
)


1. (C) Summary: In recent months Belarusian state media has
become increasingly venomous in its daily attacks against the
U.S. and the West. Common themes include charges of
espionage, of Western attempts to destabilize the country,
and of attempts to overthrow the government in a forced
"color" revolution. Comparisons between Nazi Germany and the
U.S., which make the Nazis look good, are becoming more
common. State media has even thrown out more bizarre
charges, such as that the USG is behind the spread of SARS,
bird flu and mad cow disease, and that the U.S. Embassy in
Minsk is preparing to attack Belarus with nuclear weapons (a
fuller compilation of state media attacks begins in para 7).
Embassy Public Affairs staff agreed the volume of attacks is
on the rise, but is no worse than in the 2001 elections.
However, they noted that over the past year the state media
has become much more vitriolic in its coverage of the West,
and is more willing to depart fully from truth. The
Presidential Administration
actively guides such "reporting." End summary.


Guide to State Media
--------------


2. (SBU) The main state media outlets involved in the
propaganda campaign against the West, and the U.S. in
particular, are:

Belarusian Television (BT),the main state TV channel.
Nationwide audience.

ONT, the second state TV channel. Nationwide audience.

7 Dnei, paper of the pro-government Communist Party.
Circulation 38,886.

Sovietskaya Belarussia, the main state newspaper, founded by
the Presidential Administration. Circulation 502,300.

Respublika, founded by the Council of Ministers. Circulation
55,950.

Vo Slavu Rodiny, the official paper of the Ministry of
Defense. Circulation 24,441.

Zvyazda, founded by the Council of Ministers. Circulation
41,059.


--------------
How They Hate Us, Let's Count the Ways
--------------


3. (SBU) Poloff reviewed Belarusian state media reporting
since January 1, and found that state TV and newspapers
viciously attack America, and to a lesser extent other
Western countries, on a daily basis. These attacks range
from direct rebuttals of USG actions and statements, to
paranoid claims the USG is funding a color revolution in
Minsk, to the purely delusional, such as claims the USG is
behind SARS, bird flu, and mad cow disease, or that the U.S.
Embassy is preparing a nuclear strike against Belarus.


Paranoid Self-Defense is the Best Offense
--------------


4. (SBU) In many cases, Belarusian state media begins with a
kernel of truth from Western news and takes off running:

--The U.S. military budget is rising because the Pentagon is
planning new wars and revolutions. (Respublika, January 4);

--Many Western journalists support Lukashenko and his
policies. (Sovietskaya Belarussia, January 4);

--The U.S. is suffering from severe social and political
unrest, and will become a third world nation by 2015. (Vo
Slavu Rodiny, January 10);

--A secret CIA jail has been found in Ukraine. (BT, January
10);

--The USG is spying on its citizens because it is afraid of

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growing discontent over Iraq. (Respublika, January 10);

--Following a January press conference where Ambassador Krol
discussed Belarus, several state media outlets went on the
attack. Typical claims include: the Ambassador clearly does
not know the Belarusian constitution or economy; he falsely
claims to speak on behalf of the whole Western world;
Secretary Rice condoned electoral falsification in Ukraine.

SIPDIS
(BT, January 11 and 17; Vo Slavu Rodiny, January 17);

--The U.S. violates human rights by bombing countries;
President Clinton issued a secret directive to destroy the
former Soviet states; "The United States is implementing its
satanic plan which brings us death, destruction, and poverty
in the form of colored revolutions and coups;" the U.S. looks
upon new democratic leaders as slaves; Clinton wanted to
incite ethnic violence in Belarus; the Department of Homeland
Security monitors all private correspondence, making
Americans live in slavery; Bush views every American as
another bin Laden. (BT, January 17);

--Many high-level figures, including Al Gore, are rebelling
against President Bush's "tyranny of power." (BT, January 18);

--Bolivia, Venezuela and Cuba have united into an "Axis of
Good" to combat the U.S. in South America. (7 Dnei, January
19).

--Information from abroad constitutes an attack. State media
must counter this. (Lukashenko, quoted on all state TV
channels, January 27);

--American police regularly beat African-Americans. (BT,
February 1);

--Thousands protested outside Bush's State of the Union
address; Hamas is not a terrorist organization; the U.S.
economy is not the strongest in the world. (BT, February 2);

--The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issued
a resolution on Belarus but ignored America's secret CIA
jails because the EU is afraid of the U.S.. (Respublika,
February 3);

--Hollywood makes fake news stories for the Pentagon in
exchange for cheap rental of military equipment. (Respublika,
February 3);

--The U.S. is raising its defense budget and cutting
education funding, proving the USG is planning new wars and
wants stupid soldiers. (BT, February 7);

--The U.S. is facing a "massive collapse." (7 Dnei, February
9);

--The USG has halted its educational exchanges with Belarus
because they were not effective in misleading youth. (BT,
February 14. Note: the GOB blocked students from
participating in the FLEX program for high school in 2005).


No Color Revolutions Here
--------------


5. (SBU) The GOB in particular tries to discredit democracy
movements in Belarus, Ukraine and Georgia, portraying them as
tools of the West. Any European country that supports
democracy in Belarus is a pawn of the U.S.

--Western attempts to support revolution during the
presidential election will be unsuccessful. (Vo Slavu Rodiny,
January 4);

--The U.S. pays the Belarusian opposition to challenge
Lukashenko (repeated daily, in all media outlets). In a
twist on this theme, BT claimed the U.S. is trying to "save a
few dollars" and is refusing to pay the opposition some of
their promised money. (BT, January 9);

--"Revolutionary countries such as Georgia and Ukraine cannot
take a single step without guidance from Washington." (a
common refrain, this quote from Respublika, January 9);

--The U.S. and EU both want change in Belarus. The U.S.
wants to follow "the Yugoslav path" while the EU wants to
take "the Ukrainian path." This difference proves the U.S.
and EU do not have the same policy to Belarus. (Sovietskaya
Belarussia, January 11);


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--The opposition has received its money for the revolution
from the U.S. and EU. (Respublika, January 17);

--Poland wants to broadcast independent radio to Belarus with
U.S. money as part of a U.S. plan for an orange revolution in
Minsk. (Respublika, January 18);

--The Belarusian opposition cannot unite because too many
groups are competing for foreign grants. (Respublika, January
19).

--"The drug usage level among Belarusian youth is higher, the
closer they are to the opposition." (BT, January 23);

--U.S. educational exchanges are propaganda tools meant to
subvert Belarusian youth. (Vo Slavu Rodiny, January 25);

--Opposition members are dropping out of the presidential
campaign because they have nothing to offer the people.
(Respublika, January 26);

--The opposition are mercenaries; the West is funding street
riots; foreign embassies are trying to destabilize Belarus.
(Lukashenko, quoted on all state TV channels, January 30);

--Opposition leaders are defrauding their supporters in order
to keep Western grants for themselves. (Respublika, February
1);

--The International Republican Institute is using Belarusian
youth as "cannon fodder." (Zvyazda, February 7);

--The International Republican Institute is working with
radical youth groups to bring about revolution. The
Fulbright program is designed to radicalize Belarusian youth.
(Respublika, February 9).


Western Diplomats, NGOs are Spies
--------------


6. (SBU) In another common theme, state media claims many
foreign diplomats, particularly Americans and Poles, are
spies.

--U.S. diplomats are trying to overthrow the government,
because they travel outside of Minsk to meet with people. (7
Dnei, January 19. This claim was often repeated in many
state media outlets);

--"It often happens that foreign embassies resort to spying,
covering themselves with more decent types of activities."
(BT and 7 Dnei, January 26);

--Western NGOs, such as Freedom House and the American
Councils for International Education (ACCELS) recruit youth
to destabilize a country and for espionage. (BT and
Sovietskaya Belarussia, January 27);

--Foreign embassies use NGOs for espionage and to launder
money. (BT, January 30);

--Western embassies employee spies as diplomats/all human
rights groups have been "bought" by the West. (BT, January
31);

--As in Russia, the U.S. uses NGOs to destabilize countries.
(BT, February 7);

--The U.S. and other western countries (showing footage of
the U.S., British and French ambassadors) are using their
intelligence services (showing footage of Pol/Econ Chief) to
dig up information to discredit Belarus internationally. (BT,
February 8);

--The State Department has hired Poland to help the U.S.
Embassy destabilize Belarus. (Respublika, February 8);

--The Polish Embassy is the headquarters for foreign spies
trying to create scandals to discredit Belarus. (BT and ONT,
February 8);

--U.S. Embassy officers travel the country to guide the
opposition and destabilize the country. (Respublika, February
8);

--The USG pays Poland to conduct policies against Belarus. (7
Dnei, February 9).


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Nazi Comparisons
--------------


7. (SBU) In the past several years the GOB has occasionally
compared the opposition to nationalist Nazi collaborators
during WWII. In recent weeks, state media has expanded this
comparison.

--Western radio, such as VOA and Radio Liberty, are staffed
by "former fascists and bloody revolutionaries." Several
Radio Liberty staffers were named as having participated in
Nazi atrocities. (7 Dnei, January 26);

--The U.S. is a nation of killers/American leaders should be
tried, as were the Nazis at Nuremberg, for starting wars "all
over the world." (BT, February 3);

--Angry veterans complain of U.S. pressure. Referring to
current U.S. policy, the announcer said, "Hitler's ideas to
bring a new world order didn't look too scary at first, but
look how they ended." (BT, February 6);

--The U.S. uses Nazi-style propaganda against Belarus, a
country surrounded by neighbors "where SS soldiers are still
honored and where NATO rules." (Respublika, February 10).


The "Little Green Men" Category of Weirdness
--------------


8. (SBU) This category of truly bizarre and generally
offensive accusations is mainly the purview of state
newspaper Respublika, although BT television dips down to
this level with frightening regularity. Typical examples of
this sort of reporting include:

--The USG used hypnosis to turn Gorbachev and Yeltsin into
zombies in order to undermine the USSR. (Respublika, January
5);

--The CIA initiated this winter's gas crisis between Ukraine
and Russia to weaken Russia. (7 Dnei, January 5);

--SARS, bird flu, and mad cow disease were created and are
being spread by the USG to destroy European and Asian
economies, which will be the pretext for U.S. invasion. (BT,
January 10);

--The EU created the "secret CIA jails" scandal to free EU
territory of U.S. spies. (Respublika, January 11);

--"The U.S. has become an open wound in the body of the
Christian world. In that country, worshiping Satan has
become an open cult." (BT, in a new series 'Spiritual War,'
episode 'Empire of Satan,' February 6);

--The U.S. Embassy is planning to attack Belarus, with
conventional and nuclear weapons. The Embassy will refer to
this bloodshed as "liberation from dictatorship." (BT,
February 14).


Frequency Same as in 2001, Vitriol Much Worse
--------------


9. (C) Poloff discussed the recent spate of state media
attacks with three Embassy FSN Public Affairs Section (PAS)
media analysts on February 10. They agreed that the number
of media attacks was on the rise because of the March
presidential elections, as well as a number of other recent
events, namely the UK spy scandal in Russia, President Bush's
State of the Union address, and accusations of secret CIA
prisons in Europe. The group claimed that the volume of
negative reporting was no worse than in the last presidential
elections in 2001. However, over the past year Belarusian
media has come to be as vitriolic as the Soviet media was
during the height of the Cold War, willing to twist facts to
bash the West. State television channel BT, state newspaper
Respublika, and newspaper 7 Dnei are the most anti-American.
State masthead newspaper Sovietskaya Belarussia, they
claimed, attempts to be more respectable, but still covers
Lukashenko's statements attacking the West.


10. (C) The PAS analysts claimed the Presidential
Administration has regular meetings with state media
officials where they give reporting guidance and taskings.
The group pointed out that different state media organs
regularly use the same key phrases and arguments,

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demonstrating they are all playing off a master plan. State
media also follows Lukashenko's public statements closely.
Whenever Lukashenko makes an accusation, state media
reiterates it to "prove" what he says is true. As recent
evidence, the FSNs mentioned that Belarusian state media is
siding with the Muslim world against the West over the Danish
cartoons. Claiming this goes against Belarusian national
identity (which identifies itself with Europe, not the Middle
East),the PAS group agreed the GOB ordered its media to
defend its pariah state friends.


11. (C) The PAS group commented that since the GOB appointed
new heads for the state TV channels (reftel) in late
December, state TV has run several programs and commentaries
accusing the West of vast conspiracies against the Slavic
World. As part of this campaign, state media is comparing
the West more frequently to Nazi Germany, and often claims
NATO is preparing to attack Russia. The PAS analysts also
argued that state media has targeted Ambassador Krol
directly. Knowing Ambassador values his friendly contacts
with many Belarusian veterans, state TV recently found
several veterans to compare U.S. foreign policy with that of
Nazi Germany.


12. (C) This group argued that, in their experience, state
media employees generally feel no shame over such stories.
One of the PAS FSNs was an announcer for a state TV morning
show before being recently fired. He said that at state TV
there is a core of true Lukashenko believers. The rest of
the staff is either cynical older employees wanting to keep
their jobs, or recent young hires from journalism school.
(Comment: Poloffs have recently noticed that most state TV
reporters at events and on air are very young. The
experienced and professional reporters from a year ago can no
longer be found.)


Comment
--------------


13. (C) Lukashenko needs an external enemy to detract from
internal problems and shore up his own support. The U.S.
remains public enemy #1, but EU countries, Ukraine and
Georgia are all victims of the regime's smear campaign. Post
expects the level of media attacks to drop somewhat after the
election, but a steady stream of false accusations and
outrageous and offensive reporting about the U.S. and its
policies will likely remain. While most Belarusians claim to
distrust state media, Post has seen evidence that this flood
of negative reporting is swaying the opinions of the
Belarusian people against the West, even among some with
exposure to Europe and the United States. Moreover, in the
absence of objective information about the West and their own
country, Belarusians have nothing but the state media upon
which to build their worldview. End comment.
Krol