Russian Printing Press Stops Producing Independent

UNCLAS MINSK 000287

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

KIEV FOR USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV BO
SUBJECT: Russian Printing Press Stops Producing Independent
Belarusian Newspapers

Ref: 2005 Minsk 1193

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED: PROTECT ACCORDINGLY


1. (SBU) Summary: The Smolensk Printing Plant annulled its
contracts with independent newspapers Narodnaya Volya (NV),BDG
Gazeta, and the democratic Communist Party of Belarus' Tovarishch
on March 13, citing an overwhelming workload. The plant director
later stated that the annulments were due to the papers' failure to
pay their debts and their opposition activities. Editors of the
newspapers consider the move politically motivated and believe the
GOB found a way to influence Smolensk authorities. The Smolensk
Printing Plant had long been a haven for Belarus' independent
media, much of which is no longer allowed to print in Belarus.
Sergey Kalyakin, campaign manager for Ten Plus Coalition
presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich and leader of the
Communist Party of Belarus, told Pol/Econ Chief on March 15 he will
likely be able to print his party's newspaper in Moscow. End
Summary.


2. (U) On March 13, independent news sources reported that the
Smolensk (Russia) Printing Plant annulled its printing contracts
with three of Belarus' leading independent newspapers Narodnaya
Volya (NV),BDG Delovaya Gazeta, and the democratic Communist Party
of Belarus' Tovarishch. Director of the Smolensk Printing Plant
Anatoly Guchev cited the papers' failure to pay as a reason for the
annulment of the contracts. However, he later said that the
decision was due to other economic and political reasons. Guchev
claimed that the papers were paying with "someone else's money" and
his plant did not want to be involved in the newspapers' "political
games." He allegedly did not understand why licensed Belarusian
newspapers were printing in Russia and stated that he would not
allow his printing plant to be used for an "election struggle."
According to Guchev, if the papers broke Belarusian law, then the
Belarusian Information Ministry should strip them of their
licenses.


3. (SBU) On March 14, deputy editor of NV Svetlana Kalinkina told
Poloffs that the printing plant told them it was annulling the
contracts because the plant was "overwhelmed" with work and did not
have sufficient capacities to keep printing NV. The plant gave BDG
and Tovarishch the same reasons, leading Kalinkina to believe that
the printing press was acting under instructions from Smolensk
authorities. Kalinkina told Emboffs on March 15 that although she
found another printing company in Smolensk that was willing to
print her newspaper, Belarusian security forces seized the entire
print run Q 27,000 copies Q when the newspapers were brought across
the border into Belarus in the evening of March 14.


4. (U) Editor of BDG Petr Martsev and editor of Tovarishch Sergey
Voznyak called the incident "completely unexpected," politically
motivated, and a sign that Russians were trying to "play it safe."
Martsev admitted his paper did not always pay the printing plant on
time, but the plant had always been patient and more than likely
was afraid that BDG would not have money to pay its bills after the
elections. Voznyak said his paper had no outstanding debts with
the printing plant and posited that the GOB had found a way to
influence the Smolensk authorities. Voznyak plans to sue the
Smolensk Printing Plant for annulling a contract without official
warning and without agreement from both parties.


5. (SBU) Comment: Ten Plus Coalition campaign manager and
Communist Party of Belarus leader Sergey Kalyakin told Pol/Econ
Chief on March 15 his party's paper Tovarishch will likely be able
to print in Moscow, but he noted the Smolensk contract annulment
was a setback to the Ten Plus Coalition's information campaign.
This latest incident is just one in a series of measures taken by
the GOB to limit the public's access to independent information.
In December and January, the state-owned newspaper stand monopoly
and post office Belpochta refused to sell and distribute dozens of
independent newspapers (reftel). On March 3, authorities seized a
250,000-copy print-run of NV and on March 14 authorities seized
another NV print-run. Political activists are arrested and
sometimes charged with transporting, distributing, or even
possessing independent newspapers. The recent contract annulments
with Smolensk are a serious setback, as the printing plant was the
best alternative for these papers due to its proximity and the open
border with Russia.

KROL