Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MINSK305
2006-03-21 15:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Minsk
Cable title:  

INDEPENDENT WEEKLY CLOSED FOR PRINTING MOHAMMED

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PREL BO 
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VZCZCXYZ0019
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSK #0305/01 0801505
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 211505Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4047
INFO RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KIEV PRIORITY 3217
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 3399
RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA PRIORITY 1627
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS PRIORITY 3620
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW PRIORITY 3273
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 0995
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USMISSION USEU PRIORITY 0063
C O N F I D E N T I A L MINSK 000305 

SIPDIS

KIEV FOR USAID
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BO
SUBJECT: INDEPENDENT WEEKLY CLOSED FOR PRINTING MOHAMMED
CARTOONS

Classified By: AMBASSADOR GEORGE KROL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B,D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L MINSK 000305

SIPDIS

KIEV FOR USAID
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BO
SUBJECT: INDEPENDENT WEEKLY CLOSED FOR PRINTING MOHAMMED
CARTOONS

Classified By: AMBASSADOR GEORGE KROL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B,D)


1. (C) Summary: The Supreme Economic Court first suspended
and then closed the independent weekly "Zgoda" for reprinting
the Mohammed cartoons as part of a commentary on the violent
protests the cartoons had sparked in the Islamic world. The
GOB, siding with Belarusian Muslims, condemned the cartoons
as an attempt to incite religious hatred and discord. Zgoda
editor Alexei Korol, who is also a senior campaign manager
for opposition candidate Aleksandr Kozulin, said that the
paper's closure was a political move to further limit
Belarusian citizens' access to independent media before the
elections. In a nationally televised speech at the Third
All-Belarus Assembly, President Lukashenko promised to close
the newspaper and jail its managers. End Summary.

Supreme Court Closed Weekly "Zgoda" Over Mohammed Cartoons
-------------- --------------


2. (U) Supreme Economic Court (SEC) judge Oksana Mikhnyuk
upheld the Ministry of Information's (MOI) appeal to first
suspend (March 7) and then close (March 17) the independent
weekly "Zgoda" for repeated violations. (Note: Zgoda is a
publication associated with the Belarusian Social Democratic
Party "Hramada" which is led by opposition presidential
candidate Aleksandr Kozulin.) On February 22, the newspaper
received its second official warning from the MOI for
violating Article 5 of the Media law after it reprinted
several of the satirical Prophet Muhammed cartoons that first
appeared in the Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The
cartoons, however, were part of a larger article about the
deadly protests and violence in the Islamic world that were
sparked by the cartoons. On February 22, the Belarusian
Committee for State Security (BKGB) instituted criminal
proceedings under Article 130 of the Criminal Code for
"incitement of racial, national or religious enmity or
discord," after searching the newsp
aper's headquarters, seizing four computers and interrogating
editor Alexei Korol and editor-in-chief Aleksandr Sdvizhkov.

Zgoda Editor Defends Publication, Calls Attack "Political"

-------------- --------------


3. (C) After condemning the KGB's investigation as "a
political move," Korol told Poloff on February 24 that at the
same time the KGB was interrogating him and his
editor-in-chief, Belarusian state TV was running a report
about the KGB's search of the Zgoda offices, suggesting that
the state TV had prior knowledge of the KGB's search and
seizure plans. At that time, Korol, who is also a senior
member of Kozulin's campaign team, reassured poloff that
neither his paper nor Kozulin's image would suffer from this
attack since the reputations of both are already
well-established.

Zgoda Editor Links Closure to Elections, Calls Trial Unfair
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) After the trial, Korol linked the Zgoda closure to
the presidential elections, saying that the SEC's decision
was part of the authorities' plan to eradicate independent
media before the elections. Korol said that the authorities
consider even feeble attempts by the independent media's to
disseminate information to the people to be a threat to the
regime.


5. (C) Korol reported that the trial lasted only 50 minutes
and that the judge did not carefully examine all the
information. For instance, Korol claimed that the judge
ignored the fact that he was outside of Minsk when the issue
came out and the fact that Korol stopped the issue's
circulation and destroyed the remaining copies when he found
out about the article. (Note: The newspaper printed
approximately 3,000 copies of the issue, but distributed less
than 25 per cent of them. On February 24, Korol told poloff
that he had "no problem" with the article, but stopped
distribution because of the reaction to the cartoons,
although he claimed that these cartoons were not exactly the
same cartoons that appeared in the Danish newspaper, but were
cartoons that made fun of the original cartoons. Poloff
obtained a copy of the issue and the cartoons appear to be
the same cartoons that appeared in the Danish newspaper.)

Belarusian Muslims Condemn Cartoons, Praise GOB Response
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Chief mufti of the Belarus Muslim Association
Abu-Bekir Shabanovich condemned Zgoda's publication of the
cartoons. On March 7, he publicly welcomed the criminal
proceedings that had been launched against Zgoda, describing
the authorities' response as justified and appropriate. He
went on to praise the long-standing peace between the
religious faiths in Belarus and expressed his hope that
"those who have broken the law would be brought to justice."

GOB Officials Promised to Close Paper, Launch Criminal Case
-------------- --------------


7. (U) On March 3 in his nationally televised closing speech
to the Third All-Belarus Assembly, President Lukashenko
promised that the newspaper would be closed and that its
managers would go to jail. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
showed equal disdain for the newspaper in its February 22
statement that condemned the publication of the caricatures
on Prophet Mohammed in Zgoda as an intentional act to incite
religious discord and fuel resentment and distrust between
ethnic and religious minorities living in Belarus. The MFA
statement claimed, "Support of inter-confessional peace is
one of the basic priorities of the Belarusian state." The
statement promised that the MOI would ask the Prosecutor
General's Office to launch a criminal case.

Future of Zgoda and Korol
--------------


8. (C) When Poloff inquired about Korol's plans for Zgoda on
March 19, Korol said that the future of his paper would
depend largely on what happens in Belarus following the
elections. Korol mentioned that he has friends who would
help him publish his paper, perhaps under a different name.
Korol also told Poloff that if the GOB takes further actions
against him after the elections, he would try to seek a
refugee visa to the U.S., saying, "immigrating is better than
going to jail."
Krol