EMBASSY MINSK BIWEEKLY REPORT - March 31, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MINSK 000370 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK BIWEEKLY REPORT - March 31, 2006 ¶1. The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy Minsk. -------------- Post Elections -------------- ¶2. Milinkevich Tells All in Poland During his March 29 trip to Poland, former opposition candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich opined that the democratic movement in Belarus will eventually succeed despite President Lukashenko's repressive policies. Milinkevich met with Polish parliamentary speaker Marek Jurek and President Lech Kacynski in order to tell the Polish Parliament "what is really happening in Belarus." Milinkevich also attended a meeting where Polish government officials and university rectors signed an agreement to admit up to 300 students who are expelled from Belarusian universities for participating in political demonstrations. Milinkevich's visit followed statements from the Polish Prime Minister that encourages visa bans, but not economic sanctions on Belarus. ¶3. Former Ambassador Transferred from Prison to Hospital On March 29, authorities transferred Poland's former ambassador to Belarus Mariusz Maszkiewicz from the Okrestina detention center-- where he was serving a 15-day prison sentence for participating in unsanctioned opposition demonstrations--to a local hospital. Since the doctors suspect that Maszkiewicz suffered a heart attack, he will remain at the hospital for several more days to undergo a full medical examination. ¶4. New Website Aids Political Prisoners On March 30, activists launched a website (www.akrescina.org) to offer useful tips for people convicted or prosecuted on political grounds, as well as to provide first hand accounts, latest news, and photographs from persecuted activists and their family members. The article reports the website is still under construction, but that it currently provides information on permissible items for inclusion in prison care packages, links to human rights websites, and testimonials from those who have already served their sentences. The activists decided to start the site after sharing a prison cell together for several days. ¶5. Lukashenko's Friends Offer Their Congratulations Even though little has been seen of President Lukashenko following his victory speech on March 20, top politicians from friendly nations have sent their congratulations to the Belarusian president on his "landslide" victory during the elections. Lukashenko received congratulations from the past and current leaders of friendly states, including from former Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov and Azeri President Heydar Aliyev. -------------- Human Rights -------------- ¶6. Russian Political Analyst Ordered to Leave Belarus On March 27, Belarusian authorities ordered Russian political analyst Vladimir Suzdaltsev to leave Belarus within 10 days and not return for five years. This is particularly cruel as Suzdaltsev's wife and children are Belarusian citizens. [Note: This deportation appears to contradict the principles of the Belarusian-Russian Union State, where citizens can live and move freely between both countries.] Suzdaltsev recently received an envelope containing a bullet marked, "You're next." He has frequently written on the Union State. Suzdaltsev has lived in Belarus for the last 13 years with his Belarusian wife and children. New Russian Ambassador Surikov repeatedly raised Suzdaltsev's case with the GOB, who indicated that Suzdaltsev may be allowed to return earlier "if he behaves himself in Russia." ¶7. Students Likely to Face Punishment for Attending Rallies Although the deputy Education Minister on March 30 denied reports that students would be expelled for participating in last week's opposition demonstrations, the Ministry of Education (MOE) press office promised on March 29 to investigate every absence and "if there were offenses, student will be punished." The MOE's refutation followed a leak on March 24 from a MOE source, which stated that students would be punished for missing classes to participate in opposition demonstrations. Separately on March 30, Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz and rectors from Polish universities MINSK 00000370 002 OF 004 signed a declaration allowing up to 300 Belarusian students expelled from their home universities for political reasons to study at Polish universities. The European Humanities University in Vilnius, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also indicated that they are ready to accept expelled Belarusian students. ¶8. Independent Paper Chooses Online Over Print Version On March 22, independent newspaper BDG Delovaya Gazeta decided to suspend publication of its printed version in order to maintain an online version after the Russian printing house it has used since 2003 reportedly refused to continue publishing the paper. The newspaper's editor-in-chief, Pyotr Martsev, also cited problems with distribution of the printed version as a reason to cancel future production, including the authorities' refusal to allow the newspaper to use state or private distribution networks since last fall. ¶9. Independent Print-Run Seized, But One Paper Returns to the Scene On March 17, authorities seized 200,000 copies of the independent pro-opposition weekly "Tovarishch." This edition contained presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich's election program, which was not included in the state newspapers due to a missed print deadline. Editor-in-chief Sergei Voznyak stated that volunteers only were able to distribute approximately 6,500 copies. Voznyak believed that it is unlikely that the police would return the other copies. On the other hand, the independent daily "Narodnaya Volya" resumed its printing in Smolensk and distributed its first issue since the elections. ¶10. Orthodox Church Ends Relationship with Publishing Company On March 15, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus announced that it withdrew its shares from the Minsk-based publishing company, Pravoslavnaya Initiativa, which is notorious for selling anti-Semitic literature. The church head accused the company of disseminating ideas aimed at causing rifts in society, which is inconsistent with Orthodox values. The head of the church stated that further cooperation with the publisher violates Orthodox canons and has ordered all Orthodox parishes to shun its books and to refrain from interacting with the company. -------------- Economy -------------- ¶11. Gazprom to Bring Belarus' Gas Price Up to European Levels After discussions with Belarusian Energy Minister Aleksandr Ageyev and Beltransgaz director Dmitry Kazakov, Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller on March 30 warned that Russian gas prices for Belarus would be raised to European levels by 2007. The GOB plans to submit its proposed 2007 cooperation terms to Gazprom by April 30. Beltransgaz held a general meeting of shareholders on March 29 to introduce changes to the company's charter, a move which many consider to be linked to Gazprom's plans to acquire the Belarusian gas company. [Note: Gazprom has been trying for years to acquire a controlling share of Beltransgaz, which would cement Gazprom's control over western transit routes.] ¶12. BelAZ To Supply Dump Trucks to China On March 17, BelAZ announced that it was the winner of a contract to supply China with 220-ton dump trucks. BelAZ Director General Pavel Mariyev said that the company hopes to get a "solid foothold in th Chinese market." Mariyev said that BelAZ plansto submit fourmore id or supply contracts in China this year. BelAZ has sent its first shipmentof dump trucks and recently opened a service cener and storage facility for them in China. ¶13. Regions Protect Local Goods from Competition On March 27, the Ministry of Economy announced that economic entities and the government violated 81 anti-trust laws on the Belarusian market, primarily at the regional level. In an effort to support local producers, nearly all the regions have restrictions or bans on sales of other regions' goods, including bread, milk, ice-cream, mayonnaise, pasta, beer and liquor. The Ministry of Economy also announced there are 629 monopolies in Belarus on the local level. ¶14. Number of Individual Entrepreneurs in Minsk Dwindled On March 30, Minsk City Economy Committee deputy head Aleksandr MINSK 00000370 003 OF 004 Kalinovsky announced that the number of individual entrepreneurs in Minsk shrunk 13 percent in 2005 to approximately 35,000 as of January 1, 2006. The number of sole proprietors in Minsk has been falling since 2001. Last year, the private sector supplied 48 percent of the city's tax revenues; individual entrepreneurs' tax payments constituted only 2.5 percent of the private sector's share. -------------- Foreign Relations -------------- ¶15. Canada Limits Relations with Belarus On March 28, Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay announced that Canada will limit its official relations with Belarus to human rights, consular assistance, clearing landmines and democratic development. This decision was prompted by Belarus' flawed presidential elections and followed the imprisonment of Canadian journalist Frederick Lavoie, who was arrested during the opposition demonstrations following the presidential elections. Canada does not have an embassy in Belarus. ¶16. Polish Diplomat Stopped at the Belarus Border On March 26, Belarus customs officials stopped Polish consul Janusz Dombrowski at the Belarusian-Polish border when, under the protection of diplomatic immunity, he refused to allow the border guards to search his vehicle. On March 27, Belarusian Television alleged that the border guards stopped Dombrowski after they received a tip that he was trying to smuggle subversive literature into Belarus. [Note: Dombrowski opened his trunk to show Polish reporters that he was only transporting food.] Dombrowski claimed that he was detained at the border for 24 hours without food and water and treated like a criminal. When Dombrowski promised to leave his car behind in Poland on March 28, he was allowed to cross the border into Belarus. Dombrowski claimed a Polish-Belarusian bilateral agreement offered him more protection than does the Vienna Convention and shielded him from being searched. There is also a report that a Polish diplomat was beaten up in his apartment in Grodno. Furthermore, the Belarusian ambassador to Poland was recalled for "consultations" last week after a row over remarks he made to the Polish press. ¶17. No More BTV in Lithuania On March 30, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (RTC) barred cable television companies from retransmitting Belarusian Television (BT) into Lithuania. [Note: BT is notorious for airing anti-Western and pro-Lukashenko programs.] RTC said that this decision was in response to BT's misinformation campaigns, including BT's allegations that Lithuania interfered in Belarus' internal affairs, coordinated opposition protests, and used its embassy in Belarus as an operation center for the opposition movement. Lithuania's media law bans misinformation and RTC maintains that its decision is only to stop companies from spreading lies, not to restrict Lithuanians' rights to watch BT. Belarus' Information Minister accused Lithuania of being "afraid of unbiased information about the situation in Belarus and its own characteristics." -------------- Military -------------- ¶18. NATO Reviews Relations Post Elections On March 29, a NATO spokesman announced that in light of the recent flawed presidential elections in Belarus, NATO is reviewing its relationship with Belarus. Since Minsk signed the "Partnership for Peace Pact" in 1995, cooperation between NATO and Belarus has consisted of low-level meetings between military officers on border control as well as NATO funding for landmine removal. The NATO ambassadors will review their options for Belarus in the coming days. The decision to review relations with Belarus follows a March 25 NATO Parliamentary Assembly declaration which condemned the way the Belarusian presidential elections were conducted and applauded the EU and U.S. decision for impose sanctions on Belarus. -------------- Sports -------------- ¶19. World Champion Bicyclist Banned for Steroid Use On March 11, the national cycling federation banned former Belarusian world champion Zinaida Stahurskaya for two years after she tested positive for steroid use before and after MINSK 00000370 004 OF 004 several races last year. Stahurskaya won the world road race title in 2000 and the women's version of the Tour de France in ¶2002. -------------- Quote of the Week -------------- ¶20. On March 27 on a Belarusian blog, an opposition member commented on state television company Belarusian Television's claim that two of its journalists suffered concussions after allegedly being beaten by an opposition mob during Milinkevich's March 25 demonstration: "It's true that we [i.e. protestors] threw snowballs at them [i.e. /BT journalists] and one person booted a journalist in the rear end. But, this leads to the obvious question where are BT journalists' brains located, if kicking them in the rear end leads to a brain concussion?" KROL