EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - April 28, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000462 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - April 28, 2006 Ref: Minsk 459 ¶1. The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy Minsk. -------------- Post Elections -------------- ¶2. Lebedko Fined $30 for Swearing On April 25, Minsk Sovetsky district judge Oksana Relyavo found United Civic Party chairman Anatoly Lebedko guilty of petty hooliganism under Article 156 of the Adminstrative Offense Code and fined him BYR 62,000 [USD 30] for using obscenities on March 15, which insulted police officers and the President. Lebedko thanked the judge for expeditiously deciding his case and for not imprisoning him, thereby allowing him to participate in the Chernobyl march scheduled for April 26. -------------- Human Rights -------------- ¶3. Activists Receive Jail Sentences for Chernobyl March On April 27, Ten Plus Coalition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich and Party of Communists of Belarus chairman Sergei Kalyakin received 15 and 14 days in jail, respectively, for participating in an "unauthorized" demonstration. The Minsk City Executive Committee granted permission for the opposition political parties to stage a march from the National Academy of Sciences to Bangalor Square in honor of the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl. Milinkevich and other coalition leaders organized a separate unsanctioned march from downtown Yanki Kupaly Park to the National Academy of Sciences. (See reftel for details.) On the same day, Belarusian Popular Front leader Vintsuk Vyachorka and independent trade union leader Aleksandr Bukhovstov were sentenced to 15 days in jail for participating in the Chernobyl March. On April 28, youth group "Malady Front" leader Dmitriy Dashkevich was sentenced to 14 days in prison for participating in the April 26 protest. ¶4. MFA Wants "Just the Facts" in the 2006 IRF Report On April 27, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the USG to present a balanced 2006 International Religious Freedom (IRF) Report that utilizes GOB-provided information and is free of distorted facts. MFA spokesperson Andrei Popov characterized the general tone of the 2005 IRF report as "factitious" in nature, based on unreliable sources and limited official information from Belarus' government agencies. Popov claimed, "Official [U.S.] authorities intentionally discredit Belarus' international image, deliberately avoiding covering positive ;[developments]...to conceal them from the American and international public." In addition, the MFA encouraged the USG to include a section in the report which assesses religious freedom in America to really demonstrate to the entire world the USA's commitment to the democratic values that the administration of the American president declares so broadly." ¶5. Belarus' Oldest Independent Newspaper Faces Closure On April 18, the Minsk city government denied the Belarusian language private weekly "Nasha Niva" the right to have a legal address in Minsk, which could lead to the paper's closure of the country's oldest independent newspaper. Minsk City Executive Committee deputy head Mikhail Titenkov explained that the Committee "does not consider it expedient to have the newspaper based in Minsk." The Committee linked their decision to the recent arrest of the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Andrei Dynko, who was sentenced to 10 days in jail following the March 19 elections on charges of swearing. On the same day, the Ministry of Communication denied the newspaper's request for a distribution and subscription license. If closed, the newspaper plans to continue publishing on the Internet. ¶6. American Bar Association NGO Closed On April 27, independent news source Belapan reported that the Belarusian authorities have refused to reregister the American Bar Association's Central and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA CEELI) office in Belarus, claiming that the "permit to open the office has lost effect because of the expiration of its validity." The GOB refused to comment further on its reason for the March 31 refusal. ABA CEELI opened in 1997 to provide information and technical support to Belarus' law community. ¶7. Charges Against Poles "Suspended" Grodno police on April 17 suspended criminal prosecution of MINSK 00000462 002 OF 003 four Union of Belarusian Poles (UBP) members Andrei Poczobut, Andrei Pisalnik, Joseph Porzecki, and Wieslaw Kiewlak. Poczobut told reporters that he received a letter from the investigator that said the case was "suspended" until more material was received from Poland, meaning that neither he or his colleagues would be allowed to travel abroad. The police in 2005 imposed a foreign travel ban on the four UBP activists after a pro-government member of the UBP accused them of making physical threats. -------------- Economy -------------- ¶8. Difficulties Predicted in Covering Budget After July 1 On April 25, Finance Minister Nikolai Korbut announced that Belarus might have difficulty in financing state budget expenditures after July 1 due to a deficit in budget revenues. First quarter government revenues barely exceeded expenditures. Korbut added that tensions emerged when some state-owned companies, who are restructuring their debts, were exempt from payments to the state budget. Korbut warned that if the Finance Ministry and the National Bank of Belarus do not coordinate their policies more thoroughly, Belarus would not be able to collect the necessary BYR 500 billion to finance the deficit. ¶9. Belarus Must Stop Importing On April 25, Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov urged Belarus to reduce unnecessary imports. In 2005, Belarus' imports rose 54 percent, totaling USD 2.848 billion. Martynov lamented the 55 percent rise in imports of foreign consumer goods, claiming that Belarus has surrendered its domestic market to foreign producers. Martynov called for a plan of action that would require that Belarus either stop making uncompetitive goods and redirect investments to export-oriented production or find ways to boost the competitive power of Belarusian goods for domestic and international markets. ¶10. Inventories Rise 32 Percent On April 19, the Ministry of Statistics and Analysis announced that in January-March, industrial enterprises finished product inventories increased 32 percent to USD 1.25 billion. Inventories accounted for 58.3 percent of the average monthly output on April 1. The textile and clothing industry accounted for the largest proportion of unsold goods, followed by the metalworking and machine-building industry and building material industry. Fuel stockpiles fell 3.5 percent to 8.7 percent of the monthly output, ferrous metals dropped 1.5 percent to 9.7 percent of monthly output, and chemical/petrochemical products fell 2.8 percent to 60.4 percent of monthly output. Stockpiles of timber, pulp and paper increased 1.3 percent to 75.3 percent of the monthly output and food stockpiles rose 9.7 percent to 61.4 percent of the monthly output. The Ministry of Agriculture, the Belarusian State Light Industry Concern, the Belarusian State Consumer Goods Production and Sale Concern, the Belarusian Pharmaceutical Industry Concern, and the Belarusian State Food Industry Concern failed to meet their targets for reducing the finished product inventory. ¶11. Lukashenko Controls All Gold Lukashenko on April 20 signed a law granting him sole power in deciding on the use of Belarus' gold reserves and reserve fund. [Note: Lukashenko was previously only allowed to coordinate the use of the gold stock.] The stock will now be stored at the National Bank of Belarus in the Ministry of Finance's account, thereby allowing the stock to gather interest, which will be used to replenish the state budget. -------------- International Relations -------------- ¶12. Canada Refuses to Refuel Belarusian PM's Plane On April 19, Canada refused to allow Prime Minister Sergey Sidorsky's plane to refuel en route to Cuba. The Canadian MFA said it had strong concerns about Belarus' commitment to democratization and human rights and was not prepared to facilitate the entry of senior-level representatives of Lukashenko's regime on Canadian soil. Belarusian Ambassador to Cuba Viktor Kozintsey called Canada's actions "childish" and opined that the U.S. was "more friendly" than Canada. Sidorsky's plane refueled in Boston instead, but was not granted the same privilege for the return flight. On the way to Cuba, Iceland allowed Sidorsky's plane to refuel before MINSK 00000462 003 OF 003 reaching Canada, but only on the condition that the head of the Presidential Administration Ideology Office Oleg Proleskovsky and Chairman of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company were not on board. In order to comply with Iceland's conditions, the two Belarusian officials did not accompany the delegation to Cuba. -------------- Civil Society -------------- ¶13. Seven GOB Officials on Trial for Fabricating Charges On April 27, seven Grodno environmental protection officials are to stand trial for allegedly charging individuals with violations they never committed. Investigators allege that these officials fabricated charges of environmental crimes in order to meet mandated quotas for detecting offenses. The seven officials were charged under the Criminal Code for power abuse. ¶14. Housing Maintenance and Utility Rates to Increase Up to 25% On April 18, the Council of Ministers announced plans to raise housing maintenance and utility rates over the next four months. Housing maintenance rates will jump 25 percent from BYR 180 to 225 [USD .08 to .10] per one square meter of housing on April 15, while electricity and natural gas will increase six percent on May 1. Heat, hot and cold water supplies and waste removal costs face up to 15 percent price hikes by the end of the summer. All price increases, however, must comply with Lukashenko's directive, which mandates that households' monthly utility bill grown no more than USD 5 per year. -------------- Quote of the Week -------------- ¶15. During his Easter address at the country's main Russian Orthodox Church on April 24, Lukashenko took an apparent jab at the West and its values: "Certain forces that seek world dominance [are attempting to] make the Belarusians give up their spiritual roots, traditions, and culture, force them to build their lives on the basis of uniform foreign standards. But we are not going to imitate blindly others' experience and lifestyle, especially today when it is obvious that many fundamental principles imposed on us do not strengthen but rather destroy our spiritual values. Instead of good, they bring evil to society: bitter disagreements, permissiveness, sinful lust for gain and violence." KROL