EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - June 2, 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000602 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON EPET EAGR ENRG BO SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - June 2, 2006 MINSK 00000602 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy Minsk. -------------- International Relations -------------- ¶2. Belarus Skeptical about UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur On May 31, following consultations with representatives from Russia's MFA, Belarus' Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Gaisenok said that Belarus would express misgivings regarding the possible appointment of a special rapporteur on Belarus by the newly formed UN Human Rights Council. Belarus did not apply for membership in the new 47-member council, which replaced the Human Rights Commission as of May 9. Gaisenok explained that Belarus regards membership in ECOSOC and other UN agencies as more important. However, he said that Belarus considers the Council's activities to be very important and may offer several proposals to help guide the Council along UN principles. Gaisenok expressed hope that the Council would be free of political bias and treat all states equally. ¶3. Belarus to Discuss Partial Transfer of Oil Revenues to Russia On May 31, Prime-Tass reported that the Tariff and Non-tariff regulation commission with the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia plans to address the distribution of the export duties on crude oil and oil products this month. The commission will consider transferring a part of Belarus' revenues from exports of oil products to the Russian federal budget per Article 4 of the Customs Union Agreement between Belarus and Russia of November 1995. In 2005, Belarus imported 19.2 million tons of crude from Russia, up 8.7% from last year, and re-exported 13.487 million tons of oil products, up 4%. Belarus earned an average of USD 360 per ton for its oil exports, while it paid an average price of USD 218 per ton for imports from Russia. ¶4. Belarus Seeks Coordination of Sugar Examination with Russia In a letter to Mikhail Fradkov, Prime Minister of Russia, Belarusian Prime Minster Sergey Sidorsky wrote that Belarus needs to coordinate sugar examination procedures with Russia. According to Sidorsky, differences in examination procedures between Belarus and Russia resulted in the seizure of 30 train carloads of sugar, worth about USD 1.1 million, by the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of Russia. Despite being marked "beet sugar," FCS confiscated the entire load claiming it was cane sugar. According to the GOB, regulations in effect at that time allowed Belarus to classify cane sugar as beet sugar. -------------- Civil Society -------------- ¶5. BKGB To Bring NGO to Court, Chief Alleges Terrorist Plot On May 31, BKGB Chief Stepan Sukhorenko told Belarus' House of Representatives that the criminal case against four members of the NGO Partnerstvo (Partnership) would be brought to court soon. Sukhorenko's announcement came 100 days after Timofey Dranchuk, Aleksandr Shalaiko, Nikolay Astreiko, and Enira Bronitskaya were jailed and charged with operating an illegal organization that encroaches on people's rights. Dranchuk's sister, Yuliya, stated that they had learned that the closed-door trial would start in late June. Neither Dranchuk's parents nor his sister have been allowed to meet with him since his arrest. If the four are found guilty, they could be sentenced to up to three years in prison. Sukhorenko also accused Partnerstvo of planning terrorist attacks during Belarus' recent election and alleged that "some people from abroad" were involved in the plot. He specifically accused David Hamilton with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) of financing these operations with USD 12 million through NDI's Kiev office. ¶6. National Lottery to Support Pro-government Youth Union On May 25, Aleksandr Lukashenko signed a presidential edict authorizing a new national lottery in Belarus for financing activities of the pro-government Belarusian Republican Youth Movement (BRSM). The Finance Ministry will create the online lottery called "Yunost" (Youth). RMTz Yunost, a tourist agency established by the BRSM, will oversee the sale of lottery ticket and the distribution of prizes. The Finance Ministry will supervise the lottery's organization and operations. The proceeds of the lottery will finance BRSM's activities, the salaries of the organization's senior officials, and the maintenance of BRSM's Central Committee. According to Lukashenko's spokesperson, the goals of the lottery edict are to improve state youth policy and support the activities of the BRSM in addressing the most important youth problems. MINSK 00000602 002.2 OF 002 -------------- Economy -------------- ¶7. Gazprom Threatens to Quadruple Gas Prices for Belarus On May 30, Gazprom reportedly announced that it expects to raise natural gas prices for Belarus from USD 46.68 to USD 200 per 1,000 cubic meters. Gazprom had earlier announced their intention to triple prices. According to the newspaper "Kommersant," Gazprom threatened to quadruple gas prices after Belarus refused to cede control of its pipelines to Russia, which Gazprom has demanded for years in exchange for low gas prices. Following a similar pricing dispute in 2004, Gazprom briefly cut gas supplies to Belarus. ¶8. Belarus, Lukoil form Joint Venture On May 29, President Alexander Lukashenko met with the head of Russia's Lukoil, Vagit Alekperov, to discuss increasing cooperation on several energy projects. Belarus and Lukoil have agreed to a joint venture for the production of additives to engine oils. Lukoil is one of the biggest purchasers of Belarusian mechanical engineering products. Alekperov said that Belarus and Lukoil have many common interests. ¶9. Belarus' Beer Output Up 16.4% On May 30, Belarus' Statistics Ministry reported that Belarusian beer companies increased their output of beer by 16.4% on the year in January-April to 8.9 million decaliters. Belarus' state-owned food holding Belgospischeprom produced 4.3 million decaliters of beer, up 7.1%. Independent companies produced 1.756 million decaliters, an increase of 112.8% on the year. Beer sales rose 29.3% on the year in January-April to 4.776 million decaliters. Beer prices rose 6.4% in the period and 0.2% on the month in April. ¶10. Belarus Needs $21 million to Build Wood Waste Storehouse On May 30, Belarus' Deputy Minister of Energy, Mikhail Mikhadyuk, said that the Belarusian energy ministry needs USD 21 million to build a storehouse for waste wood. Belarus plans to build 15 waste wood-fired power plants in addition to the one operating in Osipovichi, Mogilyov region. However, there are still several unresolved problems, including fuel storage and delivery, fuel quality and ash disposal. Mikhadyuk said that the Ministry of Forest Management should be responsible for collecting and building stocks of waste wood. According to Mikhadyuk, the Belarusian government plans to spend USD 750 million on a program to increase consumption of local fuels over the next five years. -------------- Quote of the Week -------------- ¶11. Earlier this spring, Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov ordered that professional and amateur performing groups formed by police officers and Interior Troops hold concerts in recreation aras and children' summer camps between May 1 and September 1. On Ma 29, Olga Karach, an opposition member of the Viebsk city council, offered this comment: "Theproblem of our country is that everybody does somene else's work. Factory managers organize electins, school headmasters are engaged in ideologicalwork, and the police give amateur concerts insted of catching criminals." KROL