EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - SEPTEMBER 8,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MINSK 000994 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON EPET ENRG KTDB BO SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - SEPTEMBER 8, 2006 MINSK 00000994 001.4 OF 004 ¶1. (U) The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy Minsk. TABLE OF CONTENTS LOCAL ELECTIONS -------------- - Opposition Party Forms Bloc For Independence (para. 2) - Opposition Coalition Secretariat In Operation (para. 3) - Brest Opposition Questions Council Members (para. 4) OPPOSITION POLITICS -------------- - Milinkevich to Sue National Television (para. 5) - Entrepreneurs Join Political Council (para. 6) - Convicted Opposition Activist Moved to New Location (para. 7) CIVIL SOCIETY -------------- - Church Praying for Help Against Forced Eviction (para. 8) - Police Search Activists' Apartments (para. 9) - Partnership Families to File Suit Against Authorities (para. 10) INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS -------------- - Union Audit Results in Firings (para. 11) TRADE AND INVESTMENT -------------- - Embassy Hosts Luncheon With U.S. Businesses (para. 12) - Breweries Up for Foreign Investment (para. 13) - Belarus Oil Refinery Representation in Boston (para. 14) DOMESTIC ECONOMICS -------------- - State Monopoly to Lower Internet Prices, Eventually (para. 15) - Gold Sales Increase (para. 16) - QUOTE OF THE WEEK (para. 17) -------------- Local Elections -------------- ¶2. (U) Opposition Party Forms Bloc for Independence The Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) on September 4 agreed to organize a "Forum for Independence" in October to unite all opposition groups into a "Belarusian Bloc" or "Bloc for Independence." According to BPF deputy chairman Aleksey Yanukevich, the forum would unite political parties, NGOs, artists, intellectuals, and prominent public figures to determine a common approach to solving Belarus' current political and economical situation. Participants would adopt a declaration and become members of the Bloc's organizing committee. Single opposition candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich would be the chair. The Bloc's main objectives are to show citizens, the international community, and Russia that Belarus' civil society and political groups will preserve the country's independence. ¶3. (U) Opposition Coalition Secretariat In Operation The United Democratic Forces (UDF) Political Council on September 5 adopted the composition of the UDF's coordinating body during local elections, the Secretariat. Based on Milinkevich's pre-election camp, the Secretariat consists of 24 members, including 16 from the BPF, one from the Party of Progress, one from the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (BSDP) Hramada, and one Malady Front member. Chair of the Secretariat Viktor Ivashkevich noted that not all UDF organizations were included because they failed to submit candidates before the deadline. The Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC) was allegedly preoccupied with reregistration of their party while the United Civic Party (UPC) simply did not participate. ¶4. (U) Brest Opposition Questions Council Members Head of the Brest regional BSDP Igor Maslovskiy on September 5 sent letters to six pro-government members of the city soviet demanding they explain how their tenure in office fulfilled their campaign promises, improved their districts, and lowered the price of utility services. Maslovskiy added that the local BPC would send approximately 20 similar letters to other Brest city council MINSK 00000994 002.4 OF 004 members. -------------- Opposition Politics -------------- ¶5. (U) Milinkevich To Sue National Television Milinkevich and his wife Inna Kulei announced on September 4 their intentions to sue the state-controlled First National Channel (BT) for slander. On August 23, BT's news program Panorama claimed Milinkevich's son Vitovt was expelled from a training course in Poland for starting a drunken brawl. On August 27, BT alleged that Inna's son dodged the draft by filing a fake health certificate at Brest's induction station. The last straw for Milinkevich was BT's September 3 expose accusing Milinkevich's eldest son of buying houses in their home village Bershty (Grodno Oblast) with Western money. Milinkevich called the accusations absolute lies. Milinkevich admitted he purchased two houses in Bershty, but said they were old and abandoned and would be used as part of his new agro-tourism business. ¶6. (U) Entrepreneurs Join Political Council On September 5, the UDF Political Council granted seats to representatives of a politically active market vendors group. In an interview with independent online news source BelaPan, Milinkevich welcomed the entrepreneurs' decision to work with opposition forces and abandon their old practice of avoiding politics. Milinkevich claimed the UDF would work with any entrepreneur group that shares the opposition's goals. ¶7. (U) Convicted Opposition Activist Moved to New Location Authorities on September 5 relocated opposition leader Nikolay Statkevich, who is serving a two-year restricted freedom sentence for organizing an unsanctioned rally, from Sitnitsa in the Brest oblast to Pukhovichi in the Minsk oblast. The decision came after a prosecutor "discovered" that Statkevich, a Minsk resident, had no right to serve his term in the Brest oblast. Statkevich said his father, who lives near Sitnitsa, requested that Statkevich serve his time in Sitnitsa so that he could easily visit his son. Statkevich's father is 79 and battling cancer. Statkevich concluded that his political activities were the reason for his transfer. -------------- Civil Society -------------- ¶8. (U) Church Praying For Help Against Forced Eviction Members of the New Life Church on September 4 began a week of fast and prayers in a standoff against the Minsk city authorities' eviction order. Parishioners meet daily at 19:00 at the New Life Church to pray for God's assistance. The church's legal consultant Sergey Lukanin expects Protestants throughout Belarus and those from abroad to join the effort, noting that Christians from 63 countries have recently visited the church's website. On July 21, the Minsk City Economic Court ordered the New Life Church to sell its converted cow barn to the city for USD 17,500 and pay USD 250 dollars in litigation fees. The local authorities instructed the church members to vacate the premises by September 1, but the GOB has yet to enforce this ultimatum. Local authorities attempted to gain access to the building on September 8, but were denied access by the church's guard. ¶9. (U) Police Search Activists' Apartments Police in Vitebsk and Minsk on September 5 seapched three apartments belonging to youth activists, claiming the searches were connected to the politically based criminal cases of activists Kristina Shatikova, Denis Denisov, and Tatyana Yelovaya. Vitebsk investigator Olga Zil authorized the searches at Zhanna Yamaikina, Nikita Abramenko, and Yuriy Yegorov's apartments, seizing cell phones, computers, and leaflets. Abramenko was taken to a police station for questioning. ¶10. (U) Partnership Families To File Suit Against Authorities During a September 5 press conference, Valeriy Dranchuk, father of imprisoned election observer of the NGO Partnership Timofey Dranchuk, announced plans to sue the authorities for violating family members' human rights by denying relatives visits with the jailed Partnership activists during pre-detention. Aleksandr Shalaiko, a recently released Partnership activist, suggested the suit be filed after the Minsk City Court decides on Partnership leader Nikolay Astreiko's and Dranchuk's appeals on September 15. MINSK 00000994 003.4 OF 004 On the same day, Astreiko's mother, Yevgeniya, was barred from visiting her son at Volodarskiy Prison in Minsk. Prison authorities claimed that Mrs. Astreiko's visitors pass expired and told her to apply to the Minsk City Court chairman for an extension. However, Astreiko's father was not allowed to see the chairman and told that granting permission for visits would be discussed after the September 15 appeal. -------------- International Relations -------------- ¶11. (U) Union Audit Results In Firings Chairman of Russia's Audit Chamber Sergey Stepashin told reporters September 5 in Minsk that his agency's audits of the Belarusian- Russian Union State budget resulted in "major staff replacements" within Union agencies. Criminal cases were not pending, however, because a joint-prosecutorial office of the Union does not exist, making it unclear to which prosecutors, Belarusian or Russian, the evidence should be sent to. In 2004, Stepashin ruled that funds going to the Union State budget were missing or misappropriated. -------------- Trade and Investment -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Embassy Hosts Luncheon For U.S. Business Representation Charge Jonathan Moore September 7 hosted a luncheon with 25 representatives of U.S. businesses. The business people explained to Emboffs the peculiarities of Belarusian regulatory requirements, the entry of Russian investors into the country, their successes and failures, and their mixed expectations for the Belarusian economy. Charge stressed that one of the Embassy's responsibilities is to assist U.S. business in Belarus when needed. The business leaders thanked Charge for the luncheon and requested that the Embassy host similar events in the near future. ¶13. (U) Breweries Up For Foreign Investment The Presidential Administration's press service September 5 announced plans to hold an open investment tender to sell stakes in brewing companies. Priorbank, the largest private bank in Belarus, has managed the state's shares in the largest breweries since 2003. After a meeting with Priorbank CEO Sergey Kostyuchenko, Lukashenko decided breweries were ready for foreign investors. According to Kostyuchenko, three of the world's leading brewing companies submitted offers, although he failed to identify the companies or announce when the tender will be held. ¶14. (U) Belarus Oil Representation In Boston An official with the state-run petrochemical industry Belneftekhim September 5 reported that the company would open a trade representation office in Boston in mid-September. According to the official, trade representations are part of Belneftekhim's plan to increase sales while reducing middlemen. Belneftekhim has representation offices in Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Germany and China, and trading companies in Russia, Ukraine, and Latvia. The company intends to open trading companies in Germany, China, and Lithuania and 15 representation offices in the Netherlands, Poland, Iran, Turkey, Argentina, and China. Belneftekhim controls 41 companies and accounts for 35% of Belarus' exports. -------------- Domestic Economy -------------- ¶15. (U) State Monopoly To Lower Internet Prices, Eventually On September 5, Deputy Minister of Communications Vladimir Teslyuk claimed Belarus' telecommunications monopoly Beltelecom would lower its internet access rates. Teslyuk admitted that Beltelecom's rates were high, but commented that this was Beltelecom's policy. However, Beltelecom was working close with the Ministry of Communications on the issue and Teslyuk predicted Beltelecom's rates would decrease "when the time comes." ¶16. (U) Gold Sales Increase The National Bank of Belarus on September 7 reported that sales of gold bars increased 360% year-on-year to 802.9 kilograms. The National Bank sells gold bars to retail customers in 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000-gram increments. -------------- Quote of the Week MINSK 00000994 004.4 OF 004 -------------- ¶17. (U) During his two-day visit to Minsk, Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki stated that Western states had "no right" to demand Iran close its nuclear program, adding that Belarus shared this opinion: "Nuclear powers that used nuclear weapons against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have no right to demand other states be prohibited from possessing nuclear technology." MOORE