DIALOGUE WITH BELARUSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000181

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2016
TAGS: PREL BO NO
SUBJECT: DIALOGUE WITH BELARUSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST


Classified By: P/E Chief Mike Hammer, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary. The Ambassador brought together visiting
Belarusian human rights activist Aliaksandr Bialiatski,
Norwegian government officials and NGOs on February 16.
Bialiatski greatly appreciated us hosting him and stressed
the key role of the international community providing
political and financial support to Belarusian civil society
and the NGO community in the run-up to the March elections,
but equally important afterwards as well. "We are not about
to witness an Orange revolution; Lukashenko's regime will not
reform. It will have to be removed," Bialiatski explained.
Bialiatski described the difficult environment he and other
activists face in trying to promote democracy and suggested
that the international community can be of most help if it
supports a free and independent press. End summary.

Belarusian People Need Continued International Support
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2. (C) The Ambassador hosted Aliaksandr Bialiatski, his
colleagues, and Norwegian government officials and human
rights leaders for a frank discussion on the state-of-play in
Belarus. Bialiatski described how the Belarusian opposition
had come together to support Alexander Milinkevich. In fact,
Bialiatski said Lukashenko moved up the elections because of
Milinkevich's steady rise in the polls. That said,
Bialiatski said that we should not expect an Orange
revolution like in Ukraine. He did not harbor any hope for
reform under the Lukashenko regime and said that it would
have to be removed. Bialiatski's view is that Belarus would
have to get new leaders before any true transformation could
occur. And, since the March 16 election will not produce that
result, Bialiatski urged that the international community not
abandon the Belarusian people. Support is wonderful now, but
would be needed even more after the elections, Bialiatski
urged.


3. (C) Aliaksandr Bialiatski was in Oslo to receive the
2006 Norwegian Helsinki Committee's Andrei Sakharov Freedom
Award. Present at the Ambassador's residence were Norway's
International Development Minister Erik Solheim, leading NGOs
such as Amnesty International Norway, the Norwegian Helsinki
Committee and youth groups that focus on Belarus. Solheim,
and the other Norwegian participants, agreed that Norway will
continue to stay focused on developments in Belarus even
beyond the elections. The Amnesty International
representative noted that sadly Belarus gets little attention
as it seems that attention is focused on other international
crisis. A Norwegian youth party leader highlighted the
efforts by students at Oslo University to raise awareness
about the dire situation in Belarus by having candlelight
vigils in front of parliament on the 16th of every month,
noting that these will continue even after the elections.
After the event, the Oslo University newspaper conducted a
joint interview with Bialiatski and the Ambassador.

Belarusians are Eager for Change
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4. (C) Bialiatski expressed the NGO and civil society's
desire for change, but noted that the people of Belarus were
ready to vote for a new leader but not necessarily ready to
demonstrate in the streets for one. The average Belarusian
lives with daily repression and often without any outside,
independent news. This creates a difficult environment and
limits Bialiatski and other civil society groups' ability to
educate and motivate the people to push for democratic
changes.


5. (C) Bialiatski stressed the importance of international
support for a free and independent press in Belarus. With an
independent press, Bialiatski feels that the NGOs and civil
society could better inspire people to press for much needed
democratic changes. Bialiatski suggested that one concrete
way this might be achieved was by transmitting radio
broadcasts from a neighboring country, as Radio Free Europe
has done successfully in other countries in the past. He
also urged support for the few independent newspapers still
operating in Belarus.

Comment
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6. (C) Bialiatski was extremely appreciative that we would
receive him during his visit to Oslo and "secretly" mentioned
that he enjoyed close cooperation with our Embassy and
Ambassador in Minsk. Bialiatski clearly felt U.S. support
was important to his Viasna human rights center, but was
equally important for the Belarusian people. He hoped that
the United States and the EU will continue to maintain a
spotlight on the Lukashenko regime.
Visit Oslo's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/oslo/index.cf m

WHITNEY


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