SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE: LATVIAN MFA,S REACTION TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIGA 000633

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM PINR EUN BO LG
SUBJECT: SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE: LATVIAN MFA,S REACTION TO
SEARCH OF LATVIAN DIPLOMAT,S APARTMENT IN MINSK

REF: A. MINSK 784

B. MINSK 796

C. RIGA 619

Classified By: Ambassador Bailey for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Latvia believes that the recent incident
alleging that one of its diplomats in Minsk was distributing
pornography was a set up meant to retaliate against Latvian
support for Belarusian NGO's and Belarusian opposition
forces, notably while Latvia was the EU presidency
representative to Belarus. Though the Government of Belarus
has yet to formally apologize, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs did receive a document which they did not view as a
satisfactory explanation of the July 25th events. The
Latvian Foreign Minister is refusing to meet the Belarusian
Ambassador - who is newly arrived to Latvia and has expelled
a Belarusian diplomat in retaliation. We do not believe that
this event will lower Latvian determination to work for
greater openness in Belarus in the near term. End summary.

The Victim


2. (C) PolOff met with the head of the MFA's Eastern European
Affairs department, Liga Andersone, and discussed the Latvian
reaction to the search of Latvian diplomat Reimo Smits'
apartment in Minsk by Belarusian security on July 25. Smits
was a second secretary press officer in the Embassy.
According to the Latvian MFA, one of the larger elements of
Smits' portfolio was working with and providing support to
various Belarusian NGOs, including the Latvian based
organization Open Belarus. (Note: This is one of the
organizations DAS Kramer met with in Riga just hours before
the incident (reftel C). We do not/not believe there is any
connection between that meeting and the incident. End note.)
Many of the NGOs Smits worked with are heavily involved with
opposing the Lukashenko regime. Smits also routinely carried
brochures and other pamphlets produced by these NGOs into
Belarus. In 2004, the Belarusian government learned that
Smits was printing various materials for the NGOs in his
apartment. The Government of Belarus protested, but took no
action and nothing more was heard. However, Andersone
believes that this was part of the catalyst which brought
attention to Smits.


3. (C) Andersone felt it important to mention that Smits is
openly gay and dated in the Minsk gay community.
Furthermore, Smits was at the end of his four year tour and
set to depart Minsk in September.

The Set Up


4. (C) Refs a and b report the general facts of the July 25
incident and the Latvian MFA's account tracks with the
reporting of our colleagues in Minsk. The MFA reports that
the video shown on Belarusian television of Smits engaged in
sexual relations with another man - as captured by hidden
cameras in Smits' apartment - was indeed real. However, the
MFA believes that the other man in the video was a Belarusian
security agent tasked to entrap Smits for the purpose of
creating the embarrassing video. Based on reporting from
their Embassy in Minsk, the Latvians believe the pornographic
material Smits was alleged to have had in the apartment was
planted before the raid. The security police entered the
apartment almost immediately after Simts' partner left and
the video footage of the two of them together was captured.
According to Andersone, the door was not even closed when the
five individuals pushed their way inside. This is further
proof in the MFA's mind that the liaison, video and the
pornographic material were all part of a larger set up.


5. (C) According to Andersone, Smits is being charged with
the dissemination of pornographic materials and the
Belarusian authorities are claiming that they did not know
that he was a diplomat at the time they went into the
apartment. According to the Belarusian MFA, the law
enforcement officials had a search warrant sanctioned by the
prosecutor general based on an informant who claimed that
pornographic material was being distributed from Smits'
address.


6. (C) Andersone stated that the purpose of the news program
which showed the search and seizure of the pornographic
material as well as the sex video was to equate
homosexuality, pornography, and criminality with the western
values the opposition is attempting to bring to Belarus. The
MFA is outraged that the Belarusian government took such
unilateral action in clear violation of Belarus' obligations
under the Vienna Convention. Latvia and Belarus have a Mutual
Legal Assistance agreement and the MFA believes that, if
these accusations of pornography distribution were genuine,
the government of Belarus should have worked the proper

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channels with the government of Latvia.

The Latvian Response in Riga


7. (C) The Latvian Ambassador to Minsk, Maira Mora, who was
on vacation at the time this event took place, returned to
Minsk after the event and met with the head of the Regional
Department in the Belarusian MFA Wednesday, August 2.
Ambassador Mora was not permitted to see the Belarusian
Foreign Minister. Mora has since be recalled to Riga for
consultations.


8. (C) FM Pabriks told Emboff August 2 that Latvia has
expelled Belarusian diplomat Dmitri Krayushkin in
retaliation. Pabriks said that Krayushkin was a well known
intelligence agent said to head up Belarusian intelligence
operations here. (Note: Krayushkin was a first secretary
press officer. End note)


9. (C) In yet another twist in the tale, the Belarusian
Ambassador to Latvia, Alexander Gerasimenko, left the country
without officially informing the Latvian MFA. He presented
his credentials on July 20th and then returned to Minsk July
21st. The Belarusian government claims that his departure
was not in order to be away during the scandal. The
Belarusian Embassy in Riga is claiming that they followed the
proper diplomatic protocols and that they sent the circular
note informing the MFA of the Ambassador's departure on July
21st. The MFA did not receive this note until three days
later. Ambassador Gerasimenko was scheduled to meet with
Pabriks on August 9th, but Pabriks has cancelled that meeting
and is refusing to see the Ambassador at this time.


10. (C) The Latvians are trying to line up support for their
case in the EU. The GOL has approached the Finnish
Presidency and requested that the EU formally demarche the
Belarusian government. The EU has issued a statement
expressing disappointment and asking for an official
explanation by Belarus.

Politics at Home


11. (C) This situation has created some difficulties for MFA
at home, especially in the runup to October elections.
Pabriks, from the same party as PM Kalvitis, has come under
attack from various internal political elements claiming that
he is not doing enough to protect Latvian diplomats abroad or
responding strongly enough to the current situation in Minsk.
At the same time, Smits' sexual orientation, which has
become widely known, has come in to play. Internet chat
rooms are full of some of the same hateful speech toward
Smits that we saw in the run up to the recent gay pride
events. One opposition newspaper even suggested that Pabriks
was to blame for sending an openly gay diplomat to a country
like Belarus. Nevertheless, the government is treating this
as an issue of proper diplomatic relations. Pabriks told the
Ambassador, however, that he was not given all the details of
the case at the outset, likely because of the sensitivities
with Smits' sexuality, and was disappointed with his staff
for depriving him of all the information.


12. (C) Comment: This is new ground for Latvia. They are
not used to being in the spotlight like this for their
activities. The GOB appears to have targeted them for their
support for the opposition and greater openness in Belarus.
A few years ago, the Latvians might have tried to keep this
quiet, but they are more confident as EU and NATO members and
willing to fight back. They are saying all the right things,
both on proper diplomatic relations and on continuing support
for building democracy in Belarus. At least in the near
term, we do not see any change in Latvian support for greater
openness in Belarus resulting from this incident. End
Comment.
Bailey