GOB ALLOWS HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, WITHIN LIMITS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000178

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2017
TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL BO
SUBJECT: GOB ALLOWS HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, WITHIN LIMITS

REF: A. MINSK 154


B. OBERNDORFER/MOORE E-MAIL 2/13/2007

C. OBERNDORFER/MOORE E-MAIL 2/21/2007

Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reason 1.4 (d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Ambassador's participation in a press conference on
humanitarian assistance to a regional children's hospital
gave the USG unusually good coverage in Belarusian state
media. Child Health International also continues to
successfully provide humanitarian assistance by training
local medical staff. Unfortunately, security services
recently sought to intimidate the Minsk representative for
U.S.-based Counterpart International's Community Humanitarian
Assistance Program, demonstrating the GOB's strong suspicion
of whatever assistance it does not control. End summary.

Rare Positive Press for the Embassy
--------------


2. (U) On January 23, Ambassador visited Mogilyov to
publicize the USG-supported delivery of advanced antibiotics
to the Regional Children's Hospital. The hospital was one of
14 throughout Belarus to receive medications donated by
American pharmaceutical companies and transported by CitiHope
with the support of the State Department. State media
covered the press conference and Ambassador's tour of the
facility, resulting in favorable articles in the local state
press.


3. (C) The positive coverage contrasts starkly with typical
state reporting (reftel),as well as with the aggressive
questions from a state television reporter at the following
event in Mogilyov at the local American Corner. A regional
ideology officer told the library director after the event
that he would need to talk to her about why students had
asked the Ambassador political questions. (Note: The
American Corner director strongly hinted the students asking
the offending questions were put up to it by the BKGB, noting
she had never seen them at the Corner before. End note.)

Medical Training Moves Forward More Quickly than Research
-------------- --------------


4. (C) On February 16, Dr. William Novick of Child Health
International and a team of ten doctors and nurses told
Ambassador about the success of their efforts to improve care
in Belarus for those born with congenital heart defects. Dr.
Novick said that thanks to training previously provided under
a EUR/ACE grant, Belarusian surgeons could now perform all
but the most complicated surgeries.


5. (C) The group included three NIH officials in country to
negotiate with the Ministry of Health over a program to
conduct genetic testing of children inflicted by a heart
abnormality seen more commonly in the areas contaminated by
Chernobyl than anywhere else in the world. They told
Ambassador the Ministry of Health had not yet agreed to allow
the analysis of blood samples to take place at NIH, even
though NIH facilities would allow for much more reliable
results.

Other Assistance Program Partners Endure GOB Harassment
-------------- --------------


6. (C) On January 17, Deputy Pol/E Chief met with Sergey
Khomchenko from the Counterpart International (CI) NIS
office, visiting from Tbilisi, and Viktor Panfilenok, CI's
contact for their unregistered operations in Belarus. They
described the significant need in Belarus for food, clothing
and shoes. Unlike CitiHope, CI distributes much of its
assistance through NGOs. Panfilenok said the American
assistance is vital for many of the NGOs to continue to
attract members.


7. (C) Belarusian authorities detained Panfilenok on February
1 and forced him to sign papers that he had violated
Belarusian law by working for an unregistered organization
(ref B). However, authorities then told Panfilenok the case
was dropped, returned the computers that had been seized,
asked him to restart the program and even advised him to tell
Embassy officials to engage in more public humanitarian
actions as they did in Mogilyov (ref C).

Comment: GOB Values Control and Image
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MINSK 00000178 002 OF 002




8. (C) The GOB continues to view channeling even benign
assistance via independent NGOs as borderline subversive
activity. In contrast, the GOB generally does not impede
assistance programs, such as those run by CitiHope and Child
Health International, which work through the Ministry of
Health. (Note: The proposed NIH program might be an
exception since any benefit is long term, and in the short
term the GOB may fear conducting analyses in the United
States highlights the shortcomings of local health
facilities, which media like to portray as state of the art.
End note.)


9. (C) Post views public affairs events connected to
humanitarian assistance as an indirect route to breaking
through the usual state media blitz portraying the USG as an
enemy of Belarus (ref A). For its part, the GOB likely hopes
(in vain) that post will succumb to the temptation to focus
on "feel-good" events to the exclusion of continuing our
regular visits with opposition leaders in the regions.
Stewart