MARCH 25 OPPOSITION DEMONSTRATION TO OCCUR WITHOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000249 SIPDIS SIPDIS USEU PLEASE PASS TO AMBASSADOR STEWART E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC BO SUBJECT: MARCH 25 OPPOSITION DEMONSTRATION TO OCCUR WITHOUT REGIME PERMISSION REF: A. 06 MINSK 331 ¶B. MINSK 150 ¶C. MINSK 218 ¶D. MINSK 221 ¶E. MINSK 228 Classified By: Charge Jonathan Moore for reason 1.4 (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On March 25, the opposition will hold its annual "Day of Freedom" demonstration on October Square commemorating the creation of the short-lived Belarusian National Republic. As in previous years, the Minsk city authorities denied permission to hold the event on October Square and promised to prosecute organizers and participants. This time, however, the opposition has gained some spine, and intends to hold the demonstration on October Square anyway. Although the opposition agrees on the date and place of the event, de facto coalition leader Milinkevich and the coalition have created separate organizing committees with limited cooperation between each other. Despite mass advertising campaigns, organizers predict that the security services' continued harassment and "preemptive" detention of key opposition leaders will contribute to a smaller than expected turnout. Separate demonstrations are planned on March 25 in Grodno and Mogilyov. End summary. The Story Behind "Day of Freedom" Demonstration -------------- -- ¶2. (U) March 25 will mark the 89 anniversary of the founding of the short-lived Belarusian National Republic, which existed in 1918-1919 during German occupation. Termed the "Day of Freedom," Belarus' right wing opposition parties and nationalists have recently been marking the day with protests against Lukashenko. In 2006, the demonstration occurred six days after the fraudulent presidential elections and witnessed a relatively large crowd (3,000-5,000 people),but ended abruptly when special forces violently dispersed and detained participants, including former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin (ref A). An Unsanctioned Demonstration -------------- ¶3. (U) This year's plans call for a demonstration on October Square at 12:00. Aside from theatrical skits and songs, political party leaders, members of the intelligentsia, youth activists, and de facto coalition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich are expected to speak to protesters. However, Minsk authorities on March 19 denied organizers permission to hold the demonstration on October Square, threatening to arrest and prosecute those who ignore the authorities' decision. They suggested the demonstration begin at the Academy of Sciences and proceed (on sidewalks and in accordance with traffic regulations) to Bangalore Square, located away from downtown and major avenues. Milinkevich in a press statement called the authorities' decision a sign of their "weakness" and "unwillingness" to respond to civil society's demands. ¶4. (U) Regional party and entrepreneurial leaders in Gomel, Brest, Grodno and other oblasts have pledged to travel to Minsk to participate; separate demonstrations are planned in some regional capitals. In Grodno, city authorities refused to allow entrepreneurial leader and former political prisoner Valeriy Levonevskiy to hold a similar demonstration on the local square, warning him and his supporters that they would be arrested. Regional coalition leaders in Mogilyov also applied for permission to hold a local demonstration, but to date the city authorities have not given them an answer. Demonstration Continues As Planned -------------- ¶5. (U) On March 21, Milinkevich, Belarusian National Front (BNF) leader and chief organizer of the demonstration Vintsuk Vyachorka, Belarusian Social Democratic Party "Gramada" (BSDP) deputy head Ales Streltsov, and deputy leader of the United Civic Party (UCP) Igor Shinkarik organized a press conference to encourage Belarusians to ignore the authorities' decision and assemble on October Square on March 25 as planned. Charge and Poloff, along with independent and foreign journalists, attended the press conference. The opposition leaders called Belarusians "hostages" to the GOB, MINSK 00000249 002 OF 003 claiming that the authorities' refusal was a violation of Belarusian's constitutional rights and that Europe would only accept a democratic Belarus. Milinkevich advised the authorities not to prevent people from gathering peacefully, warning that the West would be monitoring the GOB's actions. Milinkevich, Vyachorka, and Shinkarik thanked Charge and Poloff for attending and for U.S. support. Feuding Organizers -------------- ¶6. (C) Aside from the authorities' refusal, internal fissures within the coalition are complicating demonstration preparations. Milinkevich and his "For Freedom" movement, paired with the human rights NGO Charter 97 decided to work separately from the coalition's March 25 organizing committee. Chaired by Vyachorka, the coalition's organizing committee includes members of the UCP and BSDP. (Note: The Belarusian Party of Communists is not participating as an organization in the event due to basic party ideology. End note.) ¶7. (C) In a March 16 meeting with Pol/Econ Chief and Poloff, UCP's Shinkarik and BSDP acting chair Anatoliy Levkovich -- both members of the coalition's organizing committee -- argued that if Milinkevich was the leader of the opposition, then he needed to work together with the coalition and not be an "outsider." Milinkevich's advisor and friend Viktor Korniyenko disagreed, stressing that the coalition had no right to monopolize demonstration preparations. Head of Charter 97 and Milinkevich supporter Dmitriy Bondarenko said Milinkevich had to take the initiative to organize the demonstration because coalition infighting had stalled all forward movement (ref B). According to Bondarenko, Milinkevich and Charter 97 had distributed 20,000 newspapers, 400,000 stickers, and 300,000 mobile text messages advertising the demonstration; in other words, "more than what the coalition was doing." Levkovich countered that neither he nor anyone else on the coalition's organizing committee had seen such publications or r eceived such SMS text messages. ¶8. (C) Pol/Econ Chief strongly urged the two "camps" to increase the level of communication and cooperation between each other. Without collaboration on such potentially unifying events as the March 25 demonstration, the broader opposition will never be able to move the country towards democratic change. Bondarenko resisted, insisting that too much communication was "dangerous" and could result in more arrests. Harassment to Increase, Turnout May Be Low -------------- ¶9. (C) All opposition activists and journalists whom poloffs have recently spoken to expect authorities to step up its harassment campaign on the youth and preventively detain/arrest key opposition leaders ahead of the demonstration, citing the recent arrests and interrogations of BNF leader Vyachorka, opposition youth leader Vyacheslav Sivchik, and Malady Front (MF) activists (refs C-E). On March 20, Brest regional activists informed poloffs that local authorities summoned 20 opposition members to the police station and "advised" them to not participate in any demonstrations. On March 19, BNF youth leader Ales Kalita reiterated to Poloff that he and his colleagues were under heavy security service surveillance and were trying to evade detention until the demonstration. ¶10. (C) Although demonstration organizers expect 1,000-7,000 protesters to participate, Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe journalist Lyubov Lunyova and human rights lawyer Valentin Stefanovich on March 11 predicted to DCM that less than 300 would attend. Lunyova shared the organizers' opinions that increased harassment and preventive detentions of key opposition figures would deter many, but added that security forces would also detain regional activists en route to Minsk and barricade the square. According to Lunyova, authorities would allow some protesters to enter the square, but only so that the authorities could say they "allowed" the event to take place, but few participated because Belarusians did not support the opposition. Shinkarik, a bit more optimistic, told Pol/Econ Chief that he would be very surprised if more than 7,000 people showed up for the rally. Comment -------------- MINSK 00000249 003 OF 003 ¶11. (C) We too expect the authorities to continue detaining opposition leaders in the remaining days prior to the demonstration, including lead organizers Vyachorka and Sivchik, who face trial on March 23. (Note: Vyachorka told Charge March 20 that he intends to plead illness and not appear in court until the following week after March 25. End note.) The GOB made it blatantly clear to would-be participants that they will face arrest and prosecution if they participate. Meanwhile, independent news reports indicate that OMON riot police and militia are already conducting practice demonstration dispersals. However, as during the 2006 presidential election demonstrations, the expectedly large presence of diplomatic observers, invited guests from European political parties, and foreign press on the square should temper the behavior of Belarusian security forces. It is encouraging that, although divided on planning and advertising, the coalition and Milinkevich remain determined to attract as many Belarusians to the square as possible. ¶12. (C) It was reassuring to see Milinkevich, Vyachorka, BSDP, and UCP on the same platform today, and the stickers advertising the March 25 protest in Minsk are being seen around town. More importantly, the willingness of the opposition to not take the regime's refusal lying down indicates greater willingness to confront Lukashenko than we have seen since March 2006. Ambassador, DCM, and other Embassy staff will be observing March 25 events in Minsk and will report appropriately. Moore