MARCH 25 DEMONSTRATION SUCCESSFUL DESPITE LARGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000262 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC BO SUBJECT: MARCH 25 DEMONSTRATION SUCCESSFUL DESPITE LARGE SECURITY PRESENCE REF: A. MINSK 249 ¶B. MINSK 218 ¶C. MINSK 221 Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reason 1.4 (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Approximately 3,000-5,000 demonstrators gathered on March 25 at the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences (BNAS) to mark the opposition's annual "Day of Freedom". Originally the demonstration was to occur at the site of the March 2006 presidential election demonstrations, but security forces barricaded the square and pushed demonstrators to the BNAS. Belarusian opposition figures and visiting EU and CIS politicians addressed the crowd, praising Belarusians' fight for democracy and maintaining that the EU was ready to accept a democratic Belarus. Authorities frequently warned demonstrators that the rally was unsanctioned, but did not disband it. However, security services preemptively detained opposition activists and arrested several demonstrators. As expected, state media portrayed the opposition rally in a negative light and positively covered the GOB-supported concerts that were clearly designed to distract citizens from the opposition rally. End summary. Rally Moves to Academy of Sciences -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Security forces on March 25 prevented the opposition from holding its annual "Day of Freedom" rally on October Square (ref A). Approximately 1,000 uniformed police, several special forces groups in riot gear, and countless Belarusian KGB officers sealed off the square and adjacent streets by 10:45, closed the nearby subway stations, and reportedly searched pedestrians. Therefore, opposition activists gathered at 12:00 at the adjacent McDonald's and Yakub Kolas Park. Security forces - reportedly using fists, elbows and truncheons -- pushed the McDonald's group, numbering 1,000 people and led by de facto coalition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich, several blocks away from downtown. Once at Minsk's "sports palace," the demonstrators disbanded and regrouped at a nearby square, marching to the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences (BNAS). ¶3. (SBU) Another crowd numbering 2,000 people, led by Belarusian National Front (BNF) leader Vintsuk Vyachorka, gathered at Yakub Kolas Park (on the opposite side of October Square) and marched on sidewalks along Independence Avenue to the BNAS carrying numerous traditional Belarusian white-red-white and European Union (EU) flags while chanting the slogan "Long Live Belarus." We observed many more EU flags in this demonstration than in any previous opposition events. Riot police formed a barrier behind the crowd to push the demonstrators forward and traffic police lined the streets to keep spectators and demonstrators from disrupting traffic. Three empty public transport buses, apparently for detaining "unruly" demonstrators, escorted the procession. ¶4. (SBU) At around 14:00, Vyachorka's and Milinkevich's groups met at the BNAS and the rally had swelled to 3,000-5,000 people. Leading opposition activists, including Vyachorka, United Civic Party leader Anatoliy Lebedko, jailed presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin's daughter Yuliya Kozulina, entrepreneurial leader Anatoliy Shumshchenko, BNF deputy Viktor Ivashkevich, and many others, gave speeches. Milinkevich told demonstrators that the Lukashenko regime would eventually fall on its own, but democracy-minded Belarusians needed to give it a "push." He also passed on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "warmest" greetings to the Belarusian democratic forces and her hope that Belarus would soon become a member of Europe's family of democratic nations. (Note: Apparently, Merkel contacted Milinkevich on the phone during the demonstration. End note.) ¶5. (SBU) Several EU and CIS politicians encouraged the crowd to continue fighting for democracy. European Parliament deputy Barbara Kudrytska vowed that the EU would "not allow Belarus to get lost" in its path to democracy. Leader of Azerbaijan's Musavat party Isa Hambar claimed Europe would only be united when Belarus joins the EU, and Vice President of the European Parliament Janusz Onyszkiewicz called Belarus an "anomaly" in the center of Europe. During the rally, security forces, using loud speakers to try to drown out the opposition speeches, repeatedly warned demonstrators that the rally was unsanctioned and advised them to move to Bangalore Square. The crowd paid no attention and disbanded on its own MINSK 00000262 002 OF 003 at 15:30. Preemptive and Unruly Detainments -------------- ¶6. (SBU) As expected, the demonstration did not end without some arrests. According to independent press reports, security services on March 25 arrested 40 activists throughout Belarus. In Minsk, approximately 20 demonstrators, some covered in bruises, were arrested and brought to the Pervomayskiy district court for disorderly conduct ("hooliganism") and were to be charged on March 26. Initial court hearings have resulted in three to five day sentences. Police in Vitebsk disbanded a local "Day of Freedom" rally and arrested 10 demonstrators, including "Narodnaya Volya" correspondent Valeriy Shchukin and Yuriy Stepanov of Radio Polonia. In Brest and Mogilyov, regional opposition leaders and activists were arrested for distributing leaflets and newspapers explaining the historical meaning of March 25. ¶7. (SBU) Authorities also preemptively detained several activists to prevent their participation in the demonstration. On March 23-24, authorities arrested 30 opposition activists, mostly on obscenity charges. Lead March 25 organizer Vyacheslav Sivchik was again arrested for organizing an unsanctioned demonstration and held in an isolation unit at the Okryestina detention center (ref B,C). He was released after the March 25 rally ended but is now facing criminal charges for organizing an unsanctioned demonstration and could serve up to three years in jail. ¶8. (C) Human rights lawyer Vladimir Lobkovich on March 26 confirmed the press reports to Poloff. However, he noted that five of those preemptively detained for distributing March 25 leaflets were now facing criminal charges for allegedly organizing an unsanctioned demonstration. According to Lobkovich, authorities have begun to equate the dissemination of information with criminal activity, setting a precedent for future arrests and increasing the jail sentence for what were formerly considered misdemeanors. GOB Concerts Distract Citizens -------------- ¶9. (C) In an effort to distract citizens from the "Day of Freedom" rally, the GOB sponsored concurrent concerts, free admission, at the National Library and Minsk-I airport. Stealing what had long been opposition themes, the concerts centered on "independence," "freedom," and "for Belarus" and included performances of Belarus' leading pop stars. Although the state media claimed 15,000 people attended both concerts, Poloffs at the National Library counted approximately 2,000 people, many of whom did not seem like the typical Belarusian pop-music fans. The average age of the unenthusiastic crowd was 45-50 years with many holding identical Belarusian flags. (Note: On March 23, we received credible information that the Minsk city authorities ordered state enterprises to send employees to the March 25 concerts. End note.) Unlike the opposition demonstration, only a handful of police officers were at the concert. ¶10. (SBU) The state media made the GOB-sponsored concerts look like a great success and interviewed "truly satisfied" attendees. In stark contrast, the state media covered the opposition rally in a negative light, commenting on the infighting among party leaders and accusing them of "begging" for Western money. Little footage of the demonstration, other than a few dozen faces, was shown. The media concluded that the opposition was "violently" protesting a regime that was "protecting" their right to demonstrate. Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) The opposition demonstration was about what we expected, considering the preemptive detainments, security service harassment, internal coalition disagreement, and competing open-air concerts. Despite the large security forces present, we witnessed little violence, other than some strong pushing and shoving. Although security services repeatedly warned demonstrators that the rally was illegal, they made no attempt to disband the demonstration. We attribute that to the presence of visiting EU politicians and the resident Heads of Mission, including Ambassador, and to "prove" to the West the GOB's "commitment" to dialogue and democratic values. It was very encouraging to see all the opposition coalition leaders, including Belarusian Party of MINSK 00000262 003 OF 003 Communists leader Sergey Kalyakin, attend the rally. While clear differences remain among them, the opposition leaders demonstrated once again that they can unite around a common purpose. Stewart