MFA WARNS EMBASSY NOT TO INTERFERE IN BELARUS'

C O N F I D E N T I A L MINSK 000489

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BO
SUBJECT: MFA WARNS EMBASSY NOT TO INTERFERE IN BELARUS'
INTERNAL AFFAIRS

REF: A. MINSK 440

B. MINSK 457

Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reasons 1.4
(b and d).

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


1. (C) On June 7, Deputy Foreign Minister (DFM) Viktor
Gaisyonok called Ambassador to the MFA to complain that
Embassy officials' regional travel was one-sided and
interfered in the internal affairs of Belarus. He warned
that if such activities continue, the GOB could "take
appropriate measures." Subsequently, Gaisyonok walked back
from his thinly veiled threat by agreeing with Ambassador
that regional travel and meetings with a wide range of actors
are vital functions of any diplomatic mission. Ambassador,
while noting that the Embassy will take into consideration
GOB concerns, pressed Gaisyonok to recognize that we
regularly meet with the local authorities on our trips and
that our diplomatic activities do not constitute
interference. Gaisyonok thanked Ambassador for the State
Department's recommendation to renew the Jackson-Vanik
waiver. End summary.

GOB Views Embassy's Regional Travel as Interference
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2. (C) On June 7, Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Gaisyonok
called Ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
discuss the GOB's displeasure with Embassy officials'
regional trips during the past several months. According to
Gaisyonok, Embassy officials' avoidance of meetings with
local officials and insistence on meetings with "radical"
political opposition and youth groups in the regions "have
created a picture of interference in the internal affairs of
Belarus."


3. (C) Gaisyonok claimed that he possessed approximately 20
recent examples of such trips and cited Belarus Desk
Officer's March trip to Borisov and the Deputy Chief of
Mission's (DCM) trips to Mogilyov and Soligorsk in April and
May, respectively, as some of the most egregious examples.
Gaisyonok accused the DCM of conducting an unauthorized
meeting with imprisoned youth activist Artur Finkevich and
"participating" in an unsanctioned demonstration on the
anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster during his trip to
Soligorsk. Gaisyonok reminded Ambassador that her officers
must behave in accordance with their diplomatic status. He
warned that if such practices continue, the GOB "would be
forced to take steps in accordance with the Vienna
Convention."


4. (C) Ambassador flatly rejected Gaisyonok's
characterization of the DCM's attendance at the Chernobyl
demonstration, stressing that Embassy officials observe but
do not participate in demonstrations. Ambassador firmly
stated that she believed her staff had not violated their
diplomatic status or international agreements, noting that
Belarusian diplomats in the United States are free to travel
to any U.S. city and meet with whomever they like. She added
that she hoped that we could "walk back from this" before the
GOB "takes any steps" that could force the USG to respond in
kind.


5. (C) While acknowledging the importance of regional travel
in augmenting diplomats' knowledge of their host countries,
Gaisyonok expressed his hope that all future visits would be
planned in coordination with local authorities so that the
trips would not be so "unilaterally focused." Ambassador
explained to Gaisyonok that Embassy officials meet with a
wide-range of civil society and government representatives in
order to broaden our understanding of Belarus. Ambassador
noted that the USG would always be interested in meeting with
political contacts, but that such meetings should not be
viewed as interfering in Belarus' internal affairs. She
explained that it was our practice to meet with authorities
the first time we travel to a new city but not necessarily
during every subsequent trip to that city. She added that we
would consider additional meetings with local officials on
our regional trips, given the importance of getting varied
perspectives, but that we would set our own schedules.

DFM Expresses Gratitude for Jackson-Vanik Waiver Extension
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6. (C) While stressing that sanctions are detrimental to
productive bilateral relationships, Gaisyonok expressed his
gratitude for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's
recommendation to extend the Jackson-Vanik waiver for
Belarus. Ambassador noted that the Department's
recommendation was consistent with past Jackson-Vanik waiver
decisions and largely based on Belarus' record on freedom of
emigration. She added that the Department took into
consideration the GOB's release of political prisoners (ref
A) and its leniency towards detained youth activists (ref B)
and that we look for a continuation of these recent steps.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) Although the topic of the meeting was not announced
beforehand, the GOB's lecture on our behavior during regional
trips was not surprising given the letter we received from
the Mogilyov Regional Authorities on June 5. The letter
expressed similar concerns about our past travel practices
and recommended coordination with the local authorities in
planning an upcoming trip to Lukashenko's birthplace.
However, neither Gaisyonok nor the Mogilyov Governor noted
that the Embassy attempts to include a meeting with the local
authorities on nearly all of our trips. Local officials,
however, are reluctant to meet with us especially if they
cannot control the schedule.


8. (C) Despite Gaisyonok's thinly veiled warning, we plan to
continue our travel to the regions. That the Belarusian KGB
went to the effort to document our active travel schedule for
the MFA only demonstrates the value of meeting Belarusians
outside of Minsk. However, for purposes of preserving our
direct contact with opposition activists and civil society
representatives in the regions, we will also increase our
interaction with the local authorities.
Stewart