EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - June 15, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000510 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON EPET ENRG BO SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - June 15, 2007 ¶1. The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy Minsk. TABLE OF CONTENTS Civil Society -------------- - Opposition Activists Arrested and Fined in Vitebsk (para. 2) - Youth Activist Fined in Mogilev (para. 3) - Women Support Activist Shatsikova's Parental Rights (para. 4) - Vendors Protest Closure of Market in Eastern Belarus (para. 5) - Gomel Authorities Ban Rally Against Benefit Cuts (para. 6) - Grodno Old Town Reconstruction Plans Spark Protest (para. 7) - Protestants and Catholics Cooperate on Petition Drives (para. 8) - NGOs Protest Ban of School Textbooks in Belarusian (para. 9) Domestic Economy -------------- - Belarus Takes Steps To Save Energy and Budget Funds (para. 10) - Belarus' Banks Outpace Lending Targets (para. 11) - Lukashenko Approves Regional Development Program (para. 12) International Trade -------------- - Belarus and Lithuania Commit to Expanded Cooperation (para. 13) - Quote of the Week (para. 14) Civil Society -------------- ¶2. Opposition Activists Arrested and Fined in Vitebsk On June 8, a Vitebsk court fined opposition activists Andrey Danilevskiy and Gennadiy Sharakh 620,000 rubles (USD 290) and 31,000 (USD 15) respectively for attempting to stage a demonstration in support of prominent human rights advocate Valeriy Shchukin during his trial hearings on June 6 and June 8 in Vitebsk. On June 8, the judge found Shchukin guilty of insulting election officials by accusing them of rigging the vote in 2007 January's local elections and fined him one million rubles (USD 465). On June 11, opposition online news portals reported that a judge sentenced 22-year-old Belarusian Social-Democratic Party "Gramada" (BSDP) youth activist Dmitriy Liseyenko to three days in jail on June 9. Liseyenko, a former Belarusian State University student who was expelled for his political activities, was sentenced on hooliganism charges for scrawling "Freedom to Shchukin!" graffiti on the wall of the local police building. ¶3. Youth Activist Fined in Mogilev On June 12, independent media reported that on June 11 the administrative panel of the Mogilev court fined Malady Front opposition youth movement activist Tatiana Bulanova 155,000 rubles (USD 72) for posting opposition posters on April 17-18. Bulanova's lawyer was not allowed to attend the hearing. According to Bulanova, the panel failed to find any direct evidence of her guilt as the police stopped her 100 meters away from the site without any posters. Bulanova said that the panel did not consider her testimony and encouraged her to plead guilty. Bulanova refused to admit guilt and plans to appeal the fine. ¶4. Women Support Activist Shatsikova's Parental Rights On June 12, a group of prominent Belarusian women -- including Inna Kulei, the wife of former presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich; Tatiana Severynets, the mother of prominent opposition leader Pavel Severynets; and Olga Dashkevich, the mother of imprisoned Malady Front youth opposition group Dmitriy Dashkevich -- confronted the GOB with an appeal to end its persecution of opposition activist Kristsina Shatsikova. Shatsikova is currently facing prosecution under the presidential decree "On Additional Measures of State Protection of Children in Problem Families", which could lead to a loss of her parental rights. The appeal states that her two sons "receive good marks, are well-behaved and always tidy and well-looked-after" and that tearing them from their mother's care will cause "harm, stress and pain." ¶5. Vendors Protest Closure of Market in Eastern Belarus On June 11, independent media reported that a number of market vendors in the eastern town of Rechitsa gathered at the mayor's office to protest the unexpected closure of the local retail market. Authorities closed the market for renovation ahead of the national festival celebrating the 2007 harvest, which is scheduled to take place in Rechitsa in September. The closure was not announced in advance -- the authorities promised to keep the market running until MINSK 00000510 002 OF 003 July 1 -- and the vendors have already paid full taxes for June. Vendors complained that a temporary location for the market is not fit for retail trade; however, the mayor asked the vendors to return to their workplaces and assured them a solution "would be found." ¶6. Gomel Authorities Ban Rally Against Benefit Cuts On June 12, the Gomel city authorities rejected an application from the opposition Belarusian Party of Communists' (BPC) to hold a rally opposing GOB plans to abolish state benefits. The authorities demanded "letters of guarantee" regarding payment for utility, police, and ambulance services at the rally, which were not submitted with the application. The BPC responded that official regulations do not require such letters and that the rejection was a result of the city officials' own bias against the BPC. Earlier this year, authorities rejected a BPC request to hold a Chernobyl commemoration rally in Gomel on similar grounds. ¶7. Grodno Old Town Reconstruction Plans Spark Protest On June 10, a group of Belarusian artists gathered to paint works depicting the historic Grodno old town in response to the city's development plan, which involves demolishing several historic buildings in order to widen a bridge in the city center. Opposition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich attended the event and gave a statement condemning the reconstruction plans. Artists will auction their works to raise money for a campaign to preserve the buildings. Other recent events held in protest of the reconstruction include a leaflet campaign and a concert featuring Belarusian rock group N.R.M. Activists also plan to collect signatures for a petition calling for a local referendum on the old town's fate. ¶8. Protestants and Catholics Cooperate on Petition Drives On June 11, activists affiliated with a local Protestant church in Mozyr reported that they had collected over 1,600 signatures for a petition against the repressive 2002 Religion Law, which has resulted in increasing governmental persecution of religious communities in Belarus. They also reported gathering a comparable number of signatures on a petition for the protection of a former Catholic monastery that city authorities in Minsk have slated for redevelopment into a hotel and entertainment complex. ¶9. NGOs Protest Ban of School Textbooks in Belarusian On June 8, independent media reported that Grodno-based members of the Francisk Skaryna Belarusian Language Society and the Society of Belarusian Schools appealed to the Minister of Education (MOE) against the removal of Belarusian history textbooks in Belarusian. During the 2006-2007 academic year, middle school students were only given the textbooks in Russian due to the limited number of available Belarusian copies. NGOs members expressed concern that school students fail to receive adequate historic and cultural knowledge in their native language and are not able to exercise their right to choose the language of their education. The NGO members will turn to the Constitutional Court if the MOE does not respond to their appeal. Domestic Economy -------------- ¶10. Belarus Takes Steps To Save Energy and Budget Funds On June 11, the Belarusian government adopted resolution No. 701, which launched the "State Program of Saving Energy and Funds through 2011." The program is intended to minimize budget losses caused by energy price hikes and includes plans to save resources, upgrade industrial facilities and use energy-saving technologies. In particular, the government will seek to increase oil and gas transit prices, launch the production of biofuel for gasoline and diesel engines, use local fuels more extensively, and install water meters in all apartments. The program, however, limits monthly price increases on consumer products to 0.5 percent. ¶11. Belarus' Banks Outpace Lending Targets Belarus' National Bank Chair Pyotr Prokopovich informed President Lukashenko of a 60 percent increase in loans issued by Belarusian banks to the national economy in January-May. This number is double the projections outlined in the 2007 economic plan. The bank has also issued loans to individuals at the same high pace. According to Prokopovich, the country's financial sector is stable, as the Belarusian ruble depreciated against the U.S. dollar only 0.2 percent in the same time period. ¶12. Lukashenko Approves Regional Development Program On June 7, Belarusian President Lukashenko signed edict No. 265 that enacted "2007-2010 State Programs on the Development of Regions and Towns." The program provides for the implementation of 1,000 investment projects in 187 small towns throughout the country and MINSK 00000510 003 OF 003 the creation of 19,000 jobs, and stipulates the reduction of unemployment in rural areas to one percent. The edict provides a list of businesses registered and operating in small towns that are eligible for a 50 percent profit tax reduction. It also exempts them from road tax and payment to the agriculture support fund. In addition, local authorities can provide more benefits at their discretion. The program requires USD 934.6 million of investment, of which only 25 percent will come from central and local budgets. International Trade -------------- ¶13. Belarus and Lithuania Commit to Expanded Cooperation According to the Foreign Ministry's press service, Belarus and Lithuania held a working-level economic forum in Lithuania on June 6 and 7. At the event, the participants passed a declaration to confirm both sides' intention to increase cooperation in power engineering, trade, and transit. Energy saving and diversification of power supplies were among the key issues, since both countries plan to construct nuclear power plants and modernize their power-generation facilities. In 2006, Belarus' on-the-year exports to Lithuania increased 23 percent to USD 432.7 million and imports increased 26.5 percent to USD 170.3 million. Lithuania was Belarus' eighth largest trade partner. Quote of the Week -------------- ¶14. On June 10, in reaction to Defense Ministry Office for the Commemoration of Fatherland Defenders and War Victims Head Viktor Shumskiy's skepticism that a newly discovered mass grave near the southeastern city of Gomel contains remains of those executed by the Soviet NKVD secret police in the 1930s, a civil society activist offered the following comment: "It is hard to understand who conceals the truth and why. It is easier to blame the Nazis for everything. It seems that Stalin's Line that does not exist in history is dearer to some citizens of Belarus than memory of the execution of innocent people." STEWART