AMBASSADOR'S TRIP TO GOMEL STRESSFUL, REWARDING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000575

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2017
TAGS: PGOV ECON PHUM BO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S TRIP TO GOMEL STRESSFUL, REWARDING


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

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


1. (SBU) Ambassador on June 20-21 made an introductory visit
to Gomel and Rechitsa to deliver a shipment of western
medicines to an oncology center and meet with authorities and
civil society activists. Hospitable authorities praised
local economic growth and sought greater U.S. investment.
Political and civil society activists criticized rights
abuses and resented decisions from their political parties'
national leadership, but stressed unity within the coalition.
Although happy to have Ambassador as a visitor, authorities
made several attempts to hijack her schedule and sit in on
private meetings. End summary.

Gomel Economy Growing, U.S. Trade "Unsatisfactory"
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Ambassador met with the Chairman of the Gomel Oblast
Council of Deputies Valeriy Felitskiy and other local
officials. Felitskiy lauded Gomel's economic "growth" and
industry production (tractors, textiles, furniture),and
attributed Gomel's success to a highly educated workforce and
cheap and ecologically clean resources. (Note: The Gomel
oblast, in southeastern Belarus just north of Chernobyl, is
the most heavily radiologically contaminated region in
Belarus. End note.) Felitskiy called current
Belarusian-U.S. trade "unsatisfactory" (USD 30 million in
Gomel exports to the U.S. in 2006) and frowned on the overall
downturn in international trade, which he attributed to the
energy conflict with Russia. Felitskiy thanked Ambassador
for the medical shipment and the USG's continuous support of
projects aimed to alleviate the consequences of the Chernobyl
tragedy.

Ambassador Delivers Medicine to Patients
--------------


3. (C) Following a small press conference with Felitskiy and
a quick tour of the Patskevich Palace and WWII museum,
Ambassador delivered to the Gomel Oncology Dispensary part of
the U.S. NGO Citihope International's USD 1.8 million
shipment of antibiotics to Belarus on April 26. Ambassador
toured the Dispensary and met with several patients and
doctors. The ceremony generated several positive stories on
independent websites.

American Corners
--------------


4. (C) With Gomel's Head Ideology officer Yevginiy Mitkevich
at her side and state journalists in tow, Ambassador visited
the American Corners at the Regional Library to deliver new
English language books and study materials and to talk with
English teachers. Ambassador stated that political relations
between the United States and Belarus were strained, but
stressed the importance of student and professional exchanges
in developing a better relationship between the two countries.

Authorities Sit In On Ambassador's Meeting With NGOs
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Before her dinner with heads of NGOs dealing with the
consequences of Chernobyl, Mitkevich requested to Ambassador
that he sit in on the meeting. Ambassador agreed, but noted
that his attendance would not be required at the next day's
meetings with civil society and political activists.
Mitkevich sat next to Ambassador during her dinner, often
interrupting participants to refute accusations that the
government purposely closed independent newspapers and was
not meeting the basic health needs of villagers still living
in contaminated zones.


6. (C) Mitkevich called the conversation a good example of a
trilateral dialogue and suggested that the rest of
Ambassador's meetings include local government
representatives (i.e., Mitkevich). The NGO leaders told
Ambassador that they had repeatedly tried to start a dialogue
with the authorities and later noted to Poloff that
Ambassador's presence was the only reason Mitkevich was
speaking to them. Throughout the rest of the Gomel trip,
Mitkevich repeatedly asked Ambassador in front of state
cameramen and journalists whether he could sit in on the rest
of the Ambassador's meetings with independent journalists and
political party activists.

The Plight for Journalists and Activists
--------------

MINSK 00000575 002 OF 003




7. (C) On June 21, Ambassador had breakfast with 12
independent reporters who accused the GOB of stifling media
freedom by closing independent newspapers without due process
and denying them access to state distribution networks. Most
independent journalists left the country and those who stayed
had trouble obtaining accreditation. Opposition activists
from the United Civic Party (UCP),Belarusian National Front
(BNF),Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC),Radio and
Electronic Workers Union (REP),Belarusian Social Democratic
Party (BSDP) and Aleksandr Milinkevich's "For Freedom"
movement (FF) in a separate meeting briefed Ambassador on the
typical harassment from authorities, the local government's
attempts to portray a recently discovered NKVD mass grave as
the site of a Nazi massacre, and the beating of a REP union
member.


8. (C) UCP activist Vladimir Katsora called the May 26-27
Congress of Democratic Forces a necessary evil that put all
political parties' positions in the open, but did not solve
the fissures that had developed in the coalition. However,
local coalitions remained united and were ready to work.
Katsora explained that rural party chapters were heavily
dependent on the decisions made at the national party level
that sometimes impaired coalition activity on the local level.

Rechitsa - The Center of Europe
--------------


9. (C) Ambassador then left for Rechitsa, leaving Mitkevich
and his Belarusian KGB cameraman at the city limits.
Rechitsa deputy mayor Andrey Korniyenko greeted Ambassador at
the border of the Rechitsa district, giving her flowers on
the side of the highway and leading the Embassy vehicle into
the city. Similar to Ambassador's meeting with the Gomel
authorities, Korniyenko praised Rechitsa's economic growth,
industries (nail and screw production, oil extraction company
Belarusneft),and culture. Of course, Rechitsa was looking
for foreign investment. He boasted that Rechitsa was the
center of Europe, because it was geographically equidistant
from Portugal and the Ural mountains. (Comment: A claim we
hear often from every local administration about their towns.
End comment.)

Deputy Mayor Not Happy With Opposition Visit
--------------


10. (C) After a quick movie about Rechitsa, Korniyenko gave
Ambassador a walking tour of the town center, particularly
the reconstruction efforts of historic buildings, and
arranged tours of the music school and museum that were just
completed in preparation of the upcoming Dazhynki harvest
festival. Korniyenko used his time with Ambassador to
lambaste the local opposition, calling them has-beens who
"just wanted power" and "European money."


11. (C) Korniyenko constantly tried to hijack Ambassador's
schedule -- taking her to the local headquarters of
Belarusneft and the children's lyceum despite Poloff's
complaints -- and made it clear he did not approve of her
meeting with the political opposition. Similar to Mitkevich
in Gomel, Korniyenko repeatedly asked in front of cameras to
attend the meeting, but Ambassador denied the request,
replying that it was part of her duties as a diplomat to
listen to other opinions.

Harassment - Nothing New
--------------


12. (C) Opposition activists from the BNF, UCP, FF, and BSDP
told Ambassador that authorities harass opponents, pressure
employers to fire them and family members, and make legal
decisions without due process. The activists complained
about the Dazhynki construction work, which razed historic
buildings and built a concert stage on the banks of the Dnepr
River without consideration of potential ecological damage.
The activists named Korniyenko as the primary perpetrator of
civil right violations, claiming he personally stuffed ballot
boxes in the local council elections and tried to plant
weapons in the apartments of activists ahead of police
searches. Independent media is stifled and the lack of
available jobs frightens employed dissidents from reporting
abuses.


13. (C) The Rechitsa political leaders also criticized their
parties' national leadership for not properly allocating
resources. They noted that national offices had printers,
faxes, and computers, but the local level parties could not
even afford to pay rent. According to the activists, the
youth are the future for the opposition, but in places like

MINSK 00000575 003 OF 003


Rechitsa, they need a strong leader and to date do not have
one.

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


14. (C) Although authorities were cordial to Ambassador, the
tenacity of state "journalists" filming every movement and
the ideology officers' insistence that they sit in on private
meetings further illustrates the significant stress Emboffs
face on regional trips. Largely due to Ambassador's status,
the state media and authorities restrained themselves from
barging into meetings uninvited. However, local authorities
and BKGB did not show such restraint during Ambassador's June
15 trip to Dzherzhinsk, when they proceeded to film
Ambassador's lunch with local opposition activists and
attempted to enter one activist's house where Ambassador was
having tea.


15. (C) Gomel and Rechitsa authorities' speeches sounded
practically identical and lacked anything unusual. Despite
the ideology officers' harassment, everyone who Ambassador
met, including the authorities and especially the doctors at
the Dispensary, were excited to have her as a guest and did
not hesitate to praise the United States in one way or
another, further proving that the benefits of regional trips
and public outreach far outweigh the costs.
Stewart