Embassy Minsk Weekly Pol/Econ Report - July 19, 2007

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TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON EPET ENRG BO
SUBJECT: Embassy Minsk Weekly Pol/Econ Report - July 19, 2007



1. The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy
Minsk.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Civil Society
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- Opposition Adopts Parliamentary Elections Guidelines (para. 2)
- Daughters Visit Kozulin (para. 3)
- Polish Journalist Banned Entry to Belarus (para. 4)
- Union of Left-Wing Parties to Join UDF (para. 5)
- Activists Demonstrate Over Monastery Reconstruction (para. 6)
- Milinkevich Briefly Detained (para. 7)
- Opposition Activists Briefly Detained and Fined (para. 8)
- GOB Registers Minsk Communist Party (para. 9)
- MF Continues Solidarity Drive on Foot (para. 10)
- Activist Forced to Join the Army (para. 11)

Domestic Economy
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- Lukashenko Beefs Up Anti-Corruption Efforts (para. 12)

International Trade
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- Belarus-China Economic Relations on The Rise (para. 13)

- Quote of the Week (para. 14)

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Civil Society
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2. Opposition Adopts Parliamentary Elections Guidelines

The Political Council (PC) of the United Democratic Forces (UDF) on
July 13 agreed on principles of the coalition's participation in the
2008 parliamentary elections, particularly that the coalition would
field only one candidate per district. The PC set September 1 as
the start of the election campaign, which would include pursuing
changes to the Electoral Code and educating citizens about
infringements of their voter rights. Campaign managers will work in
a joint coordinating center under the PC and will present a list of
candidates by September 15. Opposition members who are actively
involved in political campaigns and have previous experience in
elections will be eligible to be a candidate. The PC will present a
final list by January 1, 2008 and determine key electoral districts.
Former presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich and his For
Freedom movement (FF) announced on July 13 that they would not
nominate candidates. Malady Front (MF) agreed to participate, but
Milinkevich noted that the MF would fight for "procedure" and not
"for power."


3. Daughters Visit Kozulin

Daughters of jailed presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin, Olga
and Yuliya Kozulina, spent three days at the Vitba prison with their
father. Olga and Yuliya arrived at the prison on July 13 for what
they called "humiliating" clearance procedures. Guards reportedly
checked all food, books, clothes, and personal belongings. Olga
maintained that her father remained optimistic, but was feeling
fatigued, drowsy, and unable to exercise due to back pain. She said
he had not recovered from his 53-day hunger strike. Olga added that
prison authorities strongly discourage inmates from socializing with
Kozulin and censored his mail. Both daughters confirmed rumors that
a prison guard attempted to hit Kozulin in January, but the incident
had not been recorded and no other cases of assaults followed.


4. Polish Journalist Banned Entry to Belarus

Polish reporter for the Polish newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza" Waclaw
Radziwinowicz was not allowed to transit Belarus on July 16 on his
way to Moscow. Belarusian border guards ordered Radziwinowicz off
the train, held him for five hours at passport control, and then
boarded him on a train back to Poland. Authorities did not issue
"denied entry" stamps, but advised Radziwinowicz to reach Moscow by
air or transiting through Ukraine. Radziwinowicz previously worked
in Minsk until the GOB denied him press accreditation in September

2006. He reportedly had the required Belarusian transit visa.


5. Union of Left-Wing Parties to Join UDF

On July 16, Acting Chair of the Belarusian Social-Democratic Party
Gramada (BSDP-Gramada) Anatoly Levkovich announced that the Union of
Left-Wing Parties (ULP) would be part of the UDF. During a second
ULP founding convention on July 13, the BSDP-Gramada, the Party of
Communists of Belarus (PCB),Women's Party 'Nadzeya', and the
unregistered Party of Labor adopted the ULP charter and formed a
Central Council to be co-chaired by member-parties' leaders.
Levkovich denied allegations that the ULP was created as an
alternative to the UDF, calling it a "rapprochement between

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pro-democratic forces" to facilitate coordination in the UDF work.
He noted member-parties would soon file a second ULP registration
application to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) after the MOJ denied
the coalition registration earlier this year.


6. Activists Demonstrate Over Monastery Reconstruction

Over 100 youth activists on July 16 demonstrated at the site of the
former Bernardine monastery in downtown Minsk to protest its
conversion into a hotel and entertainment center. Demonstrators lit
candles and prayed for the return of the building to the Roman
Catholic St. Joseph community before singing an alternative anthem
and dispersing. Security forces observed the demonstration, but did
not make any arrests.


7. Milinkevich Briefly Detained

Police on July 17 detained FF leader Milinkevich in Ostrovets, near
the Lithuanian border. Milinkevich's press office claimed
Milinkevich arrived in Ostrovets to recruit activists for his
movement, but the police approached him after his meeting with local
residents. According to police, Milinkevich had to go to the police
station to explain his stay in a border area, which is restricted
territory without proper permission. He was released an hour and a
half later without any charges filed against him.


8. Opposition Activists Briefly Detained and Fined

Police on July 18 detained FF members Evgeny Prokurat and Ilya
Shimansky in Beryoza for three hours before releasing them. The
activists were distributing leaflets on the benefits of a better
relationship with the European Union (EU) if democratic reforms are
made in Belarus. Police confiscated the leaflets and made the
activists explain their activities in writing. On July 19, a
district judge fined another FF activist Yaroslav Bernikovich in
Glubokoye USD 145 for participating in an unauthorized demonstration
and distributing leaflets on July 15.


9. GOB Registers Minsk Communist Party

The PCB's Yelena Skrygan informed the media on July 18 that the
party's Minsk city office was granted official registration. The
PCB applied for office re-registration last year following its
annulment in August 2006. Skrygan maintained that the party "did
everything possible" to prevent the GOB from finding any errors in
the registration paperwork. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) also
endorsed the PCB's charter adopted at the party's 12th convention in
May.


10. MF Continues Solidarity Drive on Foot

MF members on July 19 began their "solidarity drive" to show support
for jailed activists and celebrate the imprisoned MF leader Dmitry
Dashkevich's July 20 birthday. MF activists planned to tour cities
where MF members are facing GOB harassment. However, police stopped
the four carpooling vehicles outside of Minsk and, citing the
drivers' "suspicious" driving licenses, escorted all the activists
to a local police station. Passengers were released two hours
later, but the drivers and vehicles were detained, forcing the MF
activists to continue the solidarity drive on foot.


11. Activist Forced to Join the Army

BSDP-Gramada member Marian Fedoruk of Brest was summoned to the
local military registration and enlistment office on July 19 to
learn that he would immediately be drafted to the Belarusian army.
Fedoruk has a diagnosed health condition that prevents him from
serving in the military. Military officers held the activist for
three hours and could not provide any reasonable explanation for
their orders. Fedoruk and his party believe the draft call is GOB
harassment for his political activities.

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Domestic Economy
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12. Lukashenko Beefs Up Anti-Corruption Efforts

Lukashenko on July 16 signed edict 330 establishing special units in
the General Prosecutor's Office, Ministry of Interior, and
Belarusian KGB to fight corruption and organized crime. Such units
were originally established in 1997 in compliance with the
anti-corruption law and presidential decree on anti-terrorism. The
president expects the edict to make anti-corruption efforts more
efficient.

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International Trade
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13. Belarus-China Economic Relations on The Rise


Following his July 16 meeting with China's Finance Minister, Prime
Minister Sergey Sidorsky announced that Belarus and China would
carry out 35 joint projects in 2007-2010, including the upgrading of
Minsk power and heating plants with the help of a Chinese USD 46
million loan. Belarus will also purchase Chinese textile, concrete,
and food processing equipment. In 2006, Belarus-China trade
exceeded USD 1 billion. Belarus' major exports to China include
potash fertilizers, trucks, integrated circuits/microchips, raw
hides, machinery, metal, and chemical products. China exports
mainly consumer goods to Belarus.

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14. Quote of the Week
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While receiving the visiting Chinese Finance Minister Jin Renging on
July 16, Lukashenko demonstrated his master knowledge of the Chinese
psyche:

"We [Belarus and China] were looking narrowly at each other. The
leadership of China was especially doing this, for a long time
guided by traditional Chinese wisdom."

Stewart