EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - November 30, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000983

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON ENRG BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - November 30, 2007


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

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Civil Society
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- Blacklisted Musicians Meet Chief Ideology Officer (para. 2)
- Three Poles Expelled from Belarus (para. 3)
- Business Activists Jailed (para. 4)
- Family Describes Kozulin's Imprisonment (para. 5)
- MPs Meet with Opposition (para. 6)
- Opposition Party Elects Chairperson (para. 7)
- Opposition Leader Searched at Airport (para. 8)

Domestic Economy
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- FEZ Output Up 21.6 Percent (para. 9)

International Trade
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- Prime Minister Meets with Iranian Executives (para. 10)

Quote of the Week (para. 11)
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Civil Society
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2. Blacklisted Musicians Meet Chief Ideology Officer

Several blacklisted rock musicians met with Chief State Ideology
Officer Oleg Proleskovskiy November 21. Proleskovskiy called the
meeting to discuss lifting the ban on the musicians, to enlist their
participation in a concert to be aired on state-owned television,
and to have the bands agree not to perform at opposition-sponsored
events. The musicians assert that they did not accept
Proleskovskiy's offer and are committed to writing music, not
engaging in politics. Since 2003 several rock bands have been
banned from legally performing in Belarus due to their overt
criticism of Lukashenko and his policies.


3. Three Poles Expelled from Belarus

Three Polish coordinators for the international project "Dialogues
with Neighbors" left Belarus November 23 after authorities cancelled
their visas and issued deportation orders. The Poles arrived in
Gomel November 21 to conduct a five-day workshop for students, but
were ordered to leave Belarus just two days later. Officials cited
the Poles' failure to comply with the stated purpose of stay in
Belarus.


4. Business Activists Jailed

A Minsk judge November 29 sentenced Aleksandr Talstyka and Ruslan
Lutsenka to ten and seven days in jail, respectively, for violating
rules governing the organization of mass events. The two were
arrested while passing out leaflets at a shopping center promoting a
rally planned for December 10 to protest new government hiring
restrictions. The trial took place behind closed doors, with
relatives and activists barred from the courtroom. Mr. Talstyka is
a member of the unregistered organization "For Free Development of
Enterprise" which applied to Minsk authorities for permission to
hold the rally.


5. Family Describes Kozulin's Imprisonment

After visiting her father Aleksander Kozulin in prison for his
birthday November 25, Olga Kozulina described his condition to the
media. She stated that her father suffers from drowsiness and
headaches, that prison administrators refused to allow her to
provide him with food, and that prisoners are pressured not to
communicate with Kozulin. Outside the Minsk prison police dispersed
a crowd marking Kozulin's birthday, briefly detaining four
opposition activists. In a message to his supporters, Kozulin
thanked those who sent him birthday greetings and demonstrated at
the prison.


6. MPs Meet with Opposition

Three members of Parliament's House of Representatives met with
constituents in Brest November 26 after an opposition-sponsored
signature campaign to force the meeting. The discussion focused on
recent social benefits cuts, labor contracts, and price hikes.
Local United Civic Party activist Nikolay Kovsh expressed
dissatisfaction with the results of the meeting, asserting that the

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MPs failed to address the issues. Kovsh said opposition members
would request more meetings with MPs in other regions of the
country.


7. Opposition Party Elects Chairperson

The Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Narodnaya Gramada (BSDP-NG)
held its founding convention in Minsk November 25 with delegates
electing Nikolay Statkevich chairperson. Delegates also adopted the
party's charter, and passed a resolution criticizing Belarus'
authoritarian regime, welcoming closer ties with Europe, and calling
for immediate release of political prisoners.


8. Opposition`=jNcSd the Second Congress of European Leftist Parties.

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Domestic Economy
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9. FEZ Output Up 21.6 Percent

According to the Ministry of Statistics and Analysis, companies in
Belarus' six free economic zones (FEZs) produced USD 1.2 billion
worth of products and services in the first nine months of 2007, a
21.6 percent increase over last year. Resident companies exported
USD 709 million worth of goods in the period, with Russia accounting
for 77.8 percent of that figure. There are 249 companies currently
operating in the zones. Foreign investment in the zones, excluding
banks, totaled USD 277 million.

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International Trade
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10. Prime Minister Meets with Iranian Executives

Prime Minister Sergey Sidorskiy met with executives of automobile
manufacturer Iran Khodro in Minsk November 28 to discuss the
expansion of the Unison car assembly plant. Iran Khodro has
expressed interest in buying a 40-percent stake of the
Belarusian-British facility, which has been assembling Samand cars
using kits supplied by Iran Khodro since 2006. About 2,000 Samand
cars are projected to roll off of the Belarusian plant's assembly
line this year. The parties also discussed the possibility of
launching a Belarusian-Iranian subway car manufacturing project.

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11. Quote of the Week
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Economist Sergei Balkin, describing his views on what's wrong with
the small-business climate in Belarus:

"To say that presidential small-business initiatives are hindered by
bureaucrats seems a bit naive to me. Unfortunately, there haven't
even been any real initiatives coming from him. Businesses don't
really need support as much as they need an absence of absurd
restrictions."

Stewart