GOB "CLARIFIES" NEW EXIT PERMIT DATABASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000170 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR BO SUBJECT: GOB "CLARIFIES" NEW EXIT PERMIT DATABASE REF: A. MINSK 014 ¶B. MINSK 091 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Jonathan Moore for reason 1.4 (d ). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a press conference March 5 to "clarify misperceptions" about its newly implemented electronic exit permit database. Officials stressed that the implementation of the new system was not increasing the number of citizens banned from traveling abroad. However, post has noted several cases of opposition leaders who previously traveled abroad being turned way at the border since the system's implementation. End summary. GOB Says Criteria For Travel Ban Unchanged -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On March 5, Ambassador attended a press conference at the Foreign Ministry that the GOB called in order to "clarify misperceptions" circulating in the media regarding the new database implemented to replace the government's exit stamp requirement. The new system was implemented in January and was ostensibly designed to simplify the process for citizens traveling abroad by eliminating the need to obtain a stamp to leave the country. ¶3. (SBU) Lidiya Ivanchikova, Head of the Citizenship and Migration Department within the Interior Ministry (MOI), claimed that the implementation of the new system did not entail a broadening of categories of people subject to the travel ban, and did not result in an increase in the number of people on the list. (Comment: The inclusion on the list of Anatoliy Lebedko -- who had traveled freely as late as December 2007 and whose passport was stamped "exit forbidden" by a border guard February 4 -- undermines this claim (ref A). End comment.) In 1993 the GOB implemented an exit permit system that required citizens to obtain a stamp in their passports from their local police station before traveling abroad. Anyone attempting to leave the country without such a stamp was turned away at the border. ¶4. (SBU) The criteria for being placed on what is essentially a travel and emigration black list include access to state secrets, outstanding debts resulting from court decisions, outstanding civil or criminal court proceedings or sentences, and failure to respond to conscription. (Comment: Several opposition youth activists who do not seem to meet any of the criteria have been denied exit under the new system (ref B). End comment.) The criteria are also applicable to Belarusian citizens intending to exit the country for permanent residence abroad, which Ivanchikova pointed out is consistent with the 1993 law and is not a new development. Official Evasive About Number of Citizens on List -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) One of the supposed "misperceptions" that Ivanchikova hoped to dispel was that the number of citizens banned from leaving Belarus increased. Independent media reports have placed the figure at more than 100,000. Ivanchikova was evasive when pressed to provide an official number. After citing privacy issues -- even though no one was asking for specific names -- and the fact that the precise number constantly fluctuates, she only allowed that "taking a few zeroes from that figure" would make it more accurate. System Supposedly Transparent -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Officials described the mechanism whereby citizens are placed on and taken off the list. Several ministries have a hand in developing the list, including the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Justice, and the BKGB. Each of those organizations is responsible for submitting names to the MOI for inclusion in the database based on the criteria listed above. According to Ivanchikova, inclusion on the list is not mandatory for citizens meeting any of the criteria -- inclusion is upon the discretion of each relevant government body and is not automatic. ¶7. (SBU) Furthermore, citizens "have ample opportunity to know" when they are placed on the list, though speakers at the press conference provided only one example of how the MINSK 00000170 002 OF 002 notification mechanism works. Defendants in court trials who fit the criteria must sign documents in court acknowledging that they are banned from travel until all court actions are settled. On Paper, Appeal Process Exists -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Citizens have the right to inquire about their presence or absence on the list with the MOI. The MOI has up to one month to respond, though Ivanchikova claims that response is often provided within a few days. If citizens feel that they have been placed on the list in error, they have the right to appeal to the agency that made the original decision. The agency is then required to respond within 10 days. Information Purportedly Shared With CIS Countries -------------- --- ¶9. (SBU) Belarus has on open border with Russia and has had visa-free travel agreements with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan since 2003. According to Ivanchikova, information from the database is shared with those countries, which are "obligated to take measures against those not permitted to travel." (Note: The effectiveness of the sharing system is doubtful. Post knows of at least one case where a traveler was able to avoid the ban by leaving Belarus via Russia and returning directly from Western Europe. End note.) Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) The implementation of the database will likely make the travel process for average Belarusian citizens easier by eliminating bureaucracy. However, it still remains a concern that the travel ban affects such a wide range of citizens and that it is often used maliciously as a tool to hinder travel for opposition figures. Unless the GOB handles appeals against inclusion on the list expeditiously and fairly -- a doubtful prospect -- the priniples of the Jackson-Vanik amendment assuring th right to leave Belarus for temporary travel abroad or emigration remain a concern. STEWART