REPRESSION AFTER JANUARY 10 PROTEST CONTINUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000020 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR BO SUBJECT: REPRESSION AFTER JANUARY 10 PROTEST CONTINUES REF: A. MINSK 017 ¶B. 07 MINSK 728 ¶C. MINSK 013 Classified By: Charge Jonathan Moore for reason 1.4 (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The GOB continued its repression of both individuals and organizations involved in last week's large demonstration against new small business regulations. Simultaneously the GOB sent out a feeler for further negotiations, which activists rejected. The GOB's rapid reaction indicates its trepidation that a protest scheduled for January 21 could damage the regime's seeming invincibility. End summary. 24 Participants Sentenced to 15-20 Days in Jail -------------- -- ¶2. (U) Of the 27 participants detained by security forces at the January 10 entrepreneurs' demonstration (ref A),22 were sentenced to 15 days in jail for participating in an unsanctioned demonstration and cursing in public. ONE of those sentenced, Yuriy Koksyuk, allegedly suffered a broken rib due to police brutality. The court sentenced youth activist Tatyana Tishkevich (ref B) to 20 days in jail. The court postponed two hearings due to the HEALTH concerns of suspects whom were injured upon arrest or while in detention. Three minors were released to their parents without being charged. ¶3. (U) The Ministry of Interior Affairs (MVD) Moscow Rayon branch in Minsk called in ONE of the demonstration's organizers, Aleksandr Makayev, on January 12. The MVD promptly arrested Makayev and he was also sentenced to 15 days. Double Jeopardy for Regional Activist -------------- ¶4. (SBU) On January 12, authorities in Borisov retried Viktor Gorbachev, whom a court previously acquitted (ref C), on charges of petty hooliganism. Judge Aleksey Bolotov fined Gorbachev USD 326 (BYR 700,000) despite testimony from an MVD officer and a bystander that Gorbachev only protected his family from an unprovoked attack. Gorbachev told Acting Pol/Econ Chief he plans to appeal the decision. Political Parties and NGO Come Under Attack -------------- ¶5. (U) On January 12, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) demanded that three of the main constituent parties in the opposition coalition -- the United Civic Party (UCP),the Belarusian Party of Communists, and the Belarusian Popular Front -- explain the participation of their members in last week's demonstration. Also on January 12, the MOJ applied to the Supreme Court to liquidate the NGO Perspektiva, which played a leading role in organizing the demonstration. GOB's Offer to Negotiate a Non-Starter -------------- ¶6. (C) Seemingly in contrast, Gorbachev received a letter from MP Anatoliy Pavlovich on January 11 proposing further dialogue. Gorbachev said no negotiations would take place without the release of all protestors and a moratorium on the section of Presidential Order 760 restricting sole proprietors' employment practices. Gorbachev did allow his colleague, UCP Minsk oblast Chair Lev Margolin, to email Pavlovich alternative legislation drafted by entrepreneurs. Comment: Lukashenko Underlings Trying to Prove Worth -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) The swift reaction of the MVD and the MOJ shows that the GOB takes the threat of a further demonstration on January 21 very seriously. However, Gorbachev declared that repressing individuals and organizations supporting the last demonstration would backfire against authorities by further motivating entrepreneurs to protest. ¶8. (C) Typically Belarusian Television's main weekly analytical program would have run a segment on the demonstration. The absence of such a story suggests even the GOB doubts the wisdom of its current strategy to tamp down dissent from previously acquiescent entrepreneurs. MINSK 00000020 002 OF 002 MOORE