BELARUS: REGIME BLOCKING FREEDOM OF TRAVEL

UNCLAS VILNIUS 000358

AMEMBASSY MINSK SENDS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL BO
SUBJECT: BELARUS: REGIME BLOCKING FREEDOM OF TRAVEL


1. (SBU) As reported previously, the GOB introduced a new database
at the beginning of 2008 to track its citizens as they travel
abroad. Entered into the database are an estimated 100,000 names
(over one percent of the population) of persons who are not allowed
to leave Belarus, ostensibly due to pending legal concerns.
However, this technological step is clearly being used as a
political tool to restrict the freedom of travel and emigration of
opposition politicians and civil society activists. At the present
time, post is aware of 17 persons, including at least two previously
allowed to leave Belarus without restriction as recently as December
2007, who are affected by this new regime tactic.


2. (SBU) The first example made known to us was Anatoliy Lebedko,
chairman of the opposition United Civic Party, who joined a
Belarusian opposition delegation for meetings with the President and
Secretary Rice in December 2007. Soon after his return from
Washington last year, Lebedko received a letter informing him that
he had been added to the GOB database and that he would not be
allowed to leave Belarus. Lebedko tested this in early 2008; while
trying to cross the land border into Lithuania, an "exit refused"
stamp was prominently placed in his passport by the Belarusian
border police.


3. (SBU) Sixteen others who have been blocked include: former
political prisoner Sergey Skrebets; members of the democratic youth
opposition group "Malady Front" Zmitser Dashkevich, Zmitser Fedaruk
(who also met with President Bush in December),Yekaterina
Solovyova, Yaroslav Grishchenko, and Ivan Shilo; democratic activist
Aleksandr Atroshchenkov; Belarusian Popular Front youth leader Ales
Kalita; human rights lawyer Andrey Sushko; human rights activist
Valeriy Shchukin; members of the independent Union of Poles
Anzhelika Boris and Igor Bantsar; and students Alyaksandar Barazenka
(on an independent scholarship to Poland) and Oleg Grubich
(attending the European Humanities University in Vilnius). Malady
Front members Nastya Palazhanka and Boris Goretskiy were initially
blocked from leaving, but we are told that restrictions on them were
subsequently lifted.


4. (SBU) The regime's actions against the U.S. EMBASSY in Minsk
make it all but impossible to maintain a dialogue on emigration and
other human rights with Belarus, which retains a non-market economy.
That fact -- combined with these restrictions on travel as well as
many other ongoing acts of repression -- justifies very careful
review of this year's waiver of Jackson-Vanik amendment provisions
for Belarus.

MOORE
CLOUD