BELARUS WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - AUGUST 14, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MINSK 000274 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON BO SUBJECT: BELARUS WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - AUGUST 14, 2009 REF: MINSK 271 MINSK 00000274 001.2 OF 004 ¶1. The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy Minsk. TABLE OF CONTENTS Civil Society -------------- - Supreme Court Denies Registration Appeal of Human Rights NGO (para. 2) - Religious Groups Complain GOB Is Trying to Limit Their Ability to Have Houses of Worship (para. 3) - Harassment of Opposition Youth Continues (para. 4) - The Fourth Activist from the "Case of 14" Is Amnestied, but Dubskiy's Fate Still Unclear (para. 5) - One of the Three Volkovysk Activist Is Released Pending Court Date (para. 6) CSTO -------------- - An Emotional Lukashenka Continues to Send Mixed Messages on Belarus' Participation in CSTO (para. 7) Domestic Economy -------------- - Talks Proceed on Establishing a Belarus, Russian, Kazakhstan Customs Union (para. 8) - Lukashenka Takes Steps to Improve the Investment Environment (para. 9) - Lukashenka Signs Edict on Investment Agent To Accelerate the Deal Making Process (para. 10) - Lukashenka Wants the Government to Loosen its Control over Business (para. 11) - Lukashenka: No Cuts in Rural Development and Healthcare Spending (para. 12) Foreign Trade -------------- - Trade Between India and Belarus Grows Despite Global Financial Crisis (para. 13) Quote of the Week (para. 14) -------------- -------------- Civil Society -------------- ¶2. Supreme Court Denies Registration Appeal of Human Rights NGO On August 12, the Supreme Court dismissed Nasha Vyasna (NV) human rights NGO's appeal challenging the May 25 decision by the Ministry of Justice to refuse it registration. The Court upheld the Ministry's claim that the NGO had not properly adhered to the registration procedures. The Ministry claimed that the four founders had provided inaccurate personal information, that the letter testifying to their legal address was not legitimate, and that the NGO's name did not accurately correspond to the NGO's charter and objectives. Nasha Vyasna, which alone in 2009 has been refused registration three times, announced that the it will no longer seek official registration. However, it will continue its activities acknowledging that its members could face criminal persecution under Article 193 of the Criminal Code, which makes it illegal for anyone to run, participate, or act on behalf of an unregistered organization. The founders labeled their repeated denials discrimination and plan to appeal their case to the UN's Human Rights Committee. ¶3. Religious Groups Complain GOB Is Trying to Limit Their Ability to Have Houses of Worship On August 7, pastor of the Full Gospel New Life Church (NLC), Vyacheslav Goncharenko, was subpoenaed by a Minsk district prosecutor and warned that he could face administrative liabilities if he continued to block officials access to the NLC building. On August 13, NLC refused entry to law enforcement officers who were trying to serve NLC with an August 19 eviction notice. Earlier, on July 16, NLC barred Emergency Situations Ministry's personnel from entering the building claiming it was just another attempt by GOB officials to force the church to vacate its premises. Since October 2005, NLC has been involved in protracted litigation with the city of Minsk over its premises. Authorities claim they intend to build residential housing and a school on the land occupied by the NLC and are willing to offer compensation, but the NLC claims the compensation is symbolic at best. In Gomel on August 12, a district court fined Yuriy Reshetnikov, a local Jehovah Witnesses community leader, $375 for conducting on July 21 an unsanctioned mass in a private residence. He was charged with MINSK 00000274 002.2 OF 004 establishing a place of worship without the proper approval of local authorities. Reshetnikov called the fine "illegal" claiming that the court was infringing on his right to practice his religion. He said he intended to appeal the fine. ¶4. Harassment of Opposition Youth Continues On August 11, a Vitebsk district court fined "Young Belarus" activist Taras Surgan $60 for conducting on July 16 an unsanctioned demonstration and publicly displaying the outlawed white-red-white flag of Belarus. Surgan rejected the accusations, saying that his intent had been to raise the public's awareness about Belarus' history and its national symbols. Surgan's associate, Maladaya Gramada group activist Valeriy Romanenko, was issued a warning for displaying a political banner on July 16. In Brest, on August 12, Mikhail Ilyin was interrogated by a prosecutor on the grounds that he had been active in the unregistered Malady Front group. Ilyin expressed concerns to the press that he could face criminal charges and jail time under Article 193 of the Criminal Code. ¶5. The Fourth Activist from the "Case of 14" Is Amnestied, but Dubskiy's Fate Still Unclear On August 12, police informed "European Belarus" civil campaign activist, Aleksandr Borozenko, that he had been granted amnesty. He is one of the 14 opposition youth convicted for participating in the January 10, 2008 unsanctioned entrepreneur demonstrations in Minsk. Borozenko had been serving a one year partial house arrest sentence and was the fourth of the 14 activists to have been amnestied. Separately, on August 20, Artyom Dubskiy, from the "case of 14", will hear the result of his appeal against the one year sentence that was on July 7 handed down against him for violating the terms of his partial house arrest (REFTEL). ¶6. One of the Three Volkovysk Activist Is Released Pending Court Date On August 8, Yuriy Leonov, one of the three Volkovysk activists, was released after being held in pretrial detention for five-months. He is banned from leaving Belarus until the case is completed. Leonov dismissed the arson charges against him and his two jailed associates, Nikolay Avtukhovich and Vladimir Osipenko, as "absurd". He said the authorities were "retaliating" for their continued efforts to run their private small businesses despite authorities efforts to block them. Leonov stated that he had been told that the investigation would be extended until October 8 and that the court hearing would take place in November of this year. He also stated that currently terrorist charges had been only brought against Avtukhovich. Osipenko's request to be remanded on bail pending the trial date was rejected. -------------- CSTO -------------- ¶7. An Emotional Lukashenka Continues to Send Mixed Messages on Belarus' Participation in CSTO In an August 11 press conference, Lukashenka questioned the feasibility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) force agreement and emotionally asked the journalist why Belarusian young men should die defending CSTO members when Belarus is not being "allowed into the Russian market" and is not able "to get energy resources from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Russia". Nevertheless, he flatly denied that CSTO parties, in particular Russia, were "blackmailing or putting pressure" on him to sign the document. He said he wasn't "against the integration processes, including those in the military and political areas," but that CSTO should consider the "understandable" structure of the equality-based membership in NATO. He pointed out that when NATO members "fight for each other; they have no barriers or borders" and "the strong help the weak there." Lukashenka told the press that if the CSTO agreement on rapid response forces proved to be beneficial for Belarus, of course the GOB would sign it. -------------- Domestic Economy -------------- ¶8. Talks Proceed on Establishing a Belarus, Russian, Kazakhstan Customs Union On August 12, Belarus Deputy PM Andrey Kobyakov, head of a GOB delegation to the three-party customs talks in Moscow, stated that common regulations of the Customs Union and not any national legislation would serve as the basis for their common customs territory. Kobyakov added that starting July 1, 2010, the three states would begin harmonizing their internal customs procedures. Meanwhile, Russian First Deputy PM Igor Shuvalov MINSK 00000274 003.2 OF 004 stated that there was agreement on a "transparent, flexible" scheme for distributing customs revenues for goods entering the single customs territory irrespective of the country of their origin or point of entry into the Union. Kobyakov, however, described the issue as "delicate". ¶9. Lukashenka Takes Steps to Improve the Investment Environment On August 6, President Lukashenka signed decree number 10 aimed at creating a more friendly investment climate. For example, the decree empowers lower levels of government to sign investment agreements. Local authorities can sign agreements if and when preferences set forth in existing law are not required for project implementation. The GOB can sign agreements if and when investors apply for existing preferences available in the law. However, when investors are seeking preferences not currently listed in the law, they will still need to obtain the President's clearance on the agreement. Also in the latter case investors will still be required to submit business plans and have the projects examined in advance by relevant government agencies. ¶10. Lukashenka Signs Edict on Investment Agents To Accelerate the Deal Making Process The Presidential press service reported on August 7 that Lukashenka signed edict 413, which establishes the procedure for nominating and approving investment agents, who can be both Belarusian and foreign entities. The agents will be able to expedite the process of preparing and concluding agreements. According to the report, the list of individuals and entities eligible to become investment agents will include those who have sufficient practical skills in drafting and implementing investment projects, and who posses business qualities, which enable them to negotiate investments "with top management of large companies". The investment agents can be nominated by any state organization, but the final decision will be taken by the GOB. ¶11. Lukashenka Wants the Government to Loosen its Control over Business Speaking at a government session on August 6, Lukashenka instructed government and the Prosecutors' office to only monitor the efficiency of businesses' operations and not to instruct them what to buy and from whom. He warned government agencies to avoid conducting ill-founded inspections of businesses and not to single out for inspection a business just because it was profitable. He instructed the government "not to interfere with businesses' operations in this serious time." ¶12. Lukashenka: no Downward Revision of Rural Development and Healthcare Spending On August 8, Lukashenka visited several farms in the Brest Oblast to inspect the ongoing harvest. He assured the rural population that despite the global crisis the GOB's rural development and healthcare spending would stay constant. He also proposed that Belarus should seek to expand the sizes of its farms in order to "optimize" the nation's agricultural sector. "However, the government should not artificially drive everyone into large farms," he was quoted as saying. "I flatly oppose artificial enlargement. If a small farm operates at a profit, let it be as it is." He also stated that over the next five-years, the government would stop subsidizing the agricultural sector, and would only focus on developing infrastructure and social programs in the rural areas. During his travel on August 11 to farms in the Minsk Oblast, Lukashenka said the state's objective was to raise Belarus' agriculture to European norms, and to do so he said, "we need discipline, reasonable salaries, and high technology." -------------- Foreign Trade -------------- ¶13. Trade Between India and Belarus Grows Despite Global Financial Crisis The Indian Ambassador to Belarus, Ramesh Chandra, told the media on August 11 that the Indian FM, SM Krishna, would visit Belarus in September and would meet with Lukashenka, FM Sergey Martynov, and other GOB officials. The parties would discuss the development of bilateral cooperation and that India hoped to sign a number of agreements, including establishing an Indian digital technology training center at the Minsk-based IT Park. India also was interested, he said, in signing a long-term contract to purchase Belarus potash fertilizers that would take it beyond its current agreement to purchase 675,000 tons over the next 12 months. Despite the global financial crisis, trade between the two countries, according to the Ambassador, was projected to increase from $432 million in 2008 to $500 million in 2009. MINSK 00000274 004.2 OF 004 -------------- Quote of the Week -------------- ¶14. Answering questions in a TV program "Formula of Power" co-issued by ITAR-TASS news agency and Russian Television on August 13, Lukashenka posited that one of the reasons for tension in the Russia-Belarus relationship is that Russian elite's lacked sufficient knowledge about what was going on in Belarus. "Russia's political elite knows absolutely nothing about what is going on in Belarus. They read in ugly newspapers that hate Belarus and are full of sponsored articles that Belarus has turned to the West. Make sure you use official channels of information, ask me where we turned to. They do not know what is going on here." SCANLAN