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

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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.

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--------------
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