US embassy cable - 05MINSK984

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000984 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ECON, BO 
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - August 17, 2005 
 
 
1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled 
by Embassy Minsk over the past week. 
 
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Political Developments 
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2.  Kyoto Protocol 
 
On August 15, Belarus joined the Kyoto Protocol.  At the 
upcoming November meeting of participating countries, 
the GOB plans to negotiate its terms of participation, 
hoping to set its emission target at five to eight 
percent below 1990 levels.  [Note: by one estimate, 
Belarus' current emissions are roughly half of their 
1990 level, due to economic dislocations after the fall 
of the USSR.]  The GOB expects it can earn up to USD 325 
million annually selling emission rights. 
Representatives of the UN Economic Commission for Europe 
will visit Belarus in September to write recommendations 
on Belarus' participation in the accord. 
 
3.  Closer to Kaliningrad 
 
On August 16, Lukashenko ordered increasing trade and 
economic relations with Kaliningrad, which he described 
as being closer to Belarus than to Russia.  He said that 
residents there are people of Belarus, "no matter what 
political forces in Russia might say," and Belarus will 
provide them with grain, should they need it.  The GOB 
created a special commission to address increasing 
relations with the Russian exclave and will discuss 
exports of road and automobile equipment, as well as 
problems with transit of cargo to Kaliningrad. 
Lukashenko also said he is considering investing in 
expanding Kaliningrad's port. 
 
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Human Rights 
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4.  Trade Union Evicted 
 
On August 9, the Minsk City Economic Court ordered that 
the Belarusian Free Trade Union (BFTU) be evicted from 
their office.  According to the Belarusian Congress of 
Free Trade Unions, once evicted, the BFTU will have no 
legal address, and the GOB will be free to close the 
union.  The BFTU will appeal the ruling. 
 
5.  Journalist's Tapes Seized 
 
On August 10, customs officers confiscated all 
videotapes from Polish television reporter Mikolaj 
Wawrzenuik.  The tapes contained interviews with members 
of the Union of Belarusian Poles (UBP) and opposition 
figures.  Authorities said they will keep the videotapes 
for ten days.  Reporters without Borders reports that 
since July 6, authorities have arrested, fined, 
imprisoned or banned from entering Belarus at least 19 
journalists as part of the ongoing conflict with Poland. 
 
6.  Newspapers Seizure Justified 
 
On August 11, the Dubrovno Prosecutor's Office replied 
to complaints by the editor of Den newspaper about the 
May 26 seizure of 1,990 copies of the weekly at the 
Russian border.  The prosecutor's office replied that 
after a visual examination, police officers noticed that 
articles mentioned events that occurred after May 9, the 
date shown as the printing date.  This violates 
established procedure under the media law.  The 
prosecutor's office advised the paper to apply to the 
regional police department for the return of the seized 
copies. 
 
7.  Severinets Begins Sentence 
 
On August 15, youth opposition leader Pavel Severinets 
(formerly head of Malady Front) began his two-year 
restricted freedom sentence in Vetran.  Authorities 
convicted him of organizing an unsanctioned rally in 
October 2004 to protest the results of the parliamentary 
elections.  He will work as a log piler at a warehouse 
of Polotskles timber enterprise, moving logs from the 
crosscutting site to the piling site, then sorting them 
by size. 
 
8.  UBP Member Sentence Extended 
 
On August 12, a judge sentenced UBP first chairman 
 
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Tadeusz Gawin to an additional 15 days in prison for 
allegedly starting a fight with a cellmate.  Gawin 
claimed that the cellmate, who has a criminal record, 
started the fight.  The UBP believes that the sentence 
is politically motivated.  [Note: Gawin is a short, thin 
man in his 50's, not a likely brawler.] 
 
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Economics 
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9.  Monthly Pension Up 
 
On August 11, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security 
announced that average retirement pensions will increase 
to USD 100 on September 1, from a current USD 92.  This 
is in accordance with a request from the President. 
 
10.  Health Price Regulation 
 
On August 12, Lukashenko signed a decree regulating the 
pricing of medications, medical products and medical 
equipment.  The decree sets upper limits for wholesale 
and retail prices, which do not depend upon the origin 
of the goods and which are lower than current limits. 
To strengthen financial discipline at health care 
establishments, the decree specifies that the National 
Bank's official exchange rates must be used when buying 
medications with foreign currency.  The GOB expects 
these measures to save money for the state budget. 
 
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Relations with Poland 
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11.  Poles Refuse Belarusian Children? 
 
In early August Belarusian state television claimed that 
Polish authorities refused to allow a group of children 
enter the country to go to a summer camp in Oletsko. 
Therefore, the GOB provided space for them at a high 
quality camp in Belarus.  The deputy mayor of Oletsko 
denied inviting the children in the first place, while 
the Polish Consulate claims that they gave visas to the 
children.  Journalist Igor Bantser believes that someone 
from the UBP simply failed to organize the trip, and the 
state media accordingly used the incident to aggravate 
the current conflict. 
 
12.  Humanitarian Action 
 
On August 16, the Belarusian embassy in Warsaw condemned 
Polish efforts to collect foodstuffs, second hand 
clothes and essential goods for Poles and the opposition 
in Belarus as "anti-Belarusian propaganda, aimed at 
creating the image of Belarus as a poor and timid 
country".  The administration of Warsaw is conducting a 
donation drive to gather preserved foodstuffs, clothes, 
air conditioners, personal hygiene products and school 
supplies to help Belarusian Poles and those who oppose 
Lukashenko. 
 
13.  UBP Seal Missing 
 
On August 15, police interrogated UBP disputed leader 
Anzhelika Boris about the disappearance of the official 
seal of the UBP.  Former leader Tadeusz Kruczkowski 
filed a report about the missing seal on August 5.  He 
claimed that the economist and chief accountant of the 
UBP told police that Boris had taken the seal from them. 
Boris denies this. 
 
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Miscellaneous 
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14.  Lukashenko Unhappy with Minsk 
 
On August 15, Lukashenko described the region as 
neglected and strictly forbade any construction on 
arable lands, commenting that it "looks like an atomic 
bomb was blown up near Minsk.  I will not tolerate this 
attitude to the land."  He charged government officials 
with "fixing things" by November 7.  The President also 
encouraged increasing productivity of Minsk district two 
to four times. 
 
15.  Pig Breeding 
 
On August 11, the Ministry of Natural Resources and 
Environmental Protection announced plans to build 
 
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Europe's largest pig-breeding complex on the border with 
Lithuania.  They plan to build two complexes in the 
Grodno region; each housing up to 108,000 pigs.  The 
Ministry stated that large meat exports to Russia 
necessitate the increase in pig production.  The 
Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that 
construction of these complexes is retaliation for 
Lithuanian plans to build a nuclear waste storage plant 
on the border, and expressed concern about the pig waste 
polluting nearby rivers. 
 
16.  Autodealers in Trouble 
 
On August 12, the State Customs Committee (SCC) began 
legal proceedings against executives of several large 
automobile dealerships.  The SCC charges executives of 
Yukola-Avto LLC, Atlant Concern, Avtodinamo LLC and PM 
Market CJSC of importing cars for personal use, then 
selling them through the companies. 
 
 
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Quotes of the Week 
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17.  On August 12, Lukashenko expressed his confidence 
of victory in the 2006 presidential election and decried 
the quality of the opposition in Belarus. 
 
"I am not trembling with fear that I might lose power, 
and this is my advantage.  Pardon my lack of modesty, 
but I think the people will support me.  We know 
perfectly well those who are eager to get into the 
president's seat.  [But] they should stay away from 
power, as they hate their people.  Our so-called 
opposition is troubled about the idea of losing money. 
They are rushing about like cockroaches in a tight 
corner and will cut each other's throats." 
 
18.  On August 16, Andrey Charukhin, deputy head of the 
Foreign Relations Department of the Ministry of 
Education, whilst speaking about student travel abroad, 
touched on parents' reactions. 
 
"We receive a lot of calls from parents who thank us for our 
work, but there are those of discontent, of course, but 
presidential decrees are to be executed, not discussed." 
 
PHLIPOT