US embassy cable - 05MINSK1090

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 001090 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ECON, BO 
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - September 7, 2005 
 
 
1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled 
by Embassy Minsk over the past week. 
 
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Human Rights 
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2. Belarusian Trafficker Extradited from Spain 
 
On September 2, Spanish police arrested and extradited a 
Belarusian woman suspected of involvement in an 
international ring that trafficked Belarusian women 
abroad.  She purportedly recruited women to work as 
prostitutes in nightclubs outside of Belarus from 1998- 
2002.  The woman fled from Belarus after authorities 
charged her and forbade her to travel abroad. 
 
3. Party Activist Fined for Assembly 
 
On August 30, the Brest regional court fined Belarusian 
Party of Communists activist Anatoly Novik BYR 1.02 
million [USD 475] for a non-authorized assembly that the 
party held on July 9 to promote delegates for the 
National Congress of Democratic Forces.  Even though the 
assembly was held indoors at a legal address and the 
police did not show up until after the event ended, the 
judge still found Novik guilty. 
 
4. BTV Accuses Statkevich of Blocking Czech Loan to 
Belarus 
 
On Septmber 2, opposition politician Nikolai Statkevich 
rejected recent accusations from Belarusian Television 
that he had used his contacts with the Czech Social 
Democratic Party to convince them in 2000 to deny a loan 
to the GOB to finance grain purchases.  Statkevich said 
that the allegations were a lie and that he had always 
spoken out "against the economic isolation of Belarus." 
 
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Civil Society 
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5. Sergei Skrebets To Run for President 
 
On September 7 in a letter to his brother, former MP and 
Respublika member Sergei Skrebets announced his 
intention to run for president in 2006.  Skrebets' 
brother could not comment on how serious Skrebets is 
about his candidacy as Skrebets is currently being held 
in custody on bribery charges in a prison hospital. 
 
6. Work Abroad Programs in Jeopardy 
 
Out of the 40 entities that previously offered foreign 
employment services, the Ministry of Interior has only 
re-registered three organizations and one individual 
proprietor as of September 1.  These lucky four managed 
to meet the requirements - including direct contracts 
with foreign employers - set forth by Lukashenko's anti- 
trafficking decree.  Six other employment agencies await 
responses from the MoI on the status of their 
applications for re-registration. 
 
7. Not Leaving on a Jet Plane 
 
On September 6, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism the 
licenses of 179 travel agencies operating in Belarus for 
failure to offer sufficient inbound tourism services. 
This requirement became mandatory for registration after 
Lukashenko stated that foreign tourism exceeded inbound 
tourism by 800% at his annual address to parliament. 
 
8. Belarusian SWAT Team Trained to Pacify Riots 
 
Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov stated on September 5 
that Belarus' OMON (riot police) had just completed 
training on effective methods for dispersing mass 
demonstrations.  The training drills ranged from drills 
pacifying a crowd at a football match to putting down a 
riot in a city. 
 
9. Council to Coordinate Opposition Resources 
 
On September 5, the opposition United Civic Party 
proposed to form a council to manage the resources and 
campaigning strategies of opposition parties during next 
year's presidential election.  The council's executive 
committee would consist of prominent opposition figures 
and potential opposition candidates including former 
Agriculture Minister Vasily Leonov, ex-MP Valery Frolov, 
 
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Chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade 
Unions Aleksandr Yaroshuk and educator Vladimir Kolos. 
 
10. Lukashenko Allows Opposition Congress to Meet in 
Minsk 
 
On September 9, Embassy received confirmation that 
Lukashenko instructed authorities to assist the 
opposition in organizing the single candidate 
presidential nomination congress in Minsk.  The congress 
organizers had applied for permission to meet in Minsk, 
but had turned to Kiev when they did not get a response 
from Minsk city officials.  Dismissing accusations that 
the government was playing petty games, Lukashenko 
stated, "I recommended that our authorities offer them 
[the congress organizers] assistance in conducting this 
event, so that they will not make fuss abroad in 
Ukraine, or Lithuania or Poland that they are stifled 
here, not allowed to hold [the congress].  Why should we 
obstruct?  What is the point?" 
 
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Economics 
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11. Belarusian-Russian Economic Forum 
 
On September 6, Minsk hosted the first Belarusian-Russian 
Economic program.  Over 2,500 delegates were invited to 
discuss economic aspects of cooperation and integration and 
equal rights for Belarusian and Russian businesses.  One 
source reported that the 600 Russian businessmen who 
attended already do business in Belarus, but were told by 
the GOB they must attend the forum if they want to keep 
doing business in Belarus. 
 
12. No Loan from Russia to Cover Increased Gas Prices 
 
Russia gave Belarus a USD 175 million loan to Belarus in 
2004 to help cover rising natural gas costs.  In 2005 
Belarus asked for USD 146 million to offset the 18 percent 
increase in the cost of gas related to changing the way VAT 
was assessed between the two countries.  However, the GOR 
officially refused to grant this loan, claiming the GOB is 
"capable of paying for the gas." 
 
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International Relations 
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13. Closer Ties Between Belarus and Iran 
 
At a meeting between Belarusian Ambassador Leonid 
Rachkov and Chairman of the Iranian National Legislature 
Gholam Ali Haddad Adel on bilateral and regional 
cooperation on September 1, Adel discussed prospects of 
all-round cooperation between Belarus and Iran.  He 
stated that the two countries "adhere to similar stances 
on many international problems: Tehran and Minsk are 
both concerned about NATO's eastward enlargement, are 
interested in the creation of a nuclear-free zone and 
support efforts to combat international terrorism." 
 
14. Cooperation with NATO Not Top Priority for Military 
 
On September 6, Assistant Defense Minister Sergey 
Bulygin stated cooperating with NATO and NATO's 
Partnership for Peace Program is not a main concern for 
the GOB Ministry of Defense (MoD).  Instead, the MoD 
will focus on its partnership with Russia, participation 
in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and 
cooperation with neighboring states. 
 
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Quote of the Week 
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15. On September 6 at a press conference, Belarus-Russia 
Union State Secretary Pavel Borodin responded to rumors 
he might be the next Russian Ambassador to Minsk: 
 
"Are you serious?!  I am the number three man in the 
Union State.  What is so special about being an 
ambassador?  There are 330 ambassadors and I am over 6 
foot tall." 
 
PHLIPOT