US embassy cable - 05MINSK1169

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 001169 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ECON, BO 
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - September 23, 
2005 
 
1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled 
by Embassy Minsk over the past week. 
 
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Civil Society 
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2. GOB Customs Service "Stays Outside Politics" 
 
On September 16, the State Customs Committee announced 
that the GOB has not ordered the Belarusian customs 
service to seize propaganda materials in the run up to 
the presidential elections.  Customs, however, can seize 
any item that falls on the list of printed materials 
that cannot be brought into Belarus, which include 
printed publications that can harm the country. 
 
3. Migration Trends 
 
On September 16, Interior Ministry deputy Sergei Matus 
announced statistics on migration trends.  Whereas the 
GOB granted permanent resident status to 7,000 people 
thus far in 2005, 6,500 Belarusian citizens have 
emigrated permanently to destinations such as the U.S., 
Germany and Israel.  Slightly more than 5,000 Belarusian 
citizens leave the country annually to work abroad in 
counties like Russia, the U.S., Britain, Belgium and the 
Czech Republic. 
 
4. Foreign Spies Active In Belarus 
 
On September 19, the Belarusian KGB accused foreign 
intelligence services of undertaking "extremely 
aggressive and hysterical work" against Belarus in the 
lead up to the 2006 presidential election.  The KGB 
threatens to expose the work of the spies in order to 
prevent Belarusian citizens from being recruited. 
 
5. GOB Does Not Re-register 100 Tourist Companies 
 
On September 21, the Ministry of Sport and Tourism has 
cancelled the licenses of over 100 tourist companies in 
Belarus.  Most of them had not applied for license renewals, 
presumably because they did not want to participate in the 
government-mandated import of tourists. 
 
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Human Rights 
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6. GOB Rejects UN Human Rights Initiatives 
 
On September 19, GOB authorities announced that they 
would not cooperate with UN Commission on Human Rights 
Special Rapporteur Adrian Severin since they deemed his 
appointment to be "unjustified" and his report 
"unbalanced and biased."  The GOB also opposed the U.S. 
proposal to remove countries that do not meet certain 
human rights standards from the UN Human Rights Council. 
Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Gaisenok stated that it 
gives "countries using the human rights theme to achieve 
their own political goals enormous opportunities for 
manipulation." 
 
7. Number of Independent Newspapers Decreased 
 
At the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) tenth 
anniversary conference on September 16, BAJ lawyer 
Mikhail Pastukhov announced the number of independent 
newspapers has decreased threefold in the last five 
years.  He also pointed out that no new periodicals have 
appeared during that time and the total number of 
periodicals has decreased by 243 in the last two years. 
 
8. Belarus Will Not Prohibit Foreign Broadcasts into Belarus 
 
On September 21, the Ministry of Communication announced it 
does not plan to hinder foreign television and radio 
broadcasts into Belarus.  However, the GOB plans to continue 
its long-term strategy to bring "true and unbiased 
information about Belarus" to bordering regions in EU member 
countries. 
 
9. No State-Sponsored Anti-Semitism Here 
 
On September 15, Israeli Ambassador to Belarus Zeev Ben 
Arie stated he does "not consider anti-Semitism a state 
phenomena in Belarus."  The Ambassador did acknowledge 
that isolated manifestations of anti-Semetism do occur 
and urged authorities to respond quickly and accurately 
 
MINSK 00001169  002 OF 003 
 
 
to these incidents. 
 
10. Laid Off Employees Fight Back 
 
On September 15, activists announced plans to form an 
association for those who have lost their job as a 
result of the GOB's new employment contract system.  The 
new system makes it easier to dismiss employees from 
their jobs.  Authorities, however, often misuse the 
system as a means to crack down on opposition and 
independent trade union activists.  The association 
plans to hold awareness campaigns, solicit support from 
international organizations and create a database of 
affected workers. 
 
11. Ethnicity Identification Required for University 
 
Belarusian State University must present lists of 
student who identify themselves as Poles or Lithuanians 
to the local deans' offices.  Although the university 
authorities claim this measure satisfies their need for 
information on international students at the university, 
it is coincidental that they want information on 
students from countries with which the GOB has recently 
had problems. 
 
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Economics 
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12. Raiffeisen to Provide Lukoil-Belarus with USD 20 Million 
 
On September 20, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterrich AG 
(Austria) loaned Lukoil-Belarus USD 20 million to finance 
supplies of Lukoil crude oil to Belarus refineries.  The 
agreement was signed at Priorbank OJSC, which is a member of 
RZB Group and a subsidiary of Raiffeisen International Bank 
Holding. 
 
13. GOB Takes 95% Share in Minsk Porcelain Plant 
 
On September 22, the GOB announced plans to increase its 
shareholding in the Minsk Porcelain Plant from 9% to 95%. 
Lukashenko recently signed a decree creating an additional 
2.6 million shares for government purchase at BYR 500 [USD 
0.23] each.  In previous cases the GOB would first take over 
ownership of a company through the Golden Share before 
having the company grant a majority stake to the GOB.  This 
is the first case where the GOB dispensed with the 
intermediate pretense of using the Golden Share. 
 
14. Belarus' Breweries Fear Premium Barley Shortage 
 
The quality of this year's barley crop is lower than last 
year, therefore making it difficult to meet the quality beer 
production expectations.  Homegrown barley cannot supplement 
the crop, which means that Belarus will have to import 
additional barley to make beer.  However, in early September 
Lukashenko ordered brewers to only use domestic barley, 
claiming there was sufficient quality and quantity. 
 
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Bilateral Relations 
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15. Belarus and Iraq to Restore Trade Relations 
 
On September 15 at the UNGA, Lukashenko and Iraqi President 
Jalal Talabani agreed to restore bilateral trade and 
economic relations.  Before Belarus and Iraq suspended trade 
relations in 2002, bilateral trade turnover reached USD 30 
million.  Political scientist Vladimir Ulakovich labeled the 
recent negotiations as an "act of courtesy" since he sees 
little chance of restored relations, claiming that even 
Russia has been ousted from the Iraqi market. 
 
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International Relations 
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16. Lukashenko Allows IAEA Inspections 
 
On September 19, Lukashenko issued an edict to allow the 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to access 
Belarus' nuclear facilities under the Treaty on the Non- 
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.  The IAEA will be able 
to conduct inspections to verify the GOB's nuclear 
material and use reports. 
 
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MINSK 00001169  003 OF 003 
 
 
Quote of the Week 
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17. At the UNGA on September 15, Lukashenko reminisced 
about the glory days of the former USSR: 
 
"Fifteen years have passed since the break up of my 
country, the USSR.  The Soviet Union, despite all the 
mistakes and blunders of its leaders, was the source of 
hope and support for many states and peoples." 
 
18. On September 20, Lukashenko declared that the 
Belarusian opposition would soon find its funding 
channels plugged up completely: 
 
"After the [2006] presidential election, there will be 
not many grants either for political opposition or so- 
called free trade unions.  There will no longer be 
sponsors around to carry them on their backs." 
 
19. He also warned a pro-government trade union 
federation to focus on representing the interest of 
workers and not protecting the rights of people: 
 
"If you rush to protect human rights, you will wind up 
doing the same [thing] that the political opposition 
does." 
 
KROL