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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 001524 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - December 20, 2005 
 
 
¶1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled by 
Embassy Minsk over the past week. 
 
--------- 
Elections 
--------- 
 
¶2.  "Ambassador's Residence is Opposition's Meetinghouse" - State 
TV 
 
On December 17, Post held its annual children's holiday party for 
U.S. Embassy staff at Ambassador's residence.  State ONT television 
channel, however, reported that the gathering was an opposition 
meeting being held in response to the announcement of the early 
presidential elections date.  ONT claimed that the opposition 
activists turned to their "sponsors" for advice. 
 
¶3.  Police Prevent Meeting with Opposition Candidate 
 
On December 14, police in Brest broke up a meeting of the local 
intelligentsia and the single opposition candidate, Aleksandr 
Milinkevich.  Approximately 20 minutes after the meeting started, 
police entered the apartment where the "unsanctioned" meeting was 
being held and threatened to call the riot police unless the 70 
participants vacated the premises. 
 
¶4.  Criminal Code Amendments Influence Formation of Political 
Coalition 
 
On December 15, pro-Lukashenko MP and presidential hopeful 
Sergei Gaidukevich canceled plans to hold a congress to 
establish a political coalition to support him in his bid for 
presidency.  Gaidukevich, the Liberal Democratic Party leader, 
changed his mind about the congress for fear of punishment 
under the new amendments to the criminal code, which make it 
illegal to participate in an unregistered organization. 
Instead, Gaidukevich will use the proposed name, "Novaya 
Belarus - Yedinstvo" (New Belarus - Unity), of the political 
coalition he planned to form as his presidential campaign 
slogan. 
 
¶5.  Communist Youth Supports Opposition Candidate 
 
On December 11, the Lenin Communist Youth Union of Belarus 
(LKSMB) - the successor to the Soviet-era state-run communist 
youth organization, Komsomol - came out in support of 10+ 
Coalition candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich.  [Note: The LKSMB is 
the youth component of Sergei Kalyakin's Communist Party of 
Belarus.  Kalyakin is Milinkevich's campaign manager.]  LKSMB 
promised to remain in opposition of the GOB's policies and 
pledged "every kind of assistance" possible to the Milinkevich 
campaign. 
 
¶6.  Phone Plan Canned Allegedly Due to Association with Single 
Candidate 
 
On December 13, mobile phone service provider Velcom denied 
rumors that it canceled the popular cellular phone rate plan 
"Yediny" (Single) - which offered a single rate on all calls - 
because of the name's close association with the "single" 
opposition candidate, Aleksandr Milinkevich.  The company said 
it chose to suspend its promotion of the plan - which it had 
launched in mid-November - to focus on promotional efforts for 
the New Year season. 
 
------------ 
Human Rights 
------------ 
 
¶7.  Amendments to the Criminal Code Become Law 
 
On December 20, press reports indicate that Lukashenko signed the 
amendments to Belarus' criminal code into law.  The amendments 
introduce severe penalties for activities deemed "revolutionary" 
and harmful to the public.  Under the amendments, participating in 
street demonstrations, "discrediting" Belarus' image abroad, 
appealing to foreign nations and international organizations to 
"act to the detriment of Belarus," and spreading "false" 
information about Belarus are criminal offenses warranting up to 
three years in prison.  The amendments will take effect on December 
¶30. 
 
¶8.  Advisor to the Polish PM Denied Entry to Belarus 
 
On December 11, Belarusian border guards did not allow advisor to 
the Polish Prime Minister Michal Dworczyk to enter Belarus.  Guards 
looked through his passport, told him he was not allowed to enter 
Belarus and suggested he return to Poland.  Dworczyk planned to 
travel to Belarus to meet with allies of Anzhelika Borys, the 
unrecognized leader of the Union of Belarusian Poles.  The other 
two diplomats traveling with Dworczyk were allowed to enter into 
 
MINSK 00001524  002 OF 003 
 
 
Belarus. 
 
¶9.  Polish Journalist Denied Entry to Belarus Twice in Three Days 
 
On December 10, Belarusian border guards refused to allow Polish 
journalist Agnieszka Romaszewska to enter Belarus to open a TVP 
public television network correspondent bureau in Minsk.  On 
December 13, Romaszewska again attempted to gain entry to Belarus 
at the Minsk International Airport, but border guards promptly 
detained her and tried to force her back on the same plane 
returning to Warsaw despite her valid visa and accreditation from 
the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  She was sent home the 
next day. 
 
¶10. GOB Restricts Travel of UPB Activist 
 
On December 12, Grodno authorities returned Union of Belarusian 
Poles (UBP) activist Andrzej Poczobut's passport with a stamp and a 
hand written note temporarily barring him from leaving Belarus. 
Border guards seized his passport on November 19 when he was 
returning to Belarus from Poland.  Poczobut insisted that the GOB's 
ban will not prevent him from traveling because he will simply 
travel from Belarus to Europe via Russia as he has done in the 
past. 
 
¶11. Independent Newspapers Evicted from Premises 
 
On December 9, the management of the Pinsk area hotel Sport 
informed the independent newspaper "Myastsovy Chas (MC)" that its 
rental contract, which was valid until July 2006, will expire on 
January 31, 2006.  The hotel, which is a member of the Belarusian 
Defense and Sports Technical Society, did not provide an 
explanation for the early termination of its contract.  MC editor- 
in-chief Viktor Yarashuk stated that the paper always pays its 
bills and rent on time and viewed this action as another GOB 
attempt to smother the independent press.  [Note: the state postal 
monopoly, Belpochta, has refused to include MC on its 2006 
subscription catalogue.]  Separately, on December 15, the editorial 
office of independent newspaper "Gazeta Dlya Vas" in the 
Ivatsevichy district was told that the Ivatsevichy district 
executive committee plans to break its rental agreement with the 
paper.  The authorities claim that they need the space to prepare 
for the September 2006 harvest festival.  Representatives from the 
paper claimed that this decision was a politically motivated move. 
 
¶12. Leader of Election Monitoring NGO Partnership Arrested 
 
On December 17, police took Partnership director Nikolai Astreiko 
to a special detention center so that he could serve the remainder 
of his prison sentence.  Astreiko had become ill and was taken to a 
hospital after serving only four days out of his 15-day prison 
sentence for holding an unsanctioned meeting to elect a new board 
of directors for Partnership in October.  Astreiko should be 
released on December 27 or 28. 
 
¶13. Amendments to the Anti-TIP Decree Pass the Lower House 
 
On December 13, the lower house of parliament adopted a series of 
amendments to the March 9 presidential decree on trafficking in 
persons.  The amendments state that any student wishing to study 
abroad for more than 30 days or work abroad without a direct 
employment contract must receive permission from the Belarusian 
Ministry of Education.  In addition, the amendments also require 
all websites soliciting and distributing personal information, 
including on-line dating websites, to obtain a special operating 
license. 
 
¶14. Police Raid Muslim Community 
 
On December 12, the independent weekly "BDG Delovaya Gazeta" 
reported that Belarusian law enforcement officials recently raided 
the homes of local Muslims under the pretext of looking for 
suspects connected with the Vitebsk bombings.  During the searches, 
the police detained and questioned Muslims and confiscated 
religious literature. 
 
¶15. NV Contributor's Death His Own Fault 
 
On December 15, the Minsk Prosecutor's Office representative Igor 
Shkatulo told independent news source "Interfax" that the death of 
independent weekly "Narodnaya Volya's" contributor Vasiley 
Grodnikov was not a murder but instead "resulted form his own 
careless actions."  Therefore, Shkatulo concluded there was no need 
to open a criminal investigation.  Grodnikov was found dead in his 
apartment on October 18.  Coroner reports indicated that his death 
was caused by a blow to the head with a blunt object. 
 
¶16. Political Prisoner Banned from Sending Letters to Foreign 
Embassies and from Attending his Father's Funeral 
 
On December 9, prison officials banned political prisoner and 
 
MINSK 00001524  003 OF 003 
 
 
activist Valery Levonevsky from sending letters to foreign 
embassies.  In the past, Levonevsky, who is serving a two-year 
prison sentence for defaming the president, sent letters to foreign 
embassies asking for funding for the prison's dilapidated library. 
Citing internal prison regulations, the prison officials said that 
individuals may only send letters to foreign embassies of which 
they are citizens.  Levonevsky disagrees with the prison officials' 
interpretation of the regulation and said he had "read the article, 
but found no such rules" outlining restrictions on sending letters 
to embassies.  Separately on December 15, the prison officials 
denied Levonevsky's request to attend his father's funeral despite 
having filed all the paperwork correctly because they claimed 
Levonevsky persistently breaks official prison rules. 
 
¶17. Activist Fined for Keeping Opposition Papers 
 
On December 14, a Svetlogorsk district court fined Francisak 
Skaryna Belarusian Language Society activist Vadim Bogdan BYR 
300,000 [USD 140] for "violating the procedure of producing and 
distributing printed matter."  Bogdan disagreed with the court's 
decision because he neither printed nor distributed the bulletins, 
but simply had them in his apartment.  The police found them when 
they conducted a raid on his house on November 22. 
 
------------------- 
Bilateral Relations 
------------------- 
 
¶18. Belarus and Iran Are Getting Closer 
 
On December 15, Iranian Speaker of Parliament Gholam Ali Haddad 
Adel met with Speaker of the Belarusian House of 
Representatives Vladimir Konoplev in Minsk.  Adel offered 
Belarus support in withstanding international pressure.  Adel 
stated that Iran wants "Belarus to be a powerful state and will 
never put up with attempts by international organizations to 
put pressure on your state.  Rather, we will help counter such 
attempts."  During his visit, Adel also met with First Deputy 
Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko and other GOB officials. 
 
----------------- 
Quote of the Week 
----------------- 
 
¶19. On December 16, after the announcement of the March 19, 2006, 
presidential elections date, Central Election Committee Chairperson 
Lidiya Yermoshina outlined restrictions on campaigning for 
volunteers while collecting nomination signatures: 
 
"While initiative groups are collecting signatures from voters, 
they have the right to present written information about the 
candidate to the citizens, but not to distribute this information." 
 
KROL