VZCZCXRO4735
PP RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHNY #0523/01 1160514
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 260514Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY OSLO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3856
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHSK/AMEMBASSY MINSK PRIORITY 0096
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 3888
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OSLO 000523 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BO NO
SUBJECT: OSLO ROLLS OUT RED CARPET FOR BELARUS' MILINKEVICH 
 
 
Classified By: Acting Pol/Econ Counselor Doug Apostol, reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  Belarussian presidential candidate 
Alexander Milinkevich's April 19-22 visit to Oslo (sponsored 
by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee) included high-level 
meetings with top Norwegian officials, numerous press 
activities and an afternoon coffee hosted by Ambassador and 
Mrs. Whitney.  Milinkevich who was accompanied by his wife, 
Inna Kulei, former Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Sannikov 
and political advisor Andrei Kuselchuk, secured a Norwegian 
government pledge of strong political support and increased 
financial assistance for the Belarussian opposition.  At the 
Ambassador's event, Milinkevich expressed appreciation for 
U.S. support for the Belarussian opposition and confidence 
that "the dictator" Lukashenko would be ousted before the end 
of his latest five-year term.  End summary. 
 
Norway's A-Team Meets Milinkevich 
- - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - 
 
¶2.  (C) Berit Lindeman, Norwegian Helsinki Committee Adviser 
(and longtime friend of Milinkevich), told us Milinkevich was 
given a warm welcome by Norway's top officials.  His schedule 
included meetings with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, 
Foreign Minister Stoere, and the Foreign Affairs Standing 
Committee of the Norwegian Parliament.  Lindeman said that 
the Belarus visitors "achieved more than we hoped for," 
including pledges of full support for the Belarussian 
opposition from the Norwegian government and Parliament. 
Lindeman noted that the Norwegian government gave "concrete 
promises" to significantly increase financial support for the 
opposition.  Prime Minister Stoltenberg also announced that 
Norway would follow the U.S. and EU in imposing a travel ban 
on 31 top Lukashenko regime officials.  Stoltenberg told the 
press after meeting Milinkevich, "It is unacceptable that a 
country in Europe cannot have free elections . . . I have 
raised this issue with several prime ministers, among them 
Russia's Prime Minister Fradkov." 
 
Ambassador's Event Sparks Lively Debate, Gets Positive Press 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (C) On April 21, Ambassador and Mrs. Whitney hosted an 
afternoon coffee in Milinkevich's honor.  In addition to the 
Belarus visitors and members of the Helsinki Committee, the 
diverse list of attendees included Norwegian 
parliamentarians, political party leaders, members of 
academia and NGO representatives.  Stating that democracy 
"requires courage and effort," the Ambassador commended 
Milinkevich on his efforts to foster democracy in Belarus. 
Speaking through a Russian interpreter, Milinkevich expressed 
gratitude for U.S. support, noting that the  American people 
"were one of the first who stretched out the hand of 
friendship in our fight." 
 
¶4.  (C) Milinkevich referred to Lukashenko throughout the 
event simply as "the dictator."  He was sure that Lukashenko 
did not really win the March 2006 election, asserting that 
the election results were "already determined two or three 
years ago."  Commenting on Lukashenko's claim to 79% of the 
vote, Milinkevich joked that dictators do not like to receive 
less than 75%.  In spite of the vote-rigging, Milinkevich 
professed to be "in a good and optimistic mood," as "almost 
all democratic forces were now united" against Lukashenko. 
He pledged that he "would not let the dictator sit for five 
more years." 
 
¶5.  (C) The Belarus attendees fielded questions on a broad 
array of topics, including youth involvement in politics, 
cultural identification, and Russia's role in propping up 
Lukashenko.  Milinkevich and his colleagues spoke 
passionately about the European Humanitarian School and its 
role in preserving Belarussian language and cultural 
identity.  Milinkevich asserted that Lukashenko sought to 
undermine such schools, and thereby retard a Belarus national 
identity, because he viewed them as a threat to his 
authority.  Lukashenko was leading Belarus into 
"self-isolation," said Milinkevich. 
 
¶6.  (C) Milinkevich, Sannikov and Kuselchuk all spoke at 
length about Russian involvement in Belarus' affairs. 
Milinkevich asserted that "Russia does not see the big 
problem with Lukashenko" and has been comfortable with the 
Russia-Belarus union.  He said that Russia was using Belarus 
as a conduit for its shady dealings with unsavory regimes. 
As an example, Milinkevich cited talks between the Russians 
and an Iranian delegate in Minsk recently, which may have 
focused on supplying Russian S-300 missiles and nuclear 
technology to Teheran.  Kuselchuk thought that for the 
 
OSLO 00000523  002 OF 002 
 
 
opposition to be successful, European democracies would have 
to "open a dialogue with Russia" on Belarus to persuade 
Moscow to drop its support for "Europe's last dictatorship." 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Ambassador and Milinkevich sat down with 
Norwegian TV and print reporters following the event.  Media 
coverage was prominent and positive.  A nearly two minute 
long television news report on Milinkevich's visit led off 
with footage from the coffee event and quoted the Ambassador 
extensively.  Print media reports were equally favorable. 
Visit Oslo's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/oslo/index.cf m 
 
WHITNEY