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DE RUEHSK #0638/01 1670513
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R 160513Z JUN 06
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RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KIEV 3331
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW 3353
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RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA 1699
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS MINSK 000638 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI BO
SUBJECT: Youth Flash Mobs on Rise Despite Repression 
 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified; Protect Accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Flash mobs have increasingly become one of the 
principal methods of protest by anti-Lukashenko activists since the 
March presidential elections.  Consequently, Belarusian authorities 
have steadily intensified their already significant repression of 
flash-mob activists.  Police tactics aimed at deterring flash mobs 
have included surveillance of opposition buildings and websites, 
criminal prosecutions, and, in recent days, pre-emptive arrests. 
However, despite the increased repression, a growing number of 
opposition youth view flash mobs as an effective method to capture 
public attention and possibly spark wider support for democratic 
change.  This rising enthusiasm for flash mobs among youth 
activists culminated in a controversial effort by supporters of 
former presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich to create a 
center for coordinating flash-mob protests.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Flash Mobs on Rise 
------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Flash-mob activities have become increasingly popular 
among young people since the first documented Belarusian flash mob 
held on August 24, 2003.  [Note: Although the organizers described 
this flash mob as apolitical, Belarusian police still threatened to 
enforce Belarus' laws against unsanctioned events.] Flash mobs have 
occurred with even more frequency following the March presidential 
elections.  Throughout April, flash mobs demonstrated remarkable 
organization and temerity.  On April 16, a flash mob of more than a 
hundred people read from the Belarusian constitution near the BKGB 
building to highlight violations of the Constitution by 
Lukashenko's regime.  On April 23, a flash mob of several hundred 
young people gathered on Minsk's October Square to honor protestors 
who participated in the tent city.  The flash mob sat on the square 
for five minutes before departing.  On April 28, prompted by 
internet advertisements, around 200 persons formed a flash mob on 
October Square and simultaneously opened copies of the independent 
newspaper "Nasha Niva," which they silently read as they marched to 
Victory Square. 
 
GOB Ratchets Up Pressure on Flash Mobs 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) By the end of April, the authorities stepped up their 
repression of flash mobs.  On April 28, police arrested eight flash- 
mob activists outside the Belarusian Supreme Court in Minsk. 
Dozens of young people had come to the Court to read books of 
Belarusian writers to demonstrate support for the Union of 
Belarusian Writers, which was facing dissolution by the government. 
Police released all eight a few hours later after copying their 
passport information. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On May 7, a group of young activists planned a flash mob 
at the statue of Francisk Skarnya near the old National Library in 
Minsk to mark the anniversary of the renaming of Francisk Skarnya 
Avenue.  The group reportedly intended to open history textbooks 
used by Belarusian schools and tear out a few pages.  As the flash 
mob formed, riot police blocked access to the library and arrested 
twelve persons.  Police released the activists after searching them 
and recording their personal data.  On May 9, the anniversary of 
victory against Nazi Germany, police similarly dispersed a flash 
mob demonstrating in support of veterans.  The authorities also 
detained a group assembled to eat ice cream.  [Note: opposition 
sources have suggested that this group was political and was 
testing the police response.] 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Belarusian authorities continue to crack down on flash 
mobs.  From May 30 to June 1, around 50 youth activists 
participated in hourly shifts of sitting on the pavement at Lenin 
Square in the western city of Brest and reading the Bible to 
demonstrate solidarity with several imprisoned leaders of Malady 
Front, an opposition youth group.  Police arrested five activists. 
Three were found guilty of holding an unauthorized religious event 
under Article 167 of the Administrative Code. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On June 2, OMON riot police seized nine activists on 
Yakub Kolas Square in Minsk.  Authorities detained the nine for at 
least two hours but filed no charges.  Police described the arrests 
as pre-emptive.  [Note:  This flash mob was to be held in 
solidarity with youth activists who were then on hunger strike.] 
 
Opposition Coalition Tries to Bring Flash Mob Organizers Into Fold 
--------------------------------------------- --------------------- 
¶7.  (SBU) On May 7, supporters of former presidential candidate 
Aleksandr Milinkevich announced their creation of a center for 
coordinating and organizing flash-mob events that would operate 
within the pro-democracy movement "Za Svobodu" (For Freedom).  The 
center garnered almost immediate support from the flash-mob group 
"Otpor."  However, most flash-mob activists were reticent or 
rejected overt affiliation with the established opposition 
political parties and NGOs.  For example, on May 8, the opposition 
organization "Initsiativa" (Initiative) issued a statement 
declining participation in the coalition's flash-mob center. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT:  It is clear that a growing number of opposition 
youth find flash mobs to be an effective complement and possible 
catalyst for larger, more traditional forms of protest.  Flash mobs 
only require the mobilization and coordination of a few dozen to a 
few hundred people and thus are less vulnerable to mass arrests by 
authorities.  Youth activists told Econoff that police normally 
need 30 minutes to bring in reinforcements to arrest a crowd of 
people.  Their goal is to protest and be gone before the police 
arrive.  Moreover, the remarkable creativity of flash mobs and 
their media coverage seem to have re-energized a considerable 
segment of the Belarusian opposition youth movement in the wake of 
university expulsions and imprisonments by the GOB. 
 
KROL