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RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000694 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ETRD
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY REPORT - July 7, 2006 
 
 
MINSK 00000694  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled by 
Embassy Minsk. 
 
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Civil Society 
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¶2.  On July 6, the trial of former presidential candidate Aleksandr 
Kozulin began in Moskovsky District Court in Minsk.  Kozulin 
supporters, journalists, and representatives international 
organizations and diplomatic missions attended the proceedings. 
Former opposition presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich 
arrived at the courthouse but, according to press reports, was not 
permitted to enter.  Milinkevich described the trial as "definitely 
political."  During the trial, the judge rejected several of 
Kozulin's petitions such as allowing Kozulin's daughter, an 
attorney, to participate in Kozulin's defense and requesting the 
removal of the prosecutor.  The trial reconvened on July 7 and is 
expected to continue into the following week.  On March 30, 
Belarusian authorities charged Kozulin with disturbing the peace 
and two counts of hooliganism. 
 
¶3.  Independent Election Observers' Trial Likely to Open on July 20 
 
A Belarusian court announced that the trial of four leaders of an 
independent election observation group will likely begin in Minsk's 
Tsentralny District Court on July 20.  Timofei Dranchuk, Aleksandr 
 
SIPDIS 
Shalaiko, Nikolai Astreiko, and Enira Bronitskaya are charged with 
operating an illegal organization that encroaches on people's 
rights under Part 2 of the Criminal Code's Article 193. If found 
guilty, the accused may be sentenced to an arrest of up to six 
months, or a prison term of up to three years.  During the run-up 
to March's presidential election, BKGB Chairman Stepan Sukhorenko 
implicated Partnership role an alleged violent coup plot and 
claimed to have seiezed 100 mobile phones with SIM cards of 
Lithuanian GSM operators, thousands of dollars and a gas pistol 
from Partnership. 
 
¶4.  Belarusian Police Prevent Anti-Russian Demonstration in Minsk 
 
On June 23, Minsk police pre-empted an attempt by opposition youth 
activists to demonstrate in Victory Square against the presence of 
Russian military facilities in Belarus.  At about 6:30 p.m., five 
youths unfurled a banner reading "Russian soldier, go home!" a 
white-red-white flag, and a state red-green flag.  Two others 
filmed the event.  Police took all seven to the Central District 
Police Station and charged them with an unsanctioned demonstration 
and disorderly conduct.  Authorities released five of the youths 
because they were minors.  According to human rights activist Irina 
Tolstik, the two adults, Aleksei Levkovich and Yelena Kopach, who 
had filmed the demonstration, will remain jailed in the detention 
center on Okrestina Street until their trial.  The detentions 
coincided with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) 
Summit held in Minsk. 
 
¶5.  Prosecutor Announces Record-Setting Bribe of USD 1.5 Million 
 
Belarusian Prosecutor General Petr Miklashevich announced the 
discovery of the largest bribe ever reported in Belarus.  The USD 
1.5 million was offered for land acquisition for home building in 
Minsk.  According to Miklashevich, the number of bribery cases 
declined 15.7 percent to 536 since January through May of last 
year.  Miklashkevich classified bribes into two categories: 
"everyday corruption," such as bribes for utilities, healthcare 
services, education, and "business corruption," or illegal struggle 
for management and ownership.  Miklashkevich expressed concern that 
the latter is on the rise with bribes amounting to millions of 
dollars.  However, he offered this reassurance:  "The former type 
is less dangerous because we are taking harsh measures. A medic has 
recently been sentenced for accepting two bottles of wine." 
 
¶6.  Belarusian Prosecutor General Says Terrorism Probe Continues 
 
On June 26, Belarusian Prosecutor General Pyotr Miklashevich 
announced that law-enforcement agencies are still investigating 
an alleged terrorist plot ostensibly uncovered during the run- 
up to March 19 presidential election.  BKGB Chairman Stepan 
Sukhorenko named Anatoly Lebedko, leader of the United Civic 
Party, among the suspects.  Sukhorenko also accused several 
Georgian nationals, including Georgy Torgomadze, head of the 
security committee in Georgia's parliament, of involvement in 
the alleged plot.  He alleged that a group of Georgians planned 
to detonate bombs in Minsk during the March 19 elections. 
 
¶7.  Belarusian Authorities Ban Basowiszcza Concert 
 
Belarusian authorities banned Basowiszcza festival organizers from 
staging a concert at the Palace of Fine Arts in Minsk.  A concert 
organizer, Olga Kuzmich, said the emergency management chief of 
Minsk's Sovetsky district told her that the palace's roof was in a 
critical condition and might collapse.  The palace hosts daily 
 
MINSK 00000694  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
concerts and exhibitions, but no concerns about its safety were 
expressed previously.  Basowiszcza is an annual rock festival held 
in a large forest clearing near Grodek in northeastern Poland and 
showcases young musicians and performers whom the Belarusian 
government has blacklisted for political reasons. 
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International Relations 
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¶8.  Members of Belarus' Parliament Receive Venezuelan Delegation, 
Chavez Plans Visit to Minsk 
 
On June 27, the chairman of the Committee on International Affairs 
and National Security in the Council of the Republic (upper house 
of Belarusian parliament), Nikolai Cherginets received a Venezuelan 
government delegation.  The delegation included Francisco Ameliach, 
a member of the National Assembly, and Adan Chavez Frias, the 
Venezuelan ambassador to Cuba and elder brother of Venezuelan 
President Hugo Chavez.  The meetings focused on issues concerning 
bilateral inter-parliamentary relations.  According to Chavez's 
brother, President Chavez plans to visit Minsk in late July, 
possibly July 23 and 24.  Ambassador Chavez also urged Belarus to 
combine efforts with Venezuela in resisting what he called the 
United States' unchallenged dominance.  Cherginets claimed that the 
United States seeks "to prevent the development of Belarus, 
Venezuela and other countries." 
 
¶9.  Belarus, Syria To Sign Crime Prevention Agreement 
 
On July 6, the Belarusian Interior Ministry reported that 
Belarus and Syria agreed to sign an accord on crime prevention 
following a three-day visit to Minsk by a delegation from 
Syria.  Led by Criminal Security Department Chief Mohammad 
Saleh, the Syrian delegation also included the chiefs of the 
migration, personnel and drug control departments.  During the 
visit, the Syrians met with Belarus' First Deputy Minister of 
Internal Affairs Aleksandr Shchurko, Deputy Minister of 
Internal Affairs Viktor Zhiburtovich, Citizenship and Migration 
Department Chief Lidiya Ivanchikova, Drug Control and 
Trafficking Prevention Chief Oleg Pekarsky, and with senior 
officials of the State Border Troops Committee.  The parties 
discussed increasing cooperation on issues such as preventing 
and combating terrorism, illegal trade in narcotic drugs, human 
trafficking, and money laundering.  The Syrian delegation also 
visited a Belarusian company that ostensibly manufactures and 
distributes devices for authenticating documents. 
 
¶10.  Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission of Belarus and North 
Korea Holding meeting in Minsk 
 
On June 26, the second session of talks of the bilateral trade and 
economic cooperation commission of Belarus and the Democratic 
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) began in Minsk.  Deputy Foreign 
Minister Viktor Gaisyonok headed the Belarusian delegation, and 
Deputy Foreign Trade Minister Jo Jong Ho led the North Koreans. 
Members of the North Korean delegation were scheduled to visit some 
leading industrial enterprises in Belarus, including the Belarusian 
Tractor Works, the Minsk Automobile Factory (MAZ), and the 
Belarusian Automobile Works (BelAZ).  The commission discussed 
possible deliveries of MAZ trucks, BelAZ heavy-duty dump trucks and 
Belarusian tractors to North Korea, as well as North Korea's 
possible purchases of Belarusian potash fertilizers, bearings, 
optical instruments, and light industry products in exchange for 
motor vehicle batteries and medicines.  The delegations also 
discussed cooperation in construction, machine-building, 
healthcare, and joint investment projects and enterprises.  [Note: 
The Belarus-DPRK commission on trade and economic cooperation was 
established on January 23, 1992.  In the first four months of 2006, 
trade between Belarus and North Korea totaled USD 762,300, an 
increase of 76 percent on the year.  In 2005, Belarus supplied 
North Korea with trucks, tractors, cables and other equipment.] 
 
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Economy 
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¶11.  Belarusian Deputy PM Claims Economic Development Was Dynamic 
 
On June 29, during a meeting with National Assembly members, 
Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Kosinets said that 
Belarus' economy had developed in a "sustainable and dynamic" 
manner from January through May of 2006.  He claimed that 14 of the 
16 key targets for Belarus' economic and social development had 
been met in the first five months.  According to Kosinets, fixed 
capital expenditures rose by 41.6 percent, the average monthly 
inflation rate did not exceed 0.6 percent, and real money incomes 
increased by 20.4 percent.  Kosinets predicted the share of 
expenditures on education would rise from 6.9 to 10 percent of GDP 
and that all local-level inpatient clinics would be modernized by 
¶2010.  He also forecasted that the export of Belarusian 
 
MINSK 00000694  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
pharmaceuticals would rise by 40 percent and the domestic market 
would increase by 70 percent.  [ Note:  Belarusian-made drugs are 
estimated to account for half of all medicines available in local 
drugstores, and the Belarusian government plans to build two or 
three new pharmaceutical plants before 2010.] 
 
 
¶12.  Belarus' wages rose faster than consumer prices in May 
 
The Belarusian Ministry of Statistics and Analysis announced that 
during May wages rose faster than consumer prices in Belarus. 
According to the ministry, average gross monthly pay rose by 3.2 
percent from USD 263 Belarusian rubles in April to USD 271 in May 
while consumer prices increased by 0.3 percent.  Real average pay 
rose by 19.7 percent in Belarus in 2005. 
 
----------------- 
Quote of the Week 
----------------- 
 
¶13.  On June 22, the eve of the Collective Security Treaty 
Organization (CSTO) Summit in Minsk, Dmitry Bulakhov, an aide to 
President Lukashenko, told Belarusian lawmakers: 
 
"If Belarus and Russia went their separate ways, Russia would be 
the next target to be swallowed by destructive forces.  Belarus is 
not so much an ally to Russia, but a shield protecting the Russian 
Federation from further disintegration of the federation." 
 
KROL