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FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
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RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000510 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON EPET ENRG BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - June 15, 2007 
 
¶1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy 
Minsk. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
- Opposition Activists Arrested and Fined in Vitebsk (para. 2) 
- Youth Activist Fined in Mogilev (para. 3) 
- Women Support Activist Shatsikova's Parental Rights (para. 4) 
- Vendors Protest Closure of Market in Eastern Belarus (para. 5) 
- Gomel Authorities Ban Rally Against Benefit Cuts (para. 6) 
- Grodno Old Town Reconstruction Plans Spark Protest (para. 7) 
- Protestants and Catholics Cooperate on Petition Drives (para. 8) 
- NGOs Protest Ban of School Textbooks in Belarusian (para. 9) 
 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
- Belarus Takes Steps To Save Energy and Budget Funds (para. 10) 
- Belarus' Banks Outpace Lending Targets (para. 11) 
- Lukashenko Approves Regional Development Program (para. 12) 
 
International Trade 
------------------- 
 
- Belarus and Lithuania Commit to Expanded Cooperation (para. 13) 
 
- Quote of the Week (para. 14) 
 
 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
¶2. Opposition Activists Arrested and Fined in Vitebsk 
 
On June 8, a Vitebsk court fined opposition activists Andrey 
Danilevskiy and Gennadiy Sharakh 620,000 rubles (USD 290) and 31,000 
(USD 15) respectively for attempting to stage a demonstration in 
support of prominent human rights advocate Valeriy Shchukin during 
his trial hearings on June 6 and June 8 in Vitebsk.  On June 8, the 
judge found Shchukin guilty of insulting election officials by 
accusing them of rigging the vote in 2007 January's local elections 
and fined him one million rubles (USD 465).  On June 11, opposition 
online news portals reported that a judge sentenced 22-year-old 
Belarusian Social-Democratic Party "Gramada" (BSDP) youth activist 
Dmitriy Liseyenko to three days in jail on June 9.  Liseyenko, a 
former Belarusian State University student who was expelled for his 
political activities, was sentenced on hooliganism charges for 
scrawling "Freedom to Shchukin!" graffiti on the wall of the local 
police building. 
 
¶3. Youth Activist Fined in Mogilev 
 
On June 12, independent media reported that on June 11 the 
administrative panel of the Mogilev court fined Malady Front 
opposition youth movement activist Tatiana Bulanova 155,000 rubles 
(USD 72) for posting opposition posters on April 17-18.  Bulanova's 
lawyer was not allowed to attend the hearing.  According to 
Bulanova, the panel failed to find any direct evidence of her guilt 
as the police stopped her 100 meters away from the site without any 
posters.  Bulanova said that the panel did not consider her 
testimony and encouraged her to plead guilty.  Bulanova refused to 
admit guilt and plans to appeal the fine. 
 
¶4. Women Support Activist Shatsikova's Parental Rights 
 
On June 12, a group of prominent Belarusian women -- including Inna 
Kulei, the wife of former presidential candidate Aleksandr 
Milinkevich; Tatiana Severynets, the mother of prominent opposition 
leader Pavel Severynets; and Olga Dashkevich, the mother of 
imprisoned Malady Front youth opposition group Dmitriy Dashkevich -- 
confronted the GOB with an appeal to end its persecution of 
opposition activist Kristsina Shatsikova.  Shatsikova is currently 
facing prosecution under the presidential decree "On Additional 
Measures of State Protection of Children in Problem Families", which 
could lead to a loss of her parental rights.  The appeal states that 
her two sons "receive good marks, are well-behaved and always tidy 
and well-looked-after" and that tearing them from their mother's 
care will cause "harm, stress and pain." 
 
¶5.  Vendors Protest Closure of Market in Eastern Belarus 
 
On June 11, independent media reported that a number of market 
vendors in the eastern town of Rechitsa gathered at the mayor's 
office to protest the unexpected closure of the local retail market. 
 Authorities closed the market for renovation ahead of the national 
festival celebrating the 2007 harvest, which is scheduled to take 
place in Rechitsa in September.  The closure was not announced in 
advance -- the authorities promised to keep the market running until 
 
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July 1 -- and the vendors have already paid full taxes for June. 
Vendors complained that a temporary location for the market is not 
fit for retail trade; however, the mayor asked the vendors to return 
to their workplaces and assured them a solution "would be found." 
 
¶6.  Gomel Authorities Ban Rally Against Benefit Cuts 
 
On June 12, the Gomel city authorities rejected an application from 
the opposition Belarusian Party of Communists' (BPC) to hold a rally 
opposing GOB plans to abolish state benefits.  The authorities 
demanded "letters of guarantee" regarding payment for utility, 
police, and ambulance services at the rally, which were not 
submitted with the application.  The BPC responded that official 
regulations do not require such letters and that the rejection was a 
result of the city officials' own bias against the BPC.  Earlier 
this year, authorities rejected a BPC request to hold a Chernobyl 
commemoration rally in Gomel on similar grounds. 
 
¶7.  Grodno Old Town Reconstruction Plans Spark Protest 
 
On June 10, a group of Belarusian artists gathered to paint works 
depicting the historic Grodno old town in response to the city's 
development plan, which involves demolishing several historic 
buildings in order to widen a bridge in the city center.  Opposition 
leader Aleksandr Milinkevich attended the event and gave a statement 
condemning the reconstruction plans.  Artists will auction their 
works to raise money for a campaign to preserve the buildings. 
Other recent events held in protest of the reconstruction include a 
leaflet campaign and a concert featuring Belarusian rock group 
N.R.M.  Activists also plan to collect signatures for a petition 
calling for a local referendum on the old town's fate. 
 
¶8.  Protestants and Catholics Cooperate on Petition Drives 
 
On June 11, activists affiliated with a local Protestant church in 
Mozyr reported that they had collected over 1,600 signatures for a 
petition against the repressive 2002 Religion Law, which has 
resulted in increasing governmental persecution of religious 
communities in Belarus.  They also reported gathering a comparable 
number of signatures on a petition for the protection of a former 
Catholic monastery that city authorities in Minsk have slated for 
redevelopment into a hotel and entertainment complex. 
 
¶9.  NGOs Protest Ban of School Textbooks in Belarusian 
 
On June 8, independent media reported that Grodno-based members of 
the Francisk Skaryna Belarusian Language Society and the Society of 
Belarusian Schools appealed to the Minister of Education (MOE) 
against the removal of Belarusian history textbooks in Belarusian. 
During the 2006-2007 academic year, middle school students were only 
given the textbooks in Russian due to the limited number of 
available Belarusian copies.  NGOs members expressed concern that 
school students fail to receive adequate historic and cultural 
knowledge in their native language and are not able to exercise 
their right to choose the language of their education.  The NGO 
members will turn to the Constitutional Court if the MOE does not 
respond to their appeal. 
 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
¶10. Belarus Takes Steps To Save Energy and Budget Funds 
 
On June 11, the Belarusian government adopted resolution No. 701, 
which launched the "State Program of Saving Energy and Funds through 
2011."  The program is intended to minimize budget losses caused by 
energy price hikes and includes plans to save resources, upgrade 
industrial facilities and use energy-saving technologies.  In 
particular, the government will seek to increase oil and gas transit 
prices, launch the production of biofuel for gasoline and diesel 
engines, use local fuels more extensively, and install water meters 
in all apartments.  The program, however, limits monthly price 
increases on consumer products to 0.5 percent. 
 
¶11. Belarus' Banks Outpace Lending Targets 
 
Belarus' National Bank Chair Pyotr Prokopovich informed President 
Lukashenko of a 60 percent increase in loans issued by Belarusian 
banks to the national economy in January-May.  This number is double 
the projections outlined in the 2007 economic plan.  The bank has 
also issued loans to individuals at the same high pace.  According 
to Prokopovich, the country's financial sector is stable, as the 
Belarusian ruble depreciated against the U.S. dollar only 0.2 
percent in the same time period. 
 
¶12. Lukashenko Approves Regional Development Program 
 
On June 7, Belarusian President Lukashenko signed edict No. 265 that 
enacted "2007-2010 State Programs on the Development of Regions and 
Towns."  The program provides for the implementation of 1,000 
investment projects in 187 small towns throughout the country and 
 
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the creation of 19,000 jobs, and stipulates the reduction of 
unemployment in rural areas to one percent.  The edict provides a 
list of businesses registered and operating in small towns that are 
eligible for a 50 percent profit tax reduction.   It also exempts 
them from road tax and payment to the agriculture support fund.  In 
addition, local authorities can provide more benefits at their 
discretion.  The program requires USD 934.6 million of investment, 
of which only 25 percent will come from central and local budgets. 
 
International Trade 
------------------- 
 
¶13. Belarus and Lithuania Commit to Expanded Cooperation 
 
According to the Foreign Ministry's press service, Belarus and 
Lithuania held a working-level economic forum in Lithuania on June 6 
and 7.  At the event, the participants passed a declaration to 
confirm both sides' intention to increase cooperation in power 
engineering, trade, and transit.  Energy saving and diversification 
of power supplies were among the key issues, since both countries 
plan to construct nuclear power plants and modernize their 
power-generation facilities.  In 2006, Belarus' on-the-year exports 
to Lithuania increased 23 percent to USD 432.7 million and imports 
increased 26.5 percent to USD 170.3 million.  Lithuania was Belarus' 
eighth largest trade partner. 
 
Quote of the Week 
----------------- 
 
¶14. On June 10, in reaction to Defense Ministry Office for the 
Commemoration of Fatherland Defenders and War Victims Head Viktor 
Shumskiy's skepticism that a newly discovered mass grave near the 
southeastern city of Gomel contains remains of those executed by the 
Soviet NKVD secret police in the 1930s, a civil society activist 
offered the following comment: 
 
"It is hard to understand who conceals the truth and why. It is 
easier to blame the Nazis for everything.  It seems that Stalin's 
Line that does not exist in history is dearer to some citizens of 
Belarus than memory of the execution of innocent people." 
 
STEWART