VZCZCXRO9684
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSK #0561/01 1801420
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291420Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6212
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNOSC/ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION IN EUROPE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MINSK 000561 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON EPET ENRG BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - June 29, 2007 
 
¶1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy 
Minsk. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
International Relations 
----------------------- 
 
- GOB and Russian FMs Discuss Union, Missile Shield (para. 2) 
- Official Israeli Delegation Arrives in Minsk (para. 3) 
- Vietnam Military Delegation Visits Minsk (para. 4) 
- Judges Reject GOB Fines of American Volunteers (para. 45) 
 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
- Protestant Pastors Lose Appeals (para. 6) 
- Leftist Union to Hold Second Founding Convention (para. 7) 
- Opposition Groups Request Permission to Rally (para. 8) 
- Independent Trade Union Suffers Burglaries, Beating (para. 9) 
- GOB Establishes NGO 'Belaya Rus' (para. 10) 
 
Society 
------- 
 
- Blood Donors Protest Cuts of Social Benefits (para. 11) 
- Holocaust Conference for Children Held in Brest (para. 12) 
 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
- Finance Ministry Announces USD 7.5 million Surplus (para. 13) 
- First Quarter Aggregate Income at USD 3.6 Billion (para. 14) 
 
International Trade 
------------------- 
 
- GOB Expects 1.9 billion in Foreign Investment (para. 15) 
 
Quote of the Week (para. 16) 
 
----------------------- 
International Relations 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  GOB and Russian FMs Discuss Union, Missile Shield 
 
On June 28, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Martynov and Russian 
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Minsk on further 
integration of Russia and Belarus in the Union State and the 
Commonwealth of Independent States.  The Russian minister expressed 
gratitude to Minsk for supporting Moscow's stance on the 
Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty and the OSCE's reform and 
the GOB's cooperation within the Collective Security Treaty 
Organization and the Eurasian Economic Community.  According to 
Martynov, the ministers agreed to develop bilateral ties according 
to "two-year programs," the first of which would be prepared in the 
fall.  Turning to U.S.-Russian relations, Lavrov claimed that the 
U.S. has "no objective need" for deploying missile defense systems 
in Eastern Europe and expressed hope that the United States would 
drop such plans.  Lavrov noted that Russia and the GOB shared views 
on "issues that directly concern strategic stability." 
 
¶3.  Official Israeli Delegation Arrives in Minsk 
 
On June 24, an Israeli Knesset delegation arrived in Belarus at the 
invitation of a group of Belarusian legislators who support 
increased cooperation between their two countries.  They discussed 
cooperation on issues of social support, including the payment of 
pensions to Israeli residents who have emigrated from Belarus.  The 
Israeli delegation also met with members of the Jewish community and 
visited historical locations in Belarus. 
 
¶4.  Vietnam Military Delegation Visits Minsk 
 
On June 21, a delegation of senior military officials from Vietnam 
arrived in Belarus for a two-day visit during which they met with 
counterparts in the Belarusian Defense Ministry.  Both sides 
stressed the historical military connections between their two 
countries and emphasized future cooperation in military development 
and training.  The Vietnamese delegation, led by Chief of the 
General Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Khac Nghien, also 
visited the Belarusian Military Academy, several army units, 
military research centers, and the "Stalin Line" WWII memorial. 
 
¶5.  Judges Reject Government Fines of American Volunteers 
 
On July 21, a Minsk court overturned the fines levied on seven 
American citizens in Belarus by regional authorities and ordered 
retrials.  The authorities fined and deported the Americans, who 
 
MINSK 00000561  002 OF 004 
 
 
were in Belarus as volunteer English teachers at the invitation of a 
Protestant church, for alleged illegal religious activities in 
February.  The judges attributed their decision partly to technical 
errors with the preparation of the police reports. 
 
------------- 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
¶6.  Protestant Pastors Lose Appeals 
 
On June 27, Christian groups reported that the judges dismissed 
Protestant Pastor Antoniy Bokun's two appeals and Polish Protestant 
Pastor Yaroslav Lukasik's deportation appeal.  According to Bokun, 
it took the judge five minutes to hear the case of Bokun's complaint 
about police abuse during his arrest on June 3.  With no follow-up 
questions, the judge upheld lower court's verdict not to overturn 
Bokun's three-day arrest and charges of leading unsanctioned 
religious services at his home.  On June 26, authorities denied 
Lukasik's appeal over his deportation from Belarus for the alleged 
threat presented to the national security of the country.  The judge 
reportedly did not allow Lukasik's lawyer to represent him at court, 
and only police officers testified. 
 
¶7.  Leftist Union to Hold Second Founding Convention 
 
On June 25, independent media reported that three opposition 
left-wing parties plan to hold a second founding convention to 
establish an alliance and obtain official registration.  The 
Belarusian Party of Communists, Women's Party 'Nadzeya,' and the 
Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Gramada founded the Union of Left 
Parties (ULP) at a conference in Chernigov, Ukraine, on December 17, 
2006 after the GOB did not allow them to meet in Belarus.  The 
Belarusian Ministry of Justice (MOJ) rejected ULP's registration 
application and issued warnings for holding the conference abroad. 
The parties now want to comply with MOJ requirements by holding a 
second founding convention in Belarus.  As of June 29, the parties 
had not determined the date of the conference. 
 
¶8.  Opposition Requests Permission for Kozulin Rally 
 
On June 23, members of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (BSDP) 
applied to the local governments of Brest and Vitebsk for permission 
to hold a rally on July 10 to protest the imprisonment of their 
chairman Aleksandr Kozulin.  Kozulin was arrested in March 2006 
while leading a march protesting the presidential election and was 
sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for charges of hooliganism and 
disturbing the peace, which the BSDP have said were politically 
motivated.  BSDP hopes the rally will raise awareness among 
Belarusians about the international community's support for 
Kozulin's release.  Vitebsk authorities rejected a previous BSDP 
application to rally, claiming that the location requested for the 
rally was reserved for another event.  Authorities blocked a similar 
attempt by the BSDP in the eastern city of Mogilev to hold a picket 
for Kozulin's release. 
 
¶9.  Independent Trade Union Suffers Burglaries, Beating 
 
On June 22, unknown burglars broke into the offices of the Belarus 
Radio and Electronics Workers Union (REWU) and stole property in the 
third such theft this year.  The union's chair stated that the 
police have suspended their investigation of these cases due to a 
lack of suspects.  He asserted that this suspension is a result of 
government complicity in the crimes as part of a crackdown on his 
independent trade union.  The day before the office break-in, 
Alexander Beresnev, an active member of the REWU, was severely 
beaten and robbed in his workplace only days after writing a letter 
to the Presidential Administration to complain about the abuse of 
workers rights in his industry.  He reported that during the beating 
he and his family were threatened with death if he did not cease 
writing letters. 
 
¶10.  GOB Establishes NGO 'Belaya Rus' 
 
On June 22, Minsk authorities held a conference to establish the 
city chapter of the national NGO "Belaya Rus," following a number of 
founding conventions in the regions.  Conference participants 
declared that their aim is to create the largest NGO in Belarus in 
order to link the government with the people who work to implement 
current policies.  The NGO's official goals are to contribute to the 
building of a strong and prosperous Belarus, to ensure political and 
social stability, "to promote spiritual and moral development" based 
on the Belarusian ideology.  State TV ideology officials, MPs, and 
university rectors joined the NGO's presiding board.  Independent 
journalists were not allowed to observe the conference.  Authorities 
convened a similar conference in the western city of Brest on June 
¶27. 
 
------- 
Society 
 
MINSK 00000561  003 OF 004 
 
 
------- 
 
¶11.  Blood Donors Protest Cuts of Social Benefits 
 
On June 20, more than 1,500 blood donors in the eastern city of 
Mogilyov began a boycott of the city's blood transfusion centers to 
protest cuts of social benefits.  The donors in Minsk and Brest also 
support the protest.  Mogilyov donors threaten with an indefinite 
strike if the officials do not get in touch with them by July 1.  A 
newly-adopted law ended blood donors' 50 percent discount for 
prosthetic dentistry and medicine purchases and cut their 40 percent 
pension raise.  The protesters in Mogilyov dispersed flyers to 
inform the public about the cuts and also have plans to establish an 
organization to protect their rights and grant assistance to the 
donors nationwide. 
 
¶12.  Holocaust Conference for Children Held in Brest 
 
On June 24, an annual four-day Holocaust conference for 
schoolchildren concluded in the southwestern city of Brest.  The 
conference, called "Holocaust: Memory and Prevention," brought 
together 25 winners of regional conferences in Belarus, Russia, and 
Ukraine as well as educators and Holocaust studies centers' leaders. 
 Schoolchildren spoke on various topics, including lessons of the 
Holocaust and the Holocaust's place in history.  Speakers presented 
reports about Jewish history of their resident area based on 
victims' Holocaust accounts.  Participants also watched a 
documentary about the Brest Jewish ghetto, visited the Brest 
Fortress Memorial to commemorate the WWII victims and Holocaust 
massacre sites, and met with a Brest ghetto survivor. 
 
---------------- 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
¶13.  Finance Ministry Announces USD 7.5 million Surplus 
 
On June 22, the Belarusian Finance Ministry announced a budget 
surplus of USD 7.5 million in the first quarter of 2007, which 
represented 4.7 percent of the country's GDP during that period. 
Budget revenues were reported at USD 6.3 billion -- 43.6 percent of 
the 2007 revenue target.  The annual budget for 2007 predicts 
revenues of USD 14.5 billion, expenditures of USD 15 billion, and a 
budget deficit 1.5 percent of the annual GDP. 
 
¶14.  Aggregate Income at USD 3.6 Billion 
 
On June 22, Belarus' Statistics Ministry announced that Belarusian 
aggregate monetary income hit USD 3.6 billion between January and 
May 2007, up 17 percent from the 2006 total income figure.  The 
portion of total income that came from salaries and wages as well as 
from social transfers declined 3 percent to 57.4 percent and .8 
percent to 21.2 percent, respectively.  The portion coming from 
entrepreneurial activity rose 3.6 percent to 19.6 percent, while the 
portion from property income remained constant at 1.8 percent of the 
total income.  Of the total income, 78.6 percent was spent on goods 
and services, 15 percent was paid in taxes and given to charity, and 
6.4 percent was invested in savings and foreign currencies.  The 
average wage for April 2007 totaled 293 dollars, up 10.3 percent 
from April 2006, while the average pension amounted to 130 dollars, 
an increase of 13.2 percent. 
 
---------------------------------- 
International Trade and Investment 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶15.  GOB Expects 1.9 billion in Foreign Investment 
 
Citing an advance copy of Belarus' Economic Ministry's macroeconomic 
forecast, independent media reported that the GOB plans to attract 
at least USD 1.9 billion in foreign investment in 2008 -- the same 
level as in 2007 -- with foreign direct investment projected at USD 
1 billion.  The GOB ostensibly plans to facilitate foreign 
investment by improving the business climate, obtaining a sovereign 
credit rating, and increasing foreign investment in privatizing 
state enterprises.   Moreover, the Economy Ministry plans to 
disburse loans provided by Austria, China, Italy and Arab countries 
and to continue selling its stakes in commercial banks in order to 
expand their resource base and provide more lending opportunities. 
In January-March 2007, foreign investment in Belarus rose 180 
percent on the year to USD 1.2 billion.  Foreign Direct Investment 
rose 60 percent over the first quarter of 2006 to USD 257 million. 
 
----------------- 
Quote of the Week 
----------------- 
 
¶16.  On June 26, Marina Solodkina, Chair of the Knesset's 
Israel-Belarus Inter-parliamentary Friendship League, lamented 
Israel's "insufficient ties" with Minsk and offered the following 
 
MINSK 00000561  004 OF 004 
 
 
praise for Belarus' environmental potential: 
 
"Your country has a great future.  Belarus is a promising state that 
is yet to prove its worth.  In the condition of global warming, 
Belarus has a more advantageous geographic location than other 
states." 
 
Stewart