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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSK #0577/01 1871257
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061257Z JUL 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6232
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 02 MINSK 000577 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON EPET ENRG BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - July 06, 2007 
 
 
¶1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy 
Minsk. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
International Relations 
----------------------- 
 
- Iranian Military Delegation Comes to Belarus (para. 2) 
- South Korean Trade Delegation in Minsk (para. 3) 
 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
- Opposition Youth Activists Get Jail Sentences (para. 4) 
- Religious Activists Arrested (para. 5) 
- Opposition Challenges Demonstration Ban in Court (para. 6) 
- Milinkevich's Campaign for EU Neighborhood Policy (para. 7) 
 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
- Belarus' Internal Debt Up 1.2 Percent (para. 8) 
 
 
International Trade and Investment 
---------------------------------- 
 
- GOB Forecasts USD 870 Million Trade Deficit (para. 9) 
 
Quote of the Week (para. 10) 
 
----------------------- 
International Relations 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  Iranian Military Delegation Comes to Belarus 
 
On July 4, military officials from Iran, including Defense Minister 
Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, arrived in Minsk for talks with Belarus' 
Defense Ministry and to observe GOB military training. 
 
¶3.  South Korean Trade Delegation in Minsk 
 
On July 4, a delegation of representatives from the Korean Trade and 
Investment Promotion Agency (KTIPA) arrived in Belarus for a two-day 
visit of meetings with the GOB Council of Ministers, the Ministries 
of Foreign Affairs, Economics, and Industry, and the Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry.  The meetings focused on trade and economic 
relations between South Korea and Belarus and the possibility of 
opening a KTIPA office in Minsk. 
 
------------- 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
¶4.  Opposition Youth Activists Get Jail Sentences 
 
On July 4, youth opposition activists Ales Kalita and Pavel 
Seredenko received 15 and 10-day jail sentences respectively.  A 
Minsk judge found them guilty of petty hooliganism under the 
Administrative Code after police officers testified the activists 
illegally distributed CDs and swore at the police.  Authorities 
detained Kalita and Seredenko on July 3 at the opposition Belarusian 
Popular Front's (BPF) headquarters when the two activists rushed out 
to help their colleague Anastasiya Ozarko escape police.  Ozarko 
maintained that when she was leaving the office two plainclothesmen 
approached her, accused her of theft, and started pulling her 
towards a car.  Ozarko noted that when Kalita appeared at the court 
hearing he had an injured nose and sought medical assistance. 
 
¶5.  Religious Activists Arrested 
 
On July 4, police arrested 14 activists at a Roman Catholic festival 
in Budslaw who were circulating a petition that calls for changes to 
Belarus' Religion Law.  Authorities held them for three hours and 
seized leaflets giving information about the petition campaign 
before releasing the activists without charges.  The same day, the 
police in Minsk arrested six Protestants at an apartment and 
confiscated religious tracts. Authorities detained them at a local 
police department for several hours and released them later that day 
without charges. 
 
¶6.  Opposition Challenges Demonstration Ban in Court 
 
On June 28, the opposition Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC) 
chapter in the eastern city of Gomel filed an appeal against the 
authorities' ban on a demonstration scheduled for June 1 to protest 
cuts of social benefits.  Earlier the activists attempted to 
challenge another authorities' decision not to sanction a rally in 
 
MINSK 00000577  002 OF 002 
 
 
commemoration of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant blast; however, 
the judge denied an appeal on June 11.  The city authorities have 
not allowed a single opposition demonstration in Gomel since the 
beginning of 2007 citing violations of law on mass events, but 
failing to provide any particular reasons for banning the 
demonstrations. 
 
¶7.  Milinkevich's Campaign for EU Neighborhood Policy 
 
On June 30, former opposition presidential candidate Aleksandr 
Milinkevich's "For Freedom" movement started an information campaign 
about potential assistance that could be granted to Belarus under 
the EU's Neighborhood Policy if the government began implementing 
principles of democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights. 
Activists will distribute leaflets in public places with information 
about the benefits of rapprochement with the EU.  Milinkevich 
reiterated that the campaign "is highly important and necessary on 
the way to the future partnership of Belarus with the family of 
European nations."  He also added that despite what state propaganda 
alleges, "Belarus is welcome in the EU, and the EU will welcome 
democratic changes in Belarus". 
 
---------------- 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
¶8.  Belarus' Internal Debt Up 1.2 Percent 
 
On July 4, the GOB Finance Ministry reported that Belarus' internal 
debt increased 1.2 percent on the month in May to USD 2.2 billion, 
an inflation-adjusted increase of 9.1 percent through January-May. 
Of this, GOB long-term debt accounted for 56.4 percent, short-term 
debt for 19.5 percent, and debt secured by the GOB for 24.1 
percent. 
 
---------------------------------- 
International Trade and Investment 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  GOB Forecasts USD 870 Dollar Trade Deficit 
 
On June 29, Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Burya predicted a foreign 
trade deficit of USD 870 million in the first half of 2007 for 
Belarus due to a rise in imports that outpaces Belarus' rise in 
exports.  He stated that dealing with this situation "will depend on 
the resolution of oil delivery issues, exports of refined oil and 
utilization of refineries' capacities."  This announcement comes 
after a commodity trade deficit of USD 1.2 billion for Belarus in 
the first quarter of 2007. 
 
----------------- 
Quote of the Week 
----------------- 
 
¶10.  On June 26, President Lukashenko offered the following praise 
to GOB prosecutors on the 85th anniversary of the founding of 
Belarus' Prosecutor's Office: 
 
During its existence, the Belarusian Prosecutor's Office has become 
a secure foothold for the presidential power in overcoming illegal 
processes, enforcing public security, rule of law, and stability. 
Your professionalism and high moral standards underpin faith of 
people in rule of law and in justice. 
 
Stewart