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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVL #0556/01 1981157
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161157Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY VILNIUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2522
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VILNIUS 000556 
 
AMEMBASSY MINSK SENDS 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON ENRG BO
SUBJECT: BELARUS BI-WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - July 11, 2008 
 
¶1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy 
Minsk. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
- Opposition Youth Expelled from Schools (para. 2) 
- Minsk Authorities Ban Opposition Demonstrations (para. 3) 
- Independent Newspaper Evicted (para. 4) 
- Parliamentary Candidates Dismissed from Workplaces (para. 5) 
- Opposition Youth Banned from Traveling Abroad (para. 6) 
- Belarusian Helsinki Committee Observer Arrested (para. 7) 
- "European Belarus" Campaign Activists Detained and Fined (para. 
8) 
- Civic Party Youth Arrested and Fined (para. 9) 
- Malady Front Activists Jailed (para. 10) 
 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
- Belneftekhim Raises Gasoline and Diesel Prices (para. 11) 
- Belarus Does Not Fear Food Crisis (para. 12) 
- Belarus' Private Bank Priorbank Named the Country's Best Bank 
(para. 13) 
- Belarus on the List of the World's 40 Most Corrupt Economies 
(para. 14) 
 
International Trade 
------------------- 
 
- Belarus' Foreign Trade Statistics, January-May 2008 
 (para. 15) 
 
Quote of the Week (para. 16) 
----------------- 
 
------------- 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
¶2.  Opposition Youth Expelled from Schools 
 
Grodno opposition youth activist and local first-year philological 
department student Sergey Yenin was expelled June 28.  On July 1, 
the Mogilyov State University and the Mozyr State University 
administrations expelled local Malady Front (MF) member and 
first-year student Rostislav Pankratov and civil society activist 
and third-year student Ekaterina Manchuk, respectively.  A MF member 
from Baranovichy Artyom Lastovetskiy was expelled from a Minsk 
university July 7.  All the activists linked their expulsions with 
the "purges" of the democratic movement members in schools over 
their political activists despite official allegations of "academic 
failures". 
 
¶3.  Minsk Authorities Ban Opposition Demonstrations 
 
On July 2, Minsk city authorities denied the Belarusian Social 
Democratic Party-Gramada (BSDP-G) permission to hold demonstrations 
in support of jailed party's chairman Aleksandr Kozulin.  The 
officials provided no grounds for the refusal.  BSDP-G planned to 
rally on the occasion of the second anniversary of the political 
prisoner's trial and to advocate his immediate release. 
 
¶4.  Independent Newspaper Evicted 
 
Nesvizh town authorities terminated a lease contract with the 
editorial of the last remaining independent local newspaper 
Nesvizhskiy Chas on June 30.  The eviction orders followed a ban on 
retail sales and on subscription to the newspaper.  The editorial 
stated it would attempt to rent office space in a different 
location. 
 
¶5.  Parliamentary Candidates Dismissed from Workplaces 
 
On June 30, "For Freedom" movement member Aleksandr Mekh was 
dismissed from his job of an engineer at the Beltransgaz pipeline in 
Kobrin for his commitment to run for the parliamentary elections. 
Opposition activist's colleagues unsuccessfully appealed to 
management to reinstate Mekh.  In a separate case, Bobruysk women's 
movement activist Taisiya Kabanchuk was fired July 7 for running in 
the elections.  Kabanchuk maintained the local BKGB officers 
questioned her employer about Kabanchuk's civil society activities 
and forced them to fire her. 
 
¶6.  Opposition Youth Banned from Traveling Abroad 
 
On June 28, Belarusian Popular Front culture commission head Franak 
Vyachorka (son of Belarusian Popular Front leader Vintsuk Vyachorka) 
was banned from traveling to Lithuania for meetings with the 
democratic youth groups.  Vyachorka stated he would appeal to the 
 
VILNIUS 00000556  002 OF 003 
 
 
Prosecutor General since he had freely crossed the border into 
Lithuania on June 7. 
 
¶7.  Belarusian Helsinki Committee Observer Arrested 
 
A Minsk district court sentenced Molodechno-based human rights 
advocate and Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) election observer 
Eduard Balanchuk to ten days in jail and a fine of 1,050,000 rubles 
(USD 490) on June 27.  The police arrested Balanchuk for disobeying 
their orders and using obscenities, and confiscated ten computers 
from his vehicle.  The BHC urged the judge to clear Balanchuk of all 
"politically motivated" charges, noting his arrest would impede 
independent election monitoring. 
 
¶8.  "European Belarus" Campaign Activists Detained and Fined 
 
On June 30, a Brest district court fined "European Belarus" (EB) 
civil campaign member Ivan Stasyuk 70,000 rubles (USD 33).  The 
police detained Stasyuk a day before for distributing leaflets 
calling to enter the European Union (EU).  In a separate incident in 
Grodno, the police briefly detained June 28 three EB activists 
Aleksandra Katok, Marta Petrovksaya, and Aleksandr Kireyev for 
collecting signatures to petition Belarus' entry into the EU.  The 
three were later released without charges; however, the police 
seized their petitions.  On June 28, a Minsk district court 
sentenced EB member Yevgeniy Afnagel to seven days in jail for 
alleged use of obscenities.  Afnagel has been serving 17 days in 
jail following his 10-day jail term he received in absentia on May 
¶21.  On July 7, a Minsk district judge sentenced EB activist Paulina 
Kuryanovich to five days in jail on minor hooliganism charges.  The 
plainclothesmen detained Kuryanovich on July 3 and confiscated 
European flags found in her bag. 
 
¶9.  United Civic Party Youth Arrested and Fined 
 
A Minsk district court sentenced United Civic Party (UCP) youth wing 
leader Mikhail Pashkevich to seven days in jail on June 30.  The 
police apprehended Pashkevich on June 28 on disorderly behavior 
administrative charges.  A judge also fined Pashkevich 350,000 
rubles (USD 165) for alleged contempt of court following 
Pashkevich's refusal to testify and answer what he called "silly" 
questions and Radio Liberty correspondent Lyubov Lunyova 280,000 
rubles (USD 130) for speaking on the phone; both were present at the 
court to observe legal action against opposition members. 
 
¶10.  Malady Front Activists Jailed 
 
On July 2, Baranovichi MF leader Zmitser Stankevich was sentenced to 
ten days in jail for distributing leaflets about the political 
prisoners.  A Gantsevichi town judge sentenced July 2 local MF 
members Andrey Karavayev, Sergey Skipar to 15 days in jail and Elena 
Chernyak, Svetlana Zhulevich to fines of 175,000 rubles (USD 80) on 
the same leaflet distribution charges. 
 
---------------- 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
¶11.  Belneftekhim Raises Gasoline and Diesel Prices 
 
Belarus' petrochemical conglomerate Belneftekhim raised gasoline and 
diesel prices July 6, for the second time this year.  According to 
Prime-Tass news service, the 5 percent increase in gasoline and 10 
percent rise in diesel prices will offset only part of Belarusian 
oil refineries production costs.  The unnamed official in the 
country's Economy Ministry told the agency July 7 that growing world 
oil prices make domestic supplies of oil products unprofitable. 
They are nevertheless possible only because of high export prices on 
Belarusian-made oil products. 
 
¶12.  Belarus Does Not Fear Food Crisis 
 
Speaking at a news conference in Minsk on July 9, Belarus' Deputy 
Agriculture Minister Nadezhda Kotkovets said the country has no 
reasons to fear food crises, as production and supply situation is 
stable.  The government believes the country can feel safe growing 
5.5-6 million tons of grain a year, while last year the harvest was 
7.2 million tons and the plan for future years is 8-9 million tons. 
 
¶13.  Belarus' Private Bank Priorbank Named the Country's Best Bank 
 
Belarus' largest private Priorbank, which is also the country's 
third largest bank, issued a press-release on July 1 stating that 
Britain's financial magazine Euromoney had named it the best bank in 
Belarus.  Priorbank belongs to Austria's Raiffeisen International 
banking group. Priorbank is one of the most financially successful 
banks in Belarus. 
 
¶14.  Belarus on the List of the World's 40 Most Corrupt Economies 
 
According to Russia's RIA Novosti news service, Transparency 
International issued its annual Corruption Barometer report in late 
 
VILNIUS 00000556  003 OF 003 
 
 
June and named Belarus among the world's 40 most corrupt economies. 
The country's corruption index is 2.1 (10 meaning the least corrupt 
country).  The corruption index calculation is based on data 
supplied by 12 independent institutions. 
 
------------------- 
International Trade 
------------------- 
 
¶15.  Belarus' Foreign Trade Statistics, January-May 2008 
 
Speaking to trade officers of foreign Embassies in Minsk on July 9 
(note: the U.S. Embassy was not invited to this presentation), 
Belarus' Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Yevdochenko said that the 
trade deficit in the country's foreign commodity trade through May 
was USD 1.7 billion, i.e. USD 260 million higher than a year ago. 
The Deputy Minister noted that Belarus plans to export more services 
to mitigate the growing deficit.  Belarus' on-the-year trade with 
countries outside CIS grew by more than 50 percent to USD 12.4 
billion.  Exports grew 66 percent to USD 7.7 billion and imports 
grew 30.7 percent to USD 4.7 billion.  In the same period Belarus 
had a two-fold increase in the trade deficit with Russia, now at USD 
5.5 billion. 
 
----------------- 
Quote of the Week 
----------------- 
 
¶16.  Speaking at an official meeting on issues related to September 
parliamentary election Lukashenko pledged that nobody would hinder 
international election observation: 
 
"Nobody is prohibited from observing, watching, asking questions, 
making suggestions and criticizing but nobody will be allowed to 
interfere with the election process in violation of the law." 
 
MOORE 
CLOUD