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FM AMEMBASSY VILNIUS
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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VILNIUS 000968 
 
AMEMBASSY MINSK SENDS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON ENRG BO
SUBJECT: BELARUS WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - November 14, 2008 
 
¶1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled by Embassy 
Minsk. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
- Kurapaty Vandals Face Criminal Charges (para. 2) 
- Malady Front Members Sentenced to Jail (para. 3) 
- Catholics Continue Fasting to Return Former Monastery (para. 4) 
- Entrepreneurs Leader Warned (para. 5) 
- Regional Independent Newspaper Warned (para. 6) 
 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
- National Bank Raises Refinancing Rate to 11 Percent 
 (para. 7) 
- Belarus' Reserves Decreased Through October (para. 8) 
- Lower Gasoline and Diesel Prices Deemed "Inexpedient" (para. 9) 
- Russia and Belarus to Sign USD 2 Billion Loan Agreement by the End 
of November (para. 10) 
- National Bank to Ensure Fair Treatment of Customers by Commercial 
Banks (para. 11) 
 
Quote of the Week (para. 12) 
----------------- 
 
------------- 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
¶2.  Kurapaty Vandals Face Criminal Charges 
 
On November 11, police opened a criminal case against the two 
vandals detained by Conservative Christian Party members at Kurapaty 
on November 1.  The vandals face heavy fines or jail sentences of up 
to three years.  Prominent civil society representatives expressed 
hope that prosecution of the vandals would discourage further such 
incidents and that they would be "justly" convicted. 
 
¶3. Malady Front Members Sentenced to Jail 
 
On November 10, a Minsk district court sentenced five MF activists 
to three days in jail for violating regulations governing mass 
events and holding an unauthorized rally.  All five were released 
after the proceedings, as they had been held awaiting trial since 
their arrest on November 7 for demonstrating against communism in 
front of the BKGB headquarters in downtown Minsk. 
 
¶4. Catholics Continue Fasting to Return Former Monastery 
 
Approximately seventy St. Joseph Roman Catholic community members 
and their supporters continue to fast and pray for the return of 
former Bernardine monastery buildings in central Minsk.  A community 
representative told the media on November 10 that the fasting 
believers had no health problems and were regularly seen by doctors. 
 They had committed to abstaining from food until Minsk city 
authorities drop their plans to convert the buildings into an 
entertainment center and return them to the Catholics. 
 
¶5. Entrepreneurs Leader Warned 
 
The Borisov prosecutor's office warned the leader of the For Free 
Development of Entrepreneurship movement, Viktor Gorbachyov, on 
November 10, threatening him with administrative and criminal 
charges for acting on behalf of an unregistered organization and 
allegedly calling for unsanctioned demonstrations.  The warnings 
stemmed from Gorbachyov's interviews with online media in which he 
voiced concerns over increased impediments to small business 
development in Belarus.  He linked the pressure by law enforcers 
with the protests announced by entrepreneurs to be held in early 
December.  Gorbachyov noted that he will now be "more careful" in 
making such statements. 
 
¶6. Regional Independent Newspaper Warned 
 
The Borisov-based independent newspaper Borisovskie Novosti received 
a warning from the Information Ministry on November 11.  The letter, 
signed by Deputy Minister Liliya Ananich on November 4, stated that 
the Central Election Commission sent a complaint to the Ministry 
about a newspaper article that allegedly contained "inaccurate" 
information about violations during the parliamentary elections. 
 
---------------- 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
¶7.  National Bank Raises Refinancing Rate to 11 Percent 
 
 
VILNIUS 00000968  002 OF 002 
 
 
According to the press service of Belarus' National Bank, the 
refinancing rate was raised from 10.75 to 11 percent from November 
¶12.  The Bank plans to raise it further later this year to match the 
projected inflation rate of 14 percent.  The National Bank says it 
wants more money in savings accounts in Belarusian banks in the 
hopes that this will help secure a sufficient money supply from 
which to issue loans to businesses and individuals.  Currently, 
interest on deposits and loans are 11-14 percent and 14-17 percent, 
respectively. 
 
¶8. Belarus' Reserves Decreased Through October 
 
According to press reports, Belarus' hard currency, gold and 
precious stones reserves fell as of November 1 by more than 3 
percent both by local and International Monetary Fund (IMF) 
standards to USD 4.8 billion and USD 4 billion, respectively.  In 
2007, the country saw a three-fold increase in reserves and had 
planned to secure USD 5.5 billion by the end of this year and USD 10 
billion by 2011. 
 
¶9. Lower Gasoline and Diesel Prices Deemed "Inexpedient" 
 
An unnamed GOB source told Prime-Tass news agency on November 10 
that experts from major governmental agencies reviewed high gasoline 
and diesel prices on the domestic market and decided to maintain 
their current level.  They believe it would be "inexpedient" to 
lower them in view of falling world oil prices because this would 
require the GOB to pay higher subsidies to oil refineries. 
 
¶10. Russia and Belarus to Sign USD 2 Billion Loan Agreement 
 
Speaking to Prime-Tass news service on November 11, Russian Embassy 
Economic Counselor Andrei Kuznetsov reiterated that Russia and 
Belarus will sign USD 2 billion loan agreement by the end of 
November.  The parties will also sign a Memorandum laying out a plan 
of joint economic activities, including methods and peculiarities of 
mutual payments.  The first part of the loan, USD 1 billion, should 
be issued in November, while the remaining part will be issued in 
the first quarter of 2009. 
 
¶11. National Bank to Ensure Fair Treatment of Customers by 
Commercial Banks 
 
The head of the National Bank Monitoring Section Sergei Dubkov told 
an international conference in Minsk on November 12 that the Bank 
would oblige all commercial banks to disclose all information 
related to interest rates and fees on all issued loans starting on 
January 1, 2009.  The decision is intended to help secure fair and 
transparent services to customers. 
 
----------------- 
Quote of the Week 
----------------- 
 
¶12. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on November 11, 
commenting on U.S.-Belarusian relations, President Lukashenka said: 
 
Everything depends on the U.S.  If America is interested in 
developing our relations without putting up any additional barriers 
or preliminary conditions, we will make a serious step forward in 
this regard, and the Americans will be happy about their cooperation 
with Belarus . . . I believe the Americans realized that Belarus is 
a key country in Europe with which they need to cooperate." 
 
MILLER 
CLOUD