VZCZCXRO5867
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSK #0195/01 1731515
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221515Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0318
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHSK/AMEMBASSY MINSK 0323

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000195 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: BELARUS WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - JUNE 19, 2009 
 
MINSK 00000195  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  The following are brief items of interest compiled by 
Embassy Minsk. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
- Opposition Youth Convicted (para. 2) 
- Protestant Activist Fined (para. 3) 
- GOB Denies Registration to Opposition Party (para. 4) 
- Police Raid Residence of Malady Front Activist (para. 5) 
 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
- Russia Lifts Belarus' Dairy Produce Import Ban (para. 6) 
- Industrial Output Down 3.4% (para. 7) 
- Foreign Debt Down 0.2% (para. 8) 
 
Foreign Relations 
---------------- 
 
- Belarus-German Economic Council Resumes Work (para. 9) 
- Belarus, Ukraine Sign Bilateral Agreements (para. 10) 
 
Quote of the Week (para. 11) 
--------------------------- 
 
------------- 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
¶2.  Opposition Youth Convicted 
 
A Minsk district court sentenced June 15 opposition youth Maksim 
Dashuk, recognized as "a prisoner of conscience" by Amnesty 
International, to another 15 months of partial house arrest. 
Dashuk was charged with violating restrictions of his current 
partial house arrest sentence and failing to timely report to 
the sheriff.  The youth was convicted of participating in 
unsanctioned January 10, 2008, entrepreneur demonstrations in 
Minsk. 
 
¶3.  Protestant Activist Fined 
 
On June 17, Gorki town authorities fined local Protestant 
activist Pyotr Malanochkin $60 for allegedly distributing copies 
of the Bible, the UN Human Rights Declaration, and other printed 
materials.  The activist dismissed the charges, saying that he 
installed a book stand in front of his house four years ago and 
it enjoyed high popularity among local residents.  Moreover, 
Malanochkin linked the fine with his community's successful 
signature-collection campaign against the construction of a 
nuclear power plant in Belarus. 
 
¶4.  GOB Denies Registration to Opposition Party 
 
The Justice Ministry denied June 15 registration to the Party of 
Freedom and Progress.  Officials outlined "illegitimacy" of 
party's founding convention and registration application 
containing "conflicting" information as major reasons for 
turning down the application. 
 
¶5.  Police Raid Residence of Malady Front Activist 
 
Law-enforcement officers raided the apartment of Malady Front 
activist Andrey Tenyuta in Gomel on June 15 and confiscated a 
computer in response to his failure to pay a $980 fine.  Tenyuta 
maintained that the officers threatened him and did not produce 
any warrant which justified the seizure. 
 
---------------- 
Domestic Economy 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  Russia Lifts Belarus' Dairy Produce Import Ban 
 
After a week-long trade dispute and emotional exchange of 
reproaches, GOB and Russia reached an agreement June 17 to 
remove restrictions and resume Belarus-made dairy produce 
imports to Russia.  Belarus Agriculture Minister Semyon Shapiro 
asserted that Belarus' dairy manufacturers would commence 
upgrading necessary certificates to fully comply with the GOR 
requirements and called negotiations "balanced and 
constructive".  Shapiro's Russian counterpart Yelena Skrynnik 
maintained that the GOB conceded to the suspension of powdered 
milk exports to Russia from June 15 until September 30, 2009. 
On June 17, the GOB also withdrew plans to resume extensive 
customs and border control at the border with Russia. 
 
¶7.  Industrial Output Down 3.4% 
 
 
MINSK 00000195  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Belarus Economy Ministry reported June 17 that industrial output 
went down 3.4% on the year in January-May 2009.  Electrical 
power engineering, mechanical engineering, woodworking, 
construction and light industry were showing a steady decline. 
Food and petrochemical industries remained least affected by the 
global financial crisis.  The Ministry outlined optimistic 
projections for 2009, citing the possibility of industrial 
output expansion by 3%-4% on the year in 2009. 
 
¶8.  Foreign Debt Down 0.2% 
 
Based on official statistics, the Belarusian Finance Ministry 
announced June 12 that Belarus' state foreign debt went down 
0.2% in April, reaching $4.977 billion, following a 33.8% rise 
in January-April 2009. 
 
----------------- 
Foreign Relations 
----------------- 
 
¶9.  Belarus-German Economic Council Resumes Work 
 
The Belarus-German Council for Economic Cooperation held June 16 
its first meeting since 1996.  President Lukashenka welcomed the 
resumption of its work and committed to being "a good partner" 
for Germany, citing the "stable and predictable economy" in 
Belarus.  At his meeting with Bernd Pfaffenbach, State Secretary 
of Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, 
Lukashenka expressed interest in attracting German investments 
and guaranteed the "security" of investment in Belarus. 
Pfaffenbach lauded steps taken by the GOB to liberalize the 
economy and called for further reforms, particularly in the 
sector of private business. 
 
¶10.  Belarus, Ukraine Sign Bilateral Agreements 
 
Belarus and Ukrainian PMs Sergey Sidorskiy and Yuliya Timoshenko 
signed a number of bilateral agreements in Kyiv June 12.  The 
parties adopted regulations to remove restrictions in mutual 
trade, to drop ongoing anti-dumping investigations and 
facilitate trade dispute settlements and to resume Ukraine 
exporting electrical power to Belarus.  The PMs committed to 
jointly "tackle problems" related to the global financial crisis 
and develop "fruitful" economic cooperation. 
 
----------------- 
Quote of the Week 
----------------- 
 
¶11.  Presidential Administration daily "Belarus Segodnya" 
published June 16 a contemptuous article to discredit Russia and 
demonstrate that its ban against imports of Belarus-made dairy 
produce was a pure political gesture.  Author of the article 
Pavel Starodub [likely a pen name for Pavel Yakubovich, the 
paper's editor-in-chief] stated the following: "We presume that 
it is impossible to spot an idiot in the Kremlin...who believes 
Belarus-made milk to be bad, of poor quality, and unsafe to 
drink...everyone knows well that inexpensive and tasty 
Belarus-made milk products are the favorite and welcomed 
`guests' [at homes] of millions of Russian housewives.  So, why 
lie and mislead people?" 
MOORE