From: Aftenposten
Date: 21.12.2007:
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK
001045
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, ECON, ENRG, BO
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MINSK WEEKLY POL/ECON REPORT - December 21, 2007
1. The following are brief items of interest compiled by
Embassy Minsk.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Civil Society
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- Market Vendors Conduct Nationwide Strike (para. 2)
- Opposition Groups Protest Social Benefit Cuts (para. 3)
- BGKB Resumes Malady Front Criminal Case (para. 4)
- Small Business Activists Jailed and Fined (para. 5)
- BKGB Raids Opposition Office (para. 6)
- Court Denies "For Freedom" Registration (para. 7)
Domestic Economy
----------------
- GOB Purports to Simplify Business Registration (para. 8)
- First U.S. Investment in Belarus´ Banking System (para. 9)
International Trade
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- Direct Investment Increases (para. 10)
Quote of the Week (para. 11)
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Civil Society
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2. Market Vendors Conduct Nationwide Strike
Tens of thousands of market vendors around Belarus took part
in a one-day strike December 19, protesting recently announced
hiring restrictions and last week´s court rulings against five
small business activists. Anatoliy Shumchenko, the leader of
the pro-entrepreneur group Perspektiva, led the strike.
Vendors in all regional capitals except Vitebsk participated.
Another association of small business owners, For the Free
Development of Enterprise, plans to begin an open-ended
nationwide strike against the employee restrictions on January
1, the day the new restrictions are to be implemented.
3. Opposition Groups Protest Social Benefit Cuts
United Civic Party (UCP) activists demonstrated in Minsk
December 15 and distributed leaflets protesting social benefit
cuts. According to UCP Chair Anatoliy Lebedko, authorities
denied approval for approximately 800 rallies across Belarus,
but could not prevent activists from distributing printed
materials. Over 10 people staged an authorized hour-long rally
in a remote part of Mogilyov December 16. About 100 people
demonstrated for 45 minutes and peacefully dispersed in Gomel.
Police briefly detained two opposition youths in central Brest
December 16 for passing out leaflets to protest the cuts,
seizing 64 fliers. On December 17, 20 opposition activists
organized a flash mob in Brest. Two activists there were also
briefly detained and released without charges.
4. BGKB Resumes Malady Front Criminal Case
The Gomel BGKB December 14 resumed its criminal case against
youth opposition activist Andrey Tenyuta on charges of acting
on behalf of the unregistered organization Malady Front (MF).
The BGKB initially opened a criminal case September 18 after
repeatedly questioning Tenyuta and confiscating his computer
during a raid on his apartment. Tenyuta unsuccessfully
petitioned for the return of the equipment after authorities
suspended the case in November. He is now facing up to two
years in jail on charges of "discrediting state agencies,
destabilizing the social and political situation, and engaging
youth with radical propaganda."
5. Small Business Activists Jailed and Fined
A Minsk district court December 17 sentenced small business
activist Nikolay Sergeyenko to ten days in jail on petty
hooliganism charges. The police detained Sergeyenko December 6
during a search of his offices, charging him with disorderly
conduct and using profanity. In a separate case, a judge in
Gomel December 18 fined small business activist Irina
Kaminskaya 350,000 rubles (USD 170) on charges of violating
laws regarding mass events. Kaminskaya has been active
distributing printed materials protesting new business
regulations.
6. BKGB Raids Opposition Office
BKGB officers raided the United Civic Party (UCP) Gomel office
December 14 and seized printed materials and DVDs. The
officers MINSK 00001045 002 OF 002 asserted that they were
looking for fliers calling for protests against social benefit
cuts. On December 15, the BKGB searched the apartment of Gomel
UCP office Deputy Head Vladimir Katsora and confiscated over
5,000 leaflets.
7. Court Denies "For Freedom" Registration
The Supreme Court December 18 upheld the Ministry of Justice´s
(MOJ) registration denial for opposition leader Aleksandr
Milinkevich´s movement "For Freedom" (FF). It is the third
registration denial based on violations of laws governing mass
events. The MOJ asserted that the group´s founding convention
held August 11 was illegal and unsanctioned. FF Deputy Head
Yuriy Gubarevich maintained that the FF would hold additional
founding conventions and continue to submit registration
applications.
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Domestic Economy
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8. GOB Purports to Simplify Business Registration
President Lukashenko December 17 signed Decree Number 8, to
simplify the registration process for new businesses. Starting
on January 1, registration agencies will no longer examine
application papers, instead holding applicants liable for any
non-compliance with regulations. The decree also halves the
required charter funds of new businesses, cuts the number of
required application papers, reduces application processing
time from twenty to five working days, and eases the
liquidation process.
9. First U.S. Investment in Belarus´ Banking System
Management company Monister Investments Ltd., a Cyprus-based
division of the U.S. firm Horizon Capital, December 14
acquired a 31.5 percent stake in Minsk Transit Bank.
Currently, the bank´s major shareholder (60 percent) is car
dealer Atlant-M. Bank managers in a press conference expressed
their belief that Belarus´ banking sector is the country´s
most attractive sector for foreign investors.
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International Trade
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10. Direct Investment Increases
The Belarusian Ministry of Economy reported December 18 that
foreign direct investment has risen during the last three
years, totaling USD 451.3 million in 2005, USD 748.6 million
in 2006, and USD 905 million in the first nine months of 2007.
According to the ministry, Russia accounted for 30.4 percent
of all foreign investment in the Belarusian economy in the
first nine months of 2007, up from eight percent in the same
period of the previous year. The United Kingdom was the next
largest investor in Belarus, accounting for 19.8 percent of
all foreign investments, followed by Austria (10.9 percent),
Switzerland (9.3), Germany (7.2), and Cyprus (6.8). The
industrial sector reportedly received 43.8 percent of all
foreign investments, up from 22 percent in 2006.
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11. Quote of the Week
----------------------
BKGB Chairman Yuriy Zhadobin on why his organization no longer
investigates paranormal phenomena: "Unlike during the USSR,
the department is not engaged in studying paranormal
phenomena. [Back then,] we had greater means and opportunities
which we could spend on anything and everything. Today the
situation is different. Then, when society was excited by
something, it entered our sphere of interest. But when it
comes to healers, UFOs and such, we just can´t deal with them
any more."
Stewart