WikiLeaks and Belarus 2008: Government Uses Real Estate to Suppress the Opposition

Two years after significant protests against the Government of Alexander Lukashenko and almost three years before this month's demonstrations against Lukashenko's re-election, the US Embassy in Belarus reports on how the Government is manipulating real estate and accommodation in an attempt to shut down the opposition, activists, and independent media.

THE ORIGINAL CABLE

R 081131Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6881
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1818
RUEHBS/USMISSION USEU 0274
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000085
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL BO
SUBJECT: LOST OUR LEASE -- REAL ESTATE AS A MEANS OF REGIME PRESSURE ON BELARUS' OPPOSITION
REF: MINSK 079 (AND PREVIOUS)

Summary

¶1. (C) Representatives of the independent media, civil society and political opposition in Belarus report increasing pressure from landlords, including astronomical rent increases or termination of leases. The increasing use of this old tactic -- often indirect and sometimes buttressed with arguments about market prices for real estate -- presents both a logistical and a legal threat to the continued functioning of opposition organizations, which need a legal address to stay in operation. End summary.

Parties and the Press Face Loss of Premises

¶2. (C) At briefings held January 25 for visiting EUR/ACE staff..., representatives of the United Democratic Forces (UDF) and the independent press described how increasing rents and terminated leases threaten their continued legal operation in Belarus.

¶3. (C) [An official] of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), noted that, as of April 2008, the rent for BPF's Minsk headquarters is scheduled to increase 800 per cent or more. XXX added that the premises, in a government building, had been previously "rent controlled" since it was let to a non-profit civic organization; this control had since been withdrawn by the authorities.

¶4. (C) [An official of the] Belarusian Social Democratic Party-Gramada (BSDP-G) ...told Pol/Econ Chief February 5 that his party has lost their office in regional capital Mogilyov. XXX said that BSDP-G had been without a home there since January 1, when there previous lease ended without the possibility of renewal. He noted that the search for new premises -- and a new "legal address" necessary to function -- was arduous and not guaranteed to succeed.

¶5. (C) According to [staff] of the independent weekly "Belarusy i Rynok"...the paper recently lost its lease to its Minsk office. As with BSDP-G, the paper was given no opportunity to renew a lease that had expired. XXX opined that the move and other pressure on the paper and its readers were attempts by the GOB to keep objective information on the Belarusian economy out of the hands of citizens in an election year.

Groups Face Logistical, Legal Hurdles

¶6. (C) The loss of office space threatens the existence of parties, NGOs, and the free press for a host of reasons. First, the prospect of moving presents groups with real financial and logistical problems, not the least of which is finding a landlord willing to be associated with an organization challenging the regime. Just as importantly, losing premises introduces legal hurdles as well. The filing of paperwork to change a legal address gives the regime an additional opportunity to liquidate a group seen as a troublemaker. For political parties, the problem is even more acute, since failure to maintain an office in Minsk and at least half of Belarus' six regional capitals is grounds for a national political party to be de-registered.

Comment: Don't Believe Market-Based Excuses

¶7. (C) One excuse which landlords and the state are wont to offer for rent increases and the decision not to renew leases is the skyrocketing cost of real estate in Minsk. "Invisible hand" arguments would be easier to accept if not for the very visible hands of the regime and regime cronies that the monopolistic real estate rules so ably serve.

Comment Cont.

¶8. (C) While the Lukashenko regime recently has released four internationally recognized political prisoners (reftel), administrative detentions and other forms of harassment -- such as these real estate manipulations -- continue. The Embassy will continue to closely monitor the many forms of the regime's repression as September parliamentary elections approach.