ANATOL LABEDZKA: RECORDING OF THE PHONE CONVERSATION WITH NEMTSOV IS MADE BY BELARUSIAN SPECIAL SERVICES

In the evening of 3 September Belarusian TV reported about the phone conversation of Barys Nemtsov, leader of Russian Union of Right Forces, and Anatol Labedzka, chair of Belarusian United Civic Party. Their conversation was also printed in a state-owned newspaper “Sovetskaya Belorussia”. Belarusian TV referred to the Russian newspaper “Sovetskaya Rossia”, which printed an article, titled “Nemtsov’s Reception Calling…”. The editor comments the talk between Nemtsov and Labedzka as following: “The recording shows, that the Kremlin started secret negotiations with Belarusian opposition and stakes on Lukashenka’s overthrow”.
According to “Sovetskaya Rossia”, there is a special action plan: “The oligarchs, who want to get rid of Lukashenka, call on the Kremlin to destabilize the situation in the country and provoke a revolt. The Belarusian leader is hated not only for political and economic reasons, but also for a religious one – as a Slavic leader, people’s leader, loved by both the Belarusians and the Russians. Putin made his recent radical statements just to blackmail Lukashenka…”

The newspaper also states, that the information is about “the greatest provocation around Belarus, Russia agreements”. According to “Sovetskaya Rossia”, Labedzka and Nemtsov’s conversation is only an addition, which voices only a few details of the action plan. For instance, Nemtsov arranged a visit of UCP members to the Kremlin.

I asked Anatol Labedzka if he had ever had such a conversation with Barys Nemtsov. The UCP leader answered: “I have phone conversations with foreign politicians practically every day. We talk with Barys Nemtsov almost every week”.
-- How do you explain this publication?
-- The article in the Russian newspaper proves the work of the Belarusian special services, who work to create a scandal around relations between Lukashenka and Putin. I am completely sure, that this “information flow” to Russia was organized by the Belarusian special services – I have personal grounds to state that. I want to remind you that recently a special equipment for wire-taping have been found near my apartment. This is a nervous reaction on the fact, that UCP has relations with people in Moscow on quite a high level. Lukashenka can’t get over the fact, that it’s not up to him to decide who receives our delegations in the Russian President’s Office of in the State Duma.
Nemtsov’s reception office informed me that the leader of URF (Union of Right Forces) faction is on holiday till 7 September. He will make a proper statement later. Interfax reports, Nemtsov admitted that he had had such a phone talk, made from his office phone in the state Duma. Nemtsov underlined, in spite of the confidential nature of the conversation, everything he talked about had been publicized earlier: regarding both Lukashenka’s policies and prospects of Russia, Belarus Union.
Nemtsov states, he is going to appeal to the Russian Prosecutor General about wiretapping of his office telephone. According to the New Russian Code of Criminal Procedure, which came into force on July 1, only courts can sanction wire-taping. In Belarus wiretapping might be sanctioned by prosecutors as well.
Pavel Yakubovich, editor of “Sovetskaya Belorussia”, presents his newspaper as a “serious newspaper”. However, it has become a usual genre for them to re-print secret recordings of others’ phone talks. On the eve of the presidential elections they printed conversations of head of AMG OSCE Mr. Wieck with Belarusian politicians and journalists. By the way, that time they also re-printed information from “Sovetskaya Rossia” and “Zavtra”. A serious newspaper and a flushing box are quite different tools, don’t you think?