BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/11/2009

Internal struggle between KGB and Interior Ministry of Belarus to reflect on forthcoming trial

Within the next few days a closed court session in Belarus will announce a verdict in the so- called case of policemen-hunters, newspaper Belarusky partizan reports. Several officers of the Ministry of Interior of Belarus, including the former head of the directorate on struggle against corruption, will be strictly punished for hunting in natural preserves. According to magazine Ogonek, they have climbed into another preserve, too, as they were engaged in investigation of corruption cases in the nearest circles of the Belarus President. This also has led to internal war between the Belarus State Security Committee (KGB) and the Ministry of Interior, and still will lead to significant changes among top officials, the magazine writes.

One of the key figures of the case is former Minister of Interior Vladimir Naumov.

He was fanatically loyal to President Lukashenko. However he perfectly understood, the more compromising evidence on the closest circle of the President he would report to the boss, the more his own positions become stronger, Belarusky partizan notes. Naumov showed decomposition of the high-ranking officials; he reported all received information on corruption among the top officials to the President and always insisted on acceptance of strict measures.

One of his mistakes was an attempt to chalk up with the chairman of the Belarus Tennis Federation, founder of the BT Telecommunications company, chairman of Beltexexport company, Vladimir Peftiyev, who is considered now the richest businessman of Belarus. Earlier it was his friendship with the former secretary of the Security Council Viktor Sheiman that secured his influence, now it is provided by affinity to the oldest son of President Lukashenko. Lilya Lukashenko, the spouse of Viktor Lukashenko, has been working in one of the key companies of Peftiyev's business-empire, daily Yezhednevnik notes. The newspaper adds that < some resignations of known security forces officials with whom the businessman could not find common language for longer time, have again made him one of leaders of the Belarus economic establishment>. Viktor Lukashenko has found economic base for the projects in Peftiyev's person, the paper marks.

Viktor Lukashenko has been leaning on young, but not less arrogant comrades, chairman of the KGB Vadim Zaitsev, chairman of the Border Guard Committee Igor Rachkovsky whose family is close friends of the Lukashenkos. Viktor Lukashenko has appeared extremely arrogant and high-flying, he is characterised as distrustful and vindictive person, Belarusky partizan writes.

Viktor Lukashenko, the adviser of his father on national security issues, has been also supervising a new security service, the Presidential Operative and Analytical Centre. The centre is in fact a new, private security service of the oldest son of the Belarus President, the paper expands. It has incorporated three key directorates of the previous Security Council and is headed by Valery Vakulchik who many years worked as the chief of department of KGB military counterespionage in the Border Guard Service.

When in 2008, Minister Naumov turned against Peftiyev, the Ministry of Interior brought the first in history of Belarus criminal case on raider seizures of enterprises in Minsk. The suspects who participated in these actions were detained in Russia and all the threads were leading to top officials. Naumov had obviously gone it too far in struggle for clean ranks of the President's closest circle.

From this moment the KGB started to openly hunting for Naumov's environment. Major-General Yevgeny Komarnitsky, the vice-chairman of the Border Guard Committee, was arrested for accepting bribes (he was released after Naumov's resignation).

The President charged his son Viktor Lukashenko to recheck all the facts on raiders' case. As a result of this check, the main witness of this case was arrested by the KGB for quite another matter and he was sentenced to 7.5 years of imprisonment.

In February, 2009, Naumov put reciprocal blow on Viktor Lukashenko's environment. The vice-chairman of the KGB Zaretsky and the deputy head of the KGB directorate of Brest area Gromovich were arrested, the chief of the KGB directorate of Brest area Aksyuchich disappeared in Russia. Former KGB head Stepan Sukhorenko and Valery Vakulchik were standing as the following on turn, according to Ministry of Interior investigators.

In March operatives of the KGB receive a report that Naumov's right hand, the head of department on struggle against corruption Yermakov, had been periodically hunting together with his subordinate, Zhlobino district interior department official Leonid Minenkov. This was the reason for the criminal case against policemen-hunters. The KGB was carrying out total purge of police officials in the Gomel area.

In reply the Ministry of Interior started the massive attack on security service officers in the area. At the general session of security forces Naumov cursed Zaitsev, Zhadobin and Viktor Lukashenko and threatened to retire. As a result Naumov's subordinates were punished. As Belarusky partizan puts it, the directorate on struggle against corruption of the Ministry of Interior has been crushed, all criminal cases materials against close followers of Viktor Lukashenko have disappeared, more precisely, they have been taken away to the KGB ostensibly for check.

Now it is Viktor Lukashenko who is the actual head of the security forces of Belarus, the paper marks. Amendments to the Criminal Code have been initiated in the Belarus parliament, which actually abolish institute of public prosecutor's supervision with transfer of corresponding functions to the heads of the KGB, the Ministry of Interior and State Controlling Committee.

Source:

http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1950


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