(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 25 May 2000 letter to President Alexander Lukashenko, CPJ stated that it was deeply disturbed by the continuing pattern of intimidation by federal and local authorities of the independent press in Belarus. Over the past few months, CPJ has monitored many violations of press freedom, and now wishes to draw the […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 25 May 2000 letter to President Alexander Lukashenko, CPJ stated that it was deeply disturbed by the continuing pattern of intimidation by federal and local authorities of the independent press in Belarus.
Over the past few months, CPJ has monitored many violations of press freedom, and now wishes to draw the presidentâs attention to the following:
– the independent weekly “Nasha Niva” is threatened with closure;
– the “Reporter” newspaper in Grodno is being refused registration rights;
– journalists have been attacked and detained while covering demonstrations;
– a journalist has been harassed and threatened by the KGB.
On 15 May, the office of the General Prosecutor handed “Nasha Niva” its second official warning this year. The warning resulted from a 10 April article titled “Infection of Fascism. A. Lukashenko copies A. Hitler.” Under Belarusian law, the newspaper can be shut down if the warning is upheld in court.
The first warning against “Nasha Niva”, upheld 11 May on appeal, related to a Belarusian reader’s letter published 13 March which the authorities claimed showed “intolerance against Russians.” According to the newspaper’s editor, the reader complained of insults and humiliations which she received on a daily basis because she does only speaks the Belarusian language.
In both these cases, the authorities invoked Article 5 of the Media Law, entitled “The Abuse of the Freedom of Mass Media”. CPJ believes this article is being used to prevent journalists and citizens from expressing their opinion freely.
On 2 May, five journalists from the independent newspaper “Reporter” gathered in Lenin Square in Grodno to protest the city government’s continued refusal to register their newspaper. They were reportedly detained in police custody for three hours before their release. Although “Reporter” submitted an application for registration in February, the Grodno Municipal Executive Council claims it cannot issue a license since the building that houses the paper does not have the required “passport of technical condition.” According to CPJ sources, the refusal is an attempt by the Council (which is currently registering its own newspaper, “Vecherny Grodno”) to control the local media.
On 1 May, two journalists were arrested while attempting to cover an opposition rally in the town of Mogilev, according to local news sources. Igor Irkho, a journalist with the “De Facto” independent newspaper was reportedly physically attacked by police and his camera was damaged. He and a colleague who was also covering the demonstration, Alexander Alexandrovich, a correspondent with the newspaper Belaruskaya “Delovaya Gazeta”, were both detained for several hours by local police.
Yahor Mayorchyk, a freelance contributor to the Belarusian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was summoned for an interview with a KGB officer in Minsk on 25 April (see IFEX alert of 4 May 2000). In the course of the ninety-minute meeting, the officer threatened that if Mayorchyk refused to ‘cooperate’ with the security services, “the same thing will happen to you as to Babitsky” (see IFEX alerts of 10, 3 and 1 March, 28, 10, 9, 8, 7, 4, 2 and 1 February, 31 and 28 January 2000). (RFE/RL journalist Babitsky was arrested by Russian authorities in Chechnya and held captive for over 40 days.)
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
- condemning the government’s repeated attempts to harass and threaten independent newspapers
and individual journalists - urging him to use the power of his office to revoke the General Prosecutor’s warning against “Nasha Niva”, support “Reporter” in its quest for official registration status, and ensure that all journalists in Belarus may gather and disseminate information without fear of reprisal
Appeals To
His Excellency Alexander Lukashenko
President of Belarus Republic
Minsk 220020
Fax: +375 172 23 58 25
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
