(WAN/IFEX) – In a 1 October 2004 letter to President Alexander Lukashenko, WAN and the World Editors Forum (WEF) expressed alarm at the closure of the “Regional Newspaper” and four other independent publications in the run-up to the October elections, which cannot be credible in such circumstances. According to reports, on 29 September the “Regional […]
(WAN/IFEX) – In a 1 October 2004 letter to President Alexander Lukashenko, WAN and the World Editors Forum (WEF) expressed alarm at the closure of the “Regional Newspaper” and four other independent publications in the run-up to the October elections, which cannot be credible in such circumstances.
According to reports, on 29 September the “Regional Newspaper”, an independent publication in the town of Molodechno, received a notice from the Information Ministry ordering its closure for three months. The ministry claimed that the paper was in breach of its publishing licence, alleging that it was publishing two newspapers, as the television guide insert qualified as a separate periodical.
WAN and WEF expressed concern that the reason given for the closure of the “Regional Newspaper” is entirely spurious and that the real reason for the government’s action is its coverage of the 17 October elections and referendum on Lukashenko’s proposed extension of the presidential mandate. The closure appears to be part of a concerted campaign by the authorities to suppress critical voices in the run-up to the elections; at least four other newspapers have been closed down by the state in recent months.
Satirical newspaper “Navinki” was closed by the Information Ministry for three months on 27 August for failing to notify the ministry of its new address and publication schedule (see IFEX alert of 2 September 2004). On 16 August, the independent weekly “Novaya Gazeta Smorgoni”, in the western town of Smorgon, was suspended for three months (see alert of 26 August 2004).
“Rabochaya Solidarnost” was closed permanently on 2 August after the Supreme Court dissolved its founder, the Belarus Labour Party, and two days later the printing of independent daily “Narodnaya Volya” was suspended for the newspaper’s alleged failure to pay damages to a former head of state television and businessman (see alert of 9 August 2004).
