H.E. Aleksandr Lukashenko
President
Office of the President
Minsk
Republic of Belarus
Fax: +375 17 222 35 03
Vienna, 4 October 2004
Your Excellency,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is deeply concerned about the closure of several newspapers before the October parliamentary elections in Belarus.
According to information before IPI, on 24 September, Rehiyanalnaya hazeta (“Regional Newspaper”), which appears in Maladzechna, Minsk Oblast, and is distributed in seven districts of north-western Belarus, was suspended for three months by Information Minister Uladzimir Rusakevich. The suspension was the result of two warnings issued by the Ministry on the same day for alleged violations of the Media Law.
The newspaper was accused of publishing an unregistered television guide and switching to a weekly publication schedule without prior notification. The editor-in-chief, however, stated that the ban was politically motivated, due to the newspaper’s coverage of a dispute between parliamentary candidate Uladzislau Skvernik and the Maladzechna district authorities.
On 27 August, Rusakevich ordered the private satirical newspaper Navinki to be suspended for three months. The paper was accused of failing to notify the authorities of its new address and publishing schedule, as well as committing other irregularities.
Navinki was fined and suspended for three months in May 2003. The newspaper published and commented on photos of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, which were considered defamatory, and published an article considered to “jeopardise public morals.” Moreover, for a period after the suspension printing houses refused to print the newspaper, which was able to renew its publication only recently.
A similar ban was imposed on the privately owned regional newspaper Novaya gazeta Smorgoni, in Smorgon, western Belarus, on 16 August 2004. According to the Minister of Information, the newspaper’s founder, Ramuald Ulan, failed to comply with registration procedures.
In addition to those closures, the opposition weekly Rabochaya Solidarnost was suspended on 3 June and closed on 2 August, and the printing of the independent daily Narodnaya Volya was suspended on 4 August.
According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, the registration department of the Ministry of Information confirmed that a number of non-state editions, including the newspapers Vremya and Predpinimatelskaya gazeta, were suspended for three months in September. The reasons cited were mistakes in their registration. Allegedly, Vremya has changed its legal address, and Predpinimatelskaya gazeta its subject matter and circulation.
In IPI’s opinion, the large number of popular newspapers that have been suspended in Belarus for technical reasons shortly before the parliamentary elections calls into question the credibility of the suspension orders. IPI believes these represent yet another attempt to silence media critical of the government.
According to international standards on press freedom, the rules on registration should be for technical purposes only and should never be used to prevent media organisations from practicing their profession. Any such application is in clear breach of the right of everyone to “hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media” as stated in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
IPI is deeply concerned about the media situation in Belarus and urges Your Excellency to stop the harassment of media and to do everything in your power to create an environment in Belarus that allows journalists to practice their profession without fear of harassment or intimidation.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director
