No “clear skies” ahead for free press in Belarus
19 December 2010 marked the official end of the presidential election campaign in Belarus. But for hundreds of Belarusian citizens it was the beginning of naked repression with police batons, gloomy detention centres and biased courts favouring “witnesses” in uniform. Journalist Andrei Aliaksandrau reports from Minsk
By Andrei Aliaksandrau, Belarus Association of Journalists
The repressive machine never sleeps; a wave of searches and KGB interrogations goes on. Independent media and journalists in Belarus are among those who face the worst of that offensive “attention” from the authorities and law enforcements of the country. And the thing is that forecasts for the nearest future do not bring any news about clear skies for the free press in Belarus.
According to information of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), at least 26 journalists were detained during the events of 19 December in Minsk; more than 20 reporters were beaten by the police despite of the fact most of them had valid press cards and official accreditation. 10 journalists served administrative arrests from 10 to 15 days.
Six members of BAJ are still in detention at the moment: Iryna Khalip, Natallia Radzina, Sergey Vozniak, Aliaksandr Fiaduta, Dzmitry Bandarenka, Pavel Seviarynets. They are accused of a criminal offence, namely of organising and participating in mass disturbances. The maximum punishment for this crime according to the Belarusian legislation is 15 years of prison.
Threats and interrogation
The events of 19 December were followed by a series of interrogations and searches in editorial offices and private flats of journalists, both in Minsk and in other regions. Journalistic equipment was confiscated; some journalists claim officers used force during interrogations; some received phone calls with threats afterwards. Investigators are paying special attention to reporters who photographed and filmed the events in the Independence Square in Minsk on the evening of election day.
Tough times ahead in 2011
Highly placed officials in the country had promised “to have it out” with non-state media. Aleh Praliaskouski, Minister of Information, blamed independent media of using “invalid data, and sometimes insult and slander” while covering the election campaign and said they must share responsibility for the “mass disturbances” of 19 December. According to Mr. Praliaskouski, the Ministry “will thoroughly analyse activity of such media outlets and will give an appropriate legal evaluation of it.”
In practice, this means nothing pleasant lies ahead for the free press.
“You will take responsibility for every single word you write,” Aliaksandr Lukashenka told journalists at a press conference on 20 December 2010. And to make the message even clearer he promised “to reform Internet.”
All this can only mean that the Belarus media environment will become an even worse place to work. Independent editors expect some tough times in 2011.
Sound pessimistic? Maybe. But Belarusian independent media has a long history not only of survival, but of development in an extremely hostile environment. On the eve of the previous presidential elections in 2006 most of the independent press was excluded from state distribution networks. This led to the development of online publications and making Internet a sphere of free flow of information in Belarus.
Thus, any pressure ends up with an adequate answer. It is difficult to predict what means the authorities of the country will use to try and keep promisses of the highly placed officials to confront the non-state media, to silence the free voices. What is clear is that there is a strong international community that is following what is happening in Belarus. And there is a professional community inside the country that is ready to withstand pressure. There are courageous people, whose choice it is to be journalists in their country.
This means the story will be continued…
More photos from protest march during the elections by photographer Siarhei Balay here.
