Natalya Radzina: “Lukashenka fears us”

The editor-in-chief of charter97.org website calls upon Belarusian journalists to show solidarity and not to give up in the situation of pressure by the authorities.

The editor-in-chief of charter97.org website Natalya Radzina who was beaten by a policeman during the search on March 16, answered questions of “Radio Svaboda” website viewers.

Lyokha from Minsk: How is your face now? Does it still ache?

Natalya Radzina: Yes, it aches. My eye is blackish-blue-red, the hematoma is severe.

Dzimych: What questions could [the authorities] have to the old grants-sucking organization which uses a frost of oppositional activities… Do not make us laugh. We have zero trust to you.

Natalya Radzina: If it were so ridiculous and pitiful as this person writes, Charter’97 news office would not be burst in and computers would not be confiscated there and in the flat of Andrei Sannikov and Iryna Khalip, I would not be punched. These facts demonstrate that the regime fears us. It means we are not so harmless for the regime, and Lukashenka fears us.

Elena: How do you thinks, why mostly female journalists are happen to be represses recently, and not men?

Natalya Radzina: At the large scheme of things, men have come in for a lot of trouble too. It could be seen by the example of Andrei Sannikov. Obviously, the authorities think that women are easier to crush. But they overlook such a factor that women in general, and Belarusian women as well, are very strong. It is impossible to intimidate us, make us stop performing our professional duty. Women have shouldered a lot, both in their professional life and in family life. And we are coping with it. So the calculation to intimidate us is a mistake.

Pyatro: Who moderates comments at Charter’97 website? What is the principle of moderation?

Natalya Radzina: there are some people whom I will not naturally name. and the principle is simple. We won’t have comments which incite ethnic discord, have offensive words, and the comments which are written by the KGB officers on the web in the abundance.

Chaplain from Boguslaw Pole: Have you recovered after this violence of policemen?.. What do you think about the future of the Belarusian press? What are the main things you base upon your work? Would you like to write text-books someday? I wish you success and less of such days.

Natalya Radzina: Thank you very much for your support. Naturally, I have pulled through. I have go-ahead spirit, I am ready for further work. As for other questions. Firstly, we need journalists’ solidarity. The fact that journalists are beaten, deprived of possibility to work, our equipment confiscated, that criminal cases are initiated against us, shows that we must be stronger, support each other, understand that we are free journalists in a not free, dictatorial country. At the moment of truth we all should understand who we are and whether we want to live in a free, democratic country. It happens so that journalists together with politicians are going forward to the front line. It is impossible to say now that you are safeguarding neutrality, sitting on the fence, that you are above the fray. About a textbook. It is not excluded in the future, as during my work in Belarus, and I am in journalism for 13 years, I have learnt so much and acquired so many skills that I could write some handbook for journalists working in the countries which are not free.

Hleb from Vorsha: Well done, girl! If they beat you, they fear you. Don't let it get you down, and tell us about yourself.

Natalya Radzina: thank you for your support. I was born in Kobryn in an ordinary Belarusian family. My father is a military man. Mother worked in a kindergarten. Now they both a pensioners. I have graduated from the Belarusian State University, journalism faculty. All my life I’ve been working in independent press. A number of newspapers in which I worked have been banned: “Imya”, “Naviny”, “Nasha Svaboda”. Since 2001 I work for Charter’97 website.

Anonymous author: Is it true that you are not allowing those who disagree with Lukashenka’s policy, with actions of Milinkevich and those who criticize Sannikov, to your website?

Natalya Radzina: I totally disagree with such an opinion. We publish different comments. But when we see that these comments are written by one and the same person, a dozen at a time, then certainly we see no sense for them to be repeated. And we allow such comments to appear for the sake of pluralism, but in a measured quantity.

Anonymous author: Are you deeply involved in political activities?

Natalya Radzina: I am deeply involved in journalistic activities.