Arche denied registration for the fourth time

The Ministry of Information has refused to make changes in the magazine's registration data.

The decision signed by minister of information Uladzimir Matusevich says that the editorial office failed to inform about the reappointment of Valer Bulhakau as editor-in-chief of the magazine. The magazine's staff call the ministry's decision repressive, the press service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reports.

“The Ministry of Information does everything to close the magazine. Officials apply best efforts to deny registration finding new reasons every times. We are not going to stop. We plan to apply for registration again,” Arche staff say.

The magazine faced problems on September 14, 2012, when editor-in-chief Valer Bulhakau was detained. Tax and police officers detained him in Hrodna during a presentation of the book “Sovetisation of Western Belarus” and accused him of carrying out illegal business activity.

On September 21, officers of the financial  investigation department visited the printing company, which printed the magazine, with a check. All documents relating the magazine's activity for the last two years were seized on September 24-28.  

More than 5,000 books owned by Bulhakau were seized on October 2.

Arche founder Andrei Dynko was summoned to the financial investigation department on October 4. To save the magazine, a decision to relieve Bulhakau of his duties as editor-in-chief was taken.

The financial investigation department for Minsk and the Minsk region ordered to suspend operations on the account of the magazine.

The financial investigation department denied the request to unblock the magazine's account referring to failure to provide a number of documents. The editorial staff called the claims groundless.

Valer Bulhakau was fined 500,000 rubles for carrying out illegal business activity on October 18.

The situation of the magazine became a topic for a few episodes of the programme “Zone X” on the Belarusian state television. Opinions of the “extremist” content of the magazine were expressed in the programme.