Andrzej Poczobutt: Lukashenka is nervous, that’s the reason of pressure on mass media

The election campaign is gaining momentum: a new instrument of crackdown on online media has appeared.

Today it was informed about amendments to the law on mass media, which would allow the authorities to liquidate online media after just two official notifications. In the run-up to the elections such limitations are understood unambiguously: it is another repressive mechanism against journalists, charter97.org was told by a journalist, a former political prisoner Andrzej Poczobut.

- First of all, these changes in the law on mass media concern those who are working in the territory of Belarus, the editorial offices which are within reach of the authorities, so to say. It could entail problems related to a ban and further persecution of its employees, as the authorities are to receive an additional tool for crackdown. But at the same time, speaking about the Belarusian internet, the major popular web-based media, I mean charter97.org as well, have been existing outside Belarus for a long time, so I think that their conditions are not going to change much.

- In which way the work of editorial offices of Belarusian independent mass media is going to change?

- I think that most editorial offices will comply with all the requirements. Everyone in Belarus knows that when the time of the election comes near, crackdown on journalists traditionally grows. I think that these amendments to the law are one of the instruments of crackdown. The authorities know that Internet is a very influential source of information, so they are looking for every opportunity to limit it.

- The law has been adopted so hastily… Do you think it is related to the upcoming “election”?

- Yes, the election campaign is coming, and the authorities react to that. The government is getting ready for the election to be on the safe side. Lukashenka is nervous, and these laws are a good evidence of that.

- Can Belarus find itself in an informational “vacuum”, when unwanted mass media would be blocked completely, and the careful would not convey truthful information?

- I do not think that there is a possibility to block any website on the web completely. In order to close Charter’97, the authorities didn’t need any additional laws. Even now such websites are persecuted and partially blocked when occasion offers. So far the authorities were not successful, and I think that they are going to fail again, as there is an opportunity to bypass any blocking. Even in peak moments blocking was bypassed previously.

- Can these limitations have an impact on postings in social networks in the future? Should people be careful in their statements on the web?

- All users of social networks and blogs understand how the authorities respond to criticism, however, everyone writes whatever he wants to. Certainly, much depends on a concrete human personality. But it seems to me that changes in the law on mass media are to have an effect on social networks in some way. So far there are no retaliatory measures for such things in Belarus.