BAJ Demands to Halt Censorship Against Free Press :: Charter'97 :: News

Members of the board of the Belarusian Association of Journalists met with the first deputy chair of the State Committee for Press Vladimir Glushakov, who’s currently working as acting director of the private press “Magic”, reports BAJ press-center. Heads of the journalistic organization handed over to the statesman the letter with a demand to cease interference into the activity of the non-state media. “Since the moment of your appointment to the post there occurred a few events, which testify to your exercising censorship tools,” – runs the text of the message.

At first, they note, on August 28 the authorities disrupted the issue of the independent newspaper “Rabochy”; August 31 two special issues of the “Predprinimatelskaya Gazeta” saw light with two blank spots; on September 5, Glushakov, threatening with the ban on publishing services, demanded that they remove some publications from “Narodnaya Volya” and “Belorusskaya Molodezhnaya”.

BAJ board considers groundless any Glushakov’s references that the materials were violating rights and interests of other people, defaming the president’s honor. “It is only the court and other state bodies, that can establish the facts of legislation violations, which doesn’t happen until the publications appear in press,” – claim the authors of the letter.

The copy of the document was mailed to the chair of the State Committee for Press Mikhail Podgainy.