Lukashenko Keeps Lying Again :: Charter'97 :: News

At 1 a.m. September 10, after the end of the press-conference of the CEC chairwoman Lydia Ermoshina, the press-conference host declared that at 2p.m. Alexander Lukashenko will meet with journalists in the Republic’s Palace, adding that “foreign press will be allowed in upon Foreign Ministry’s accreditation.” However, not only them, but also two of “Narodnaya Volya” correspondents and one from BelaPAN were prevented by the guards from entering the press-center hall.

Correspondent of the Latvian newspaper “Diena”, officially accredited with FM, had successfully cleared two police cordons, but was stopped at the third by a guard, who told him that his name wasn’t on the list of journalists, approved by the head of Lukashenko’s press-service Dmitry Zhouk.

Analogous lists had been drawn September 9 at the precinct where Lukashenko cast his vote, located on the premises of the Academy of Physical Culture. This was done in breach of the Electoral Law, which guarantees to journalists a right to be present at any polling station.

Meantime, at his press-conference Lukashenko pledged that he would support the journalists as he always did. And he even went on to name one of such “journalists” – Evgeny Novikov from the odious TV program “Human rights. World Overview.”