HELP Project: Answers to Questions :: Charter'97 :: News

Since the announcement of the HELP! Action, at a special forum, dedicated to this problem we are being posed all different questions. Today we publish the first part of our answers to them. In future we intend to keep answering them.

Ben

How can one transfer money for the site and get access to the reports on the work accomplished?
If you want to render assistance to us, please, contact us via our e-mail address help@charter97.org. Everyone, who helps us, will be reported in detail how his funds have been spent.

Alies`

Interesting. Where did $40mln of the “Belarus Democracy Act” go? What do senators Mc.caine, Helms and Campbell say to that?

To the best of our knowledge, the so-called “Act on democracy in Belarus” hasn’t been passed up to date, while distinguished senator Helms is no longer a senator, he retired.

Guys, you should have written the exact list of your expenses – how much you need on hosting, web-site’s operation, authors, hardware, phone, office rent… And what kinds of hardware do you need? Why not say it at once?

Everyone, who expressed desire to render assistance to us, let us provide all the detailed information in e-mail correspondence. As you know, our e-mail is help@charter97.org

Is there anys eparation between the budget of Charter’97 information site and the budget of all your hopeless actions, such as the one, which you organized on March 25? For if our money goes to your weird egotistic actions then there’s no point in giving you. There should be full clarity as to where the money will go.

Project HELP! Is aimed at searching the resources solely for supporting the web-site’s operation. Let us leave it to historians to evaluate the political actions. www.charter97.org

NKD-INFORM

At first you started the project “Free Internet”, but the public didn’t react. Then you launch the PR project HELP, as if you had no money. But you simply want people to believe you, though the result will be the same as with the “Free Internet” project.

We consider the initial phase of the “Free Internet” project to be a success. We received more subscribers to the news and visitors to the site generally. We received plenty of ideas as to how the information in Internet should be best disseminated under the conditions of censorship. It turns out that many are indeed preoccupied with that problem. Internet remains today the only source of independent information flow.

Minister of propaganda

if we donate money, will you present the detailed list of expenditures?

Everyone, who delivers assistance to us, will, if he wants, receive a report on how we used his funds and also the general size of expenditures for the site.

Alex

Folks. If you want to get real help from abroad, make sure you open the bank account in Poland. Then one would be able to easily transfer money to you. I read about WebMoney (Yandex-ru) – a normal person cannot deal with that.

Belarusian nationals cannot have bank accounts abroad. However, if there’s a reliable partner in Poland, we can consider any cooperation proposals. Hopefully, shortly we will provide you with our account’s data.

Nik

I greatly respect www.charter97.org, but once you are asking for money, there immediately come to mind suspicions and questions. It’s not greediness. Dear www.charter97.org, could you, please, publish a program from which potential sponsors could see that: the state won’t take away at least 30% of the funds transferred, the participants of the project won’t build summer cottages on our money, while I, as a user, will get a high-quality Internet project.

In other words, where’s the guarantee of the positive result?

For around a year we never asked for help, surviving at the cost of internal resources. Today the situation is so tragic that www.charter97.org are almost starving, without exaggeration. We already mentioned what for we need the funds – to pay for office rent, phone communications, Internet access, server rent and materials’ translations. We also need assistance in technical re-equipment.

Today our site takes the lead among the public-political resources of the Belarusian Internet. Its leading positions, high attendance level and mere existence – are best guarantees of our using your aid properly.

Someone

tell us where your server is. In the Republic of Belarus?

Our server is located outside of Belarus J

Daprygalisya

for what misdoings did your money finish? This doesn’t happen for no reason.

Economic problems for the independent press are being created by the state. Over the past two years due to the financial problems in Belarus there ceased existence certain independent newspapers. The remainder of them can hardly make ends meet. So, the financial problem for mass media and us, personally, is very serious. We have already said that from some unclear reasons donors have significantly curtailed the support of the free media and Internet projects in Belarus.

MP

I’m extremely astonished by the fact that such a project requires the means for “dial-up” and may be the hosting (which can easily be funded from one’s personal savings). The whole of your project can be carried out by a bunch of enthusiasts, working at home on their computers and monies, if they want to do it with all their hearts.
However, if this is done for a salary, then ask yourselves: “If I fight for freedom and get paid for that, do I really need such freedom, as far as being free means being able to pay for myself?”

Apparently, you have a too primitive vision of our site’s work. If things were indeed they way you described them, there would have been way more powerful news resources in Belnet. Moreover, people must be paid for their work. (In our case, salaries are pretty small). And that’s a normal practice.

Free Belarus

Has Charter in the past ever received money, either directly or indirectly, from foreign governments or related organizations, such as the U.S. Department of State?

The project used to enjoy support of certain democratic foundations. However, for almost a year now we’ve received no donors’ support for www.charter97.org project.

Richard Mailman

Dear Friends. Free speech is the key to govern government and any government that takes away free speech, is no longer governed by its people. My government (United States of America) encourages free speech throughout the World. My question is this. Have you approched my government for funds to help with your important work for continued free speech in Belarus? know we have programs to assist, especially where as, your source of giving free speech a place to be heard is now threatened.

We never contacted the US government directly. What we do, though, is addressing democratic foundations, involved in the freedom of speech protection.