Pyotr Martsau: All independent newspapers to be closed this year :: Charter'97 :: News

This year a mission has been assigned to close all the rest of the Belarusian independent newspapers, told the editor-in-chief of the “Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta” Pyotr Martsau (Pyotr Martsev) in his interview to “Nasha Niva”.

“I think that two year ago a task was assigned to finish a total mopping-up operation of the informational space. The activities of many newspapers have been paralyzed in this period. The right of the mass media for printing at the territory of Belarus has been finally put under control. Now a printing office of any form of ownership can agree to print a non-governmental newspaper only on approval of the ideology bodies. The distribution of mass media is monopolized, as the license is needed for that now,” told the journalist.

Martsau reminded about the situation with his newspaper. “Speaking about the BDG, we are prohibited to print the newspaper at the territory of the country, to distribute it via “Belsayuzdruck” and “Belposhta”. Now the common shops are required to receive preliminary approval of the authorities for the range of goods, and ordered not to sell the BDG. It is impossible to work in such conditions for any publishing firm. The courts are only an addition to the previous measures”.

Speaking about the prospects for the future, the editor-in-chief of the BDG told that at present “the half-democratic regime is converting into an authoritarian one. I know that this year a mission has been assigned to close all the rest of the Belarusian independent newspapers”.