WAN Board Calls for End of Harassment of Journalists in Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers has called on the government of Belarus to end the harassment of journalists and the repression of press freedom that exists in the country. "The past year has been marked by severe repression of press freedom in Belarus, which culminated at the time of the presidential elections in March 2006 when over 30 journalists where arrested. Even though all of them have today been released, the effects of the onslaught continue to mark the media scene in Belarus," said the WAN Board in a resolution issued during the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum in Moscow, Russia.

The resolution said:

"The Board of the World Association of Newspapers, meeting at the 59th World
Newspaper Congress in Moscow, Russia, 4 to 7 June 2006, deplores the continued crackdown on the independent press in Belarus.

"The past year has been marked by severe repression of press freedom in Belarus, which culminated at the time of the presidential elections in March 2006 when over 30 journalists where arrested. Even though all of them have today been released, the effects of the onslaught continue to mark the media scene in Belarus.

"On 10 April, the "Nasha Niva" weekly was informed by the Ideological Department of the Minsk City Executive Committee that the newspaper could no longer be registered in the capital city of Minsk. The Ideological Department, which is not a legal instance, motivated its decision by the arrest of Nasha Niva editor-in-chief Andrei Dinko in the aftermath of the presidential elections. The independent weekly has been subject to ongoing harassment for several months already and there is reason to believe that the aim is to close down the publication, which is the oldest newspaper in Belarus.

"On 10 May, a number of journalists were prevented from assisting the trial of youth leader Artur Finkevich, one of the front figures of the mass protests in March.

"In April and May, Belarusian journalists have regularly been arrested and summoned by the authorities for a variety of different reasons.

"Also in April, three Polish journalists were stopped as they tried to enter Belarus to cover the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. At least two of them carried valid visas, but despite that they were turned away at the border.

"Before the presidential elections, foreign journalists were expelled from Belarus, local journalists were beaten up by police and several newspapers were prevented from printing.

"The Board of WAN calls on the government of Belarus to end of harassment of independent media, and fully restore press freedom and freedom of expression in the country."

The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 73 national newspaper associations, newspapers and newspaper executives in 102 countries, 11 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.