Minsk, Belarus. Behind Oktyabrskaja Square, at the crossing with Karl Marx Street, between neo-classical palaces, there is the residence of the President Alexander Lukashenko. Here he has built his strong and powerful government based on the state monopoly of economic resources, on holding all the executives power in his hand, on media demagogy, as well as on repression of opposition. Not too far away, a little room at the ground floor of a Soviet-style palace hosts the head office of the Belorussian Association of Journalist (BAJ).
The Press Censorship
Mr. Aliaksandrau is the spokesperson of the association:“Actually, the situation is quite difficult. If we look at the number of registered newspapers in our country, most of them are related with entertainment; there are only 20 independent publications covering topics such as politics, economy, or society and they are facing a lot of problems.”
“The mechanism of press censorship is very easy,” he continues, “we have two main distribution systems: one is the public kiosks, the other is the subscription-system that envelopes the national post company. Both are owned by the authorities which obviously refuse anti-government press. Moreover, the legislation provides criminal prosecution for slander against the government and it means the immediate suspension of the publications as well as the arrest of the editors.”
EU and Belarus relationship
Recently, the European Union has reopened a dialogue with the President of Belarus. Over 30,000 km of pipelines that run under this marshy country providing one-third of the continent’s energy resources give a good reason to incorporate its economy into the European sphere of influence. However, Bruxelles has imposed to restore democracy:“Since the negotiations started, there are no real changes in the new Media Law approved on 17 February 2009,” says the BAJ spokesperson, “meaning, no changes in the media distribution system, no changes in the access to information, and none in the legislation. On the contrary, the authorities in their support of the international fight against terrorism are implementing a new amendment against extremism, which restricts the freedom of expression even more. Less than one month ago, Arche-Pachatak, a well known international magazine, was confiscated by the KGB for presumed extremist content.”
Official Press, opposition and Indipendent Media
And the Official Press? «The official press and media are completely manipulated by the authorities,» says Olga, 23 years old. “Only entertainment and fashion programs and, naturally, the President’s speech about the greatness of Hitler and Stalin are broadcasted on television.”
“As presidential candidate for the opposition,” explains Mr. Milinkevich, leader of the Movement for Freedom, “I have only 30 minutes every five years to talk on TV, and no way to have a public debate with the President.”
“Actually, independent media are moving online,» adds Mr. Aliaksandrau, “but there is absolutely no Internet access is outside the cities.”
“The dialogues with the EU could be a great opportunity for us” concludes Mr. Milinkevich, even if the words of the BAJ spokesperson sound more realistic:“We can only hope! As history teaches, the most powerful empires can collapse in few weeks...”
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