Norwegian journalists protest against Belarusian media policy

Photo of Austenaa: Niels Jacob Harbitz

The Norwegian Union of Journalists, representing close to 9000 journalists in Norway and a member organisation of the International Federation of Journalists, condemns the state clamp down on private media in Belarus. The decision of the state-owned newspaper distribution company, Belposhta, to cease distribution of privately owned papers during the Presidential election year, is another serious blow to freedom of expression in Belarus. 

Belposhta, which has a monopoly on distribution, will stop publishing the papers from January 2006, which will prevent coverage of the election set for July.

The Norwegian Union of Journalists sees the decision of Belposhta as part of a cynical campaign to silence independent voices in the run up to Presidential elections.

In March this year an OSCE representative on Freedom of the Media, visited Belarus to offer the authorities assistance in drafting a more democratic law on the mass media. Mr Haraszti described the Berlarusian media law “unfavourable and extremely limiting”. The Belarusian Authorities have declined the offer from OSCE to develop a more democratic media law and instead increased their general abuse of Belarusian legislation to strangle independent media.This last decision by Belposhta is a ruthless abuse of their monopoly over the distribution system to close down what remains of Belarusian independent media.

Independent Belarusian media have been surviving on a knife edge for years as they struggle against a litany of arbitrary closures, punitive fines, harassment and intimidation of journalists. In recent weeks the pressure on media has increased alarmingly.

Illegal transport of newspapers, Smolensk region.

At the end of September the state printing house cancelled its contract to publish the independent daily Narodnaya Vola, forcing it to move to a printer in neighbouring the Russian Federation.

The list of media to be excluded from the state distribution system includes the Narodnaya Vola, Salidarnasc, Zhoda, BDG. Delovaya Gazieta, Rehijanalnya Gazeta and a range of regional non-governmental social and political periodical editions.

Some of the newspapers received letters informing them that due to violations of their contracts, their distribution agreements would not be renewed. Others only discovered they had been removed from the list when the Belphosta published its subscription catalogue for 2006.