Ihar Lapikau, the head of the Słonim (city in Western Belarus) municipality ideology department in his internal communication letter to heads of all municipality departments and divisions noted that there was “unacceptably low level of subscription” to state-owned press amongst municipality employees.
No subscription? Get blacklisted
He requested to compile a list of those who signed for a quarterly delivery of Soveckaja Biełorussija (a newspaper owned by the Belarusian President Office, the main ideological publication of the regime) and Słonimski Vieśnik (a regional paper sponsored by Słonim municipality) and those who did not by 24 December for “for further enquiries.”
Similar cases were recorded in other Belarusian regions. In Babrujsk (industrial city in Eastern Belarus) on 15 December the editor in chief of the independent newspaper Bobrujskij kurjer Anatol Sanatsenka received a phone call from the local tax authority. He was ordered to sign for Taxation in Belarus (an official magazine of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties). According to an inside information regional tax authorities were asked to make sure that all businesses regardless of ownership, state or private, subscribe to this publication.
‘Municipality ordered not to work with independent press’
In two days, on 17 December, one of the major regional enterprises Krasnyj piščievik cancelled its advertising in Bobrujskij kurjer. Its head of ideology explained that from now on they will only cooperate with state-owned press.
Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) has been demanding for a long time to make sure that independent mass-media have the same treatment as their state-owned counter parts. However, BAJ calls have been left without any answer. Several independent publications are still banned from the state distribution service, officials are afraid to give interviews and deny any comments.
