On 16 October in Stockholm, an EU presidency capital, the report For Free and Fair Media in Belarus was presented. This report was compiled after a working group from International Association of Journalists and various NGOs visited Belarus on 20-24 September.
The report contains a complete list of all group’s working meetings, an immediate statement on visit results, publication in Belarusian media about the IAJ mission.
Mark Gruber, European Co-Director of International Federation of Journalists, Jane Moler Larsen from International Media Support, and Johanna Kurash, a Civil Rights Defender activist who was refused a Belarusian visa, presented the report.
According to Ms Kurash throughout the day the report was presented trice: for Swedish press, for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, and for Swedish MPs.
“The reaction on this report was the one of interest. However, on the other hand nobody really was surprised when faced with the report facts. MFA knows the situation in Belarus rather well, so it was no big news for them. But we hope that they would have our report in mind making political decisions,” added Ms Kurash. In her opinion “what happened in the mass media field of Belarus during the last year cannot be considered as a real progress. Changes are really meagre and unstable – they are not irreversible.”
Superficial media reforms
The group welcomes recent changes in mass media sphere of Belarus, however current repressions against journalists cause concerns. Taking this into account the mission is certain that these changes have to become more durable to ensure journalists’ rights and start essential media reforms in the country. Changes will have to be lasting and irreversible.
“In the current environment neither Belarus journalists nor media outlets can properly operate to investigate and report freely on events in Belarus,” said IFJ European Co-Director Marc Gruber, who led a fact-finding mission to Belarus between 20 and 24 September. “A thin veneer of limited and symbolic reforms in recent months cannot conceal the fact that Belarus continues to operate a highly repressive media environment.”
IFC web-site informs that the mission group prepared the report to ensure that media freedom and journalists’ rights remain top of the agenda at the ongoing EU-Belarus Human Rights Dialogue.
Curing Belarusian mass media
The report contains recommendations developed by the IAJ working group and aimed at improving and strengthening the media environment in Belarus for state and non-state media, as well as enhance professionalism, pluralism and the role of media in a democratic society.
The full list of recommendations can be found on the IAJ web-site.
The report also calls for a full, fair and unbiased investigation into the disappearance of Zmitser Zavadski and the assassination of Veranika Charkasava.
The organisations signing up to the statement include Article 19, Civil Rights Defenders, Danish Union of Journalists, Index on Censorship, International/European Federation of Journalists, International Publishers’ Association, International PEN, International Press Institute, Open Society Institute, PressNow, Reporters without Borders, World, Association of Newspapers and News Publishers,International Media Support (IMS).
