New law on information is repressive and threatens independent media

The draft law “On Information, informatization and information protection” was adopted on October 9 in the second reading of the “chamber of representatives”.

According to the Communications and Telephonisation Minister Mikalay Pantsyalej, demands to the process of creation, exploitation and state registration of informational systems are specified in the draft law.

Will some requirements of this law cause concern from the point of view of freedom of information? What for state organs need this law? Mikhail Pastukhou, the head of the Legal defense centre of the Belarusian Association of Journalists answers questions of Radio Svaboda.

- Can it be said that this new law does not threatening to freedom of expression ad information in Belarus?

- To my mind, it is a repressive law, which is an immediate menace to existence of independent media in Belarus and freedom of information in general. The law in fact builds an ideology vertical of power, a vertical of government agencies which are to control all streams of information which go through electronic, printed media and the Web. This vertical is to be headed by the Presidential National centre of security. In fact, a new system of agencies is created, which is to control information.

- What are the powers of these agencies, and why they are repressive?

- Every agency has different powers, starting from the president, government and some ministries. Even the National Academy of Sciences is to have certain powers n the sphere of informatization, related to registration of informational resources. Moreover, positions of those responsible for use of information and its distribution would appear at any state-run enterprise where any information sources exist.

- Have the BAJ representatives directed attention to inaccuracies in the draft law, or has it passed unnoticed?

- The BAJ lawyers many times turned attention to the inaccuracies in the draft law, and twice we sent our numerous proposals and remarks to officials. Two times I was invited to the meeting of the working group, but none of the significant proposals and remarks was accepted by the working group.

We were against adoption of this law in general. We believe that the further regimentation activities in the issues related with the right for receiving information would contradict to the Constitutional rights. The state bursts into the informational space, in fact state monopoly on information is introduced. I believe it is the main objective of adoption of this law, strange for the European countries.

To our mind, a number of provisions of the law contradict both the Constitution of Belarus (Articles 33 and 34, the right for freedom of expression and freedom of information) and international standards”.