Zhanna Litvina: Authorities impudently impose their vision of media’s role on society

Zhanna Litvina, head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, thinks the undeclared war of the Belarusian authorities against independent media has recently escalated in the country.

A conference dedicated to the democratization of media in Belarus was held in Warsaw on June 6-7. In an interview to Euroradio the BAJ head told that this meeting is especially acute in the light of recent changes in Europe’s stance towards Belarus and increased pressure of the Belarusian authorities on independent media.

– Is this the first conference of this kind?

– In 2002, the Council of Europe hosted a meeting in Strasbourg where the then Belarus’s information minister and the representatives of the Belarusian Association of Journalists took part. We had equal opportunities to express our opinions over the media situation in Belarus. During the hearings, the information minister promised to allow European experts to scrutinize the then median law draft. It was a surprising but important result of the hearings.

– Was that draft legislation eventually considered?

– Unfortunately, that legislation was not sent to European experts. On the other hand, it has not considered or passed by the Belarusian parliament.

– Why is it necessary to hold this conference now?

– Since the 2002 hearings in Strasbourg, the media situation has worsened catastrophically. There is a great need to once draw attention to the problems in Belarus, associated wit the operation of independent media and the freedom of speech. Moreover, it seemed that this meeting would fit into the context of the change of policy towards Belarus as well as in terms of the possible dialogue.

– You’ve said the media situation has significantly deteriorated over the past years. What does it mean?

– The authorities in Belarus impudently impose their vision of media’s role and place in the society. These contradictions irritate greatly in some cases, when the government applies the mechanisms of economic discrimination towards the independent press.

– For instance?

– I read an interview with information minister Rusakevich after he received Frantsysk Skaryna Medal. He boasted about two major achievements in the media sector. First, there are equal economic opportunities for the operation of mass media with various forms of ownership. Secondly, the state-run media dominate the country’s information space. This is an absolutely shameful situation. This is something to be ashamed not to be awarded.

– What are the real conditions in which independent media in Belarus operate?

– The few existing newspapers have problems with distribution. 13 newspapers cannot be distributed through subscription. 16 newspapers have problems with the distribution through kiosks. That’s why we demand to allow independent newspapers “Narodnaya Volya” and “Tovarishch” to be published in Belarus not in Smolensk, Russia as is the case now. We demand to lift the ban for the distribution of non-state newspapers. The permissive principle of accreditation of journalists also remains an acute problem.