“Reporters without borders”: Belarusian authorities make journalists work illegally
3- 29.09.2009, 17:34
The well-known human rights organisation has called upon the Belarusian authorities to stop obstructing the work of journalists working for foreign news media.
As informed by Radio Svaboda, a statement by “Reporters without Borders” was made after a joint international press freedom mission visited Belarus.
“Reporters without Borders” agree with the statement issued by the mission at the end of its five-day visit noting that: “Accreditation of journalists working for Belarus or foreign media, as well as the registration of offices of media, are restricted by non-transparent and discriminatory decisions of the authorities.”
“Reporters without Borders” note that under a new media law that took effect on 8 February, foreign news media and their correspondents – both foreigners and Belarusians – must obtain accreditation from the foreign ministry before they can begin working. In practice, the authorities reject or ignore most requests, forcing journalists to work illegally.
“Despite our repeated calls, the Belarusian authorities continue to demonstrate bad faith by rejecting requests for accreditation by foreign media and their local correspondents,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We therefore reiterate our appeal to the foreign ministry to examine all these requests and respond favourably to them.”
“Reporters without Borders” give concrete examples. Aleksey Malkov and Yuri Babenko, two journalists working for the Russian television station NTV, were expelled from Belarus on 14 August for working without accreditation. Dzmitry Kisel, the local correspondent of the Polish-Dutch radio station Radio Racyja, and Aleh Razhku, a journalist accused of working for Belsat TV without permission, received warnings from the prosecutors of Brest and Homel on 23 September. If they continue working, they could be fined the equivalent of about 500 euros.
As the statement by “Reporters without Borders” emphasizes, “Radio Racyja” and Belsat TV are among the few independent news outlets in Belarus and the foreign ministry would do well to stop obstructing their work.
As press freedom organisation notes, Belarusian government should show a real determination to improve the press freedom situation.
