Russian TV channels banned for broadcasting in Belarus (Video)

From April 1, Russian TV channels NTV-Mir, TV- Tsentr International, REN-TV, and ORT International will be removed from the TV line-up of the Belarusian cable operators.

First information about banning of Russian TV channels from April 1 appeared in Belarusian blogs. However, bloggers didn’t refer to any concrete sources.

As the Charter’97press center managed to find out, the cable operators really received a notice saying four Russian TV channels would disappear from the line-up from April 1. It’s remarkable that the cable operators received notices about denial of broadcasting for Russian channels were received from ideological departments of the local executive committees.

Subscribers of Koptu-Trade cable operator in Mahilou received such notices:

“Dear subscribers,

We’d like to inform you that the ideological department has received a regulation to stop broadcasting of the next TV channels from 01.04.2009.

NTV-Mir

TV Tsentr, International

REN-TV

ORT International

The above mentioned channels will be replaced by other ones.

We apologize for the inconvenience”

Koptu-Trade company confirmed this information to the Charter’97 press center. A representative of the company says they have received a regulation from the ideological department of the Mahilou region executive committee, saying that Koptu-Trade company must switch off four Russian TV channels by 11.00 a.m. April 1. The ideological department explained the decision wasn’t am initiative of the Mahilou region executive committee:

“We are shocked,” the officers of the ideological department said. “We’ve received an order from Minsk, from the Ministry of Information. Other operators have the same order. These channels are being switched off all over the republic.”

The officer of the region executive committee noted that a reason of these channels switching off was unknown to her. According to her, these TV channels will be replaced by other ones in the near time.

The Charter’97 press center tried to know why the Russian TV channels were banned fro broadcasting form the Ministry of Information.

Officers of the Ministry of Information, however, were more interested where we had got that information from.

“How interesting, none of the channels was switched off, but you know this already,” an anonymous officer of the ministry said. “We don’t introduce ourselves and don’t work with pubic,” the official said. “What concerns stopping of broadcasting, we can’t say anything.”

Finally, Alena Klyuikova, head of the department of programs of Cosmos TV cable operator, gave more light to the situation. She said broadcasting of Russian channels was connected with “necessity to obey the regulations of the Council of Ministers and the Law on Media, according to which foreign TV channels must get permit to be broadcasted for Belarus”.

According to Klyuikova, according to the regulation of the government, the foreign channels had three months to get a permit. “They haven’t done it, so we have to stop their broadcasting,” she explained.

“Some media comment on this situation as a political decision, but we don’t think so,” the company representative emphasised.

According to him, channels REN TV, “Channel One. World Network”, NTV Mir will be replaced by other ones, for example, by “Russia. Vesti 24 Hours”, “Mir. CIS”.

Russian TV channels don’t comment on this information. it’s curious that some people connect stopping of broadcasting of REN TV for Belarus with the Saturday’s show “A Week with Marianna Maksimovskaya”, where a report about personal life of Alyaksandr Lukashenka was shown . A show ProjectorParisHilton on “Channel One. World Network” often tells jokes about Lukashenka. However, they are cut of the version of the program shown on ONT channel.