Association of European Journalists: Suppression of media in Belarus must be ended

The media in Belarus are under a threat of suppression ahead of the electoral campaigns, representatives of the Association of European Journalists say.

The Association of European Journalists (AEJ) issued a statement calling the Belarusian authorities to stop persecuting independent journalists.

“The Association of European Journalists, representing more than 1000 journalists in more than 20 countries, deplores and condemns the Belarus government's controls, interference and threats of closure or prosecution of independent media in the country and we call urgently for an end to those abuses of democratic and media freedoms,” the AEJ statement says.

As baj.by informs, the AEJ also expressed its support of the 19 January 2010 statement of the Belarus Association of Journalists on the Situation of the Mass Media and Freedom of Expression in Belarus. The Association calls on the Belarusian authorities “to accept at once the BAJ's concrete proposals for enabling independent and professional media coverage of the forthcoming local and presidential elections”.

“These include ending all forms of suppression and interference with independent media, taking steps to ensure proper media and public access to information from all candidates, and bringing Belarus media laws quickly into conformity with international standards,” the statements says.

The AEJ calls on Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the “parliament” and all governmental authorities “to end all forms of harassment against the BAJ and to allow the association to carry out its normal professional activities unhindered”.

The Association of European Journalists founded in 1961 brings together individual journalists through their membership of the national sections, established in countries that belong to the Council of Europe.