“Nasha Niva” editor thanks Belsoyuzpechat for delay in scandalous issue distribution

Andrei Skurko doesn’t exclude “Nasha Niva” newspaper can get a government grant due to the stranger actions of the monopolist.

“Nasha Niva” editor Andrei Skurko told about the situation with disappearance of a part of latest issue’s print run at a press conference in headquarters of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) on July 13, “Salidarnasts” newspaper reports.

“We saw a new form of censorship last week, the “liberalization” censorship, when a part of the print run with materials about the NTV film “Godbatka” was not put on sale. The most available part of the circulation distributed via Belsoyuzpechat network was removed from sale,” Andrei Skurko said.

“Nasha Niva” editor confirmed the newspaper copies disappeared on the way from the printing house to newsstands.

The editorial staff received different answers from Belsoyuzpechat newsstands in regions. Some of them said the newspaper was on sale (though readers couldn’t find it), some said the latest issue hadn’t been received.

Andrei Skurko thinks Belsoyuzpechat had to fulfill the order, which was taken at higher levels.

The editorial staff sent a request to Belsoyuzopechat asking to explain the situation. They are also preparing a complaint to a prosecutor’s office and economic court, because the paper suffered significant material damages.

“The next stage of this sad situation will begin when we get data on writing off from Belsoyuzpechat. We expect a collision: if too many copies were written off on July 7, it will mean Belsoyuzpechat admits the issue was detained,” Skurko said.

“If the figures are normal and Belsoyuzpechat pretends the newspaper was on sale, the regional newsstands will have to transfer us money for the issue. This may be the first example of governmental aid to an independent newspaper.”