“Nasha Niva” received two official warnings from Information Ministry (Photo documents)

An independent newspaper “Nasha Niva” has received official warnings for an article about the film “Godbatka”.

In one week the newspaper has received two warnings from the Information Ministry. In the headlines of the articles in which “violations” were found, “Godbatka” appears. The both warnings are related to the issue of “Nasha Niva” which could be found by readers in kiosks of Belsayuzdruk retailer all over the country.

In the warning of July 22, the Information Ministry charges the newspaper of disseminating information which does not s not reflect reality. The grounds for that was the title of the article “Godbatka has confiscated” (“Nasha Niva”, #26). “Under the article 244 of the Civil Code of Belarus, confiscation is seizure of property from an owner without compensation as a sanction for a crime or other violation,” the Information Ministry notes. And then representatives of the ministry are referring to the information of Belsayuzdruk retail trade network that the circulation of the newspaper “Nasha Niva” of July 25, 2010 “was forwarded to be sold by mercantile establishments of the enterprise”. And so, the Information Ministry believes, “confiscation of the newspaper had not taken place”.

As noted in the letter signed by Minister Aleh Pralyaskouski, the information in the article “Godbatka has confiscated”, “can cause damage to state interests among other things, as it distorts the practice of interaction of the state with mass media”.

The second warning of July 26, concerns the article “Belarusian Republican Youth Union promotes “Godbatka” film” which was published in “Nasha Niva” #25. “According to the information of the public association the Belarusian Republican Youth Union”, on July 6 activists of this organization staged a rally in Minsk, and its main aim was to advertise the abovementioned film,” the letter notes. Consequently, the Information Ministry believes that “the published information contradicts the reality and discredits reputation of this legal entity”.