MINSK – The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) demands the Belarusian authorities unblock the websites they blocked, stop pressuring journalists, and ensure publications of periodicals in the country.
“On Friday evening it was reported that the Ministry of Information had restricted access of Belarusian users to websites of a large number of media and political movements. Most well-known of them are Radio Svaboda, Belsat TV, Euroradio, Solidarity newspaper, Udf.by, The Village, By.tribuna.com, Vitebsk Courier, People’s News of Vitebsk, Masheka.by, and the website of the Human rights center Viasna,” the BAJ said in a statement.
Additionally, the association stated that the access to the website of the organization itself, which is a member of the International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists, has been restricted since August 9 to date.
The state-owned enterprise “Belarusian House of Printing” Published disrupted the release in print of the latest issues of the newspapers Narodnaya Volya and Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus under the pretense of a printing equipment malfunction also on August 22.
“For Komsomolskaya Pravda, this is the third time since the presidential election,” the BAJ statement said.
The BAJ links blockings of media websites and disruptions of newspaper releases to an attempt of the authorities to block information about protests following the presidential election in the country and brutal violence against protestors.
The association “considers such actions indirect censorship and obstruction of legitimate activities of the media in Belarus” and “states that these actions not only violate the rights of journalists and the media, but also restrict the constitutional right of citizens to receive complete, reliable and timely information,” the statement said.
The BAJ also “demands that the country’s authorities immediately stop pressure on the press, ensure uninterrupted publication of printed publications, and unblock access to the blocked websites.” The association called on Belarusian and international organizations to support its statement.
