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Censored
May 3
Alexander Kushner, Free-lance photographer, HARASSED
Alexander Stupnikov and crew, NTV, ATTACKED, CENSORED
Leonid Sveridov, Russian State Television (RTR), HARASSED
Government security agents harassed and attacked several journalists who were covering May Day rallies in Minsk attended by opposition leaders and Communist and trade union activists. Members of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's security detail stopped Kushner, a free-lance photographer, as he was attempting to photograph them and exposed his film. Stupnikov, a correspondent for the independent news television station NTV, was stopped by plainclothes agents who refused to present identification. The men attacked Stupnikov's crew, beating one cameraman until a crowd began to gather. As a result, NTV was unable to file a story about the rally. As he was driving home from the event, Sveridov, an RTR correspondent, was followed by several men driving in a car with tinted windows. The driver of the car cut him off and forced him to stop. The men got out and showed Sveridov their identification so quickly that he was unable to read it. They threatened to smash his windows unless he got out of his car. He refused to cooperate, and eventually they drove away. Shortly thereafter, Sveridov interviewed the deputy head of President Lukashenka's administration, Uladimir Zamyatalin, who told him that Russian television companies were filing "inflammatory reports" and that "the most serious measures would be taken."
August 31
Radio 101.2 FM, CENSORED
The Ministry of Communications disconnected the state-owned transmitter rented by the popular independent station Radio 101.2 FM in Minsk. On Aug. 30, the ministry had faxed to the station a copy of an internal memo claiming that "in order to eliminate interference in the reception" of Radio Altai, a government station, Radio 101.2 FM could no longer operate the transmitter. The independent station has appealed the suspension, but the government has refused to allocate another frequency. Officials suggested that Radio 101.2 FM temporarily broadcast with a weaker signal or move its antenna to a suburban site. Both actions would reduce the station's audience of more than a million listeners, and moving the antenna would be costly and time-consuming. Editors at the station said that in more than a year of operation, they had received no complaints from the ministry concerning interference. Radio 101.2, the only nongovernmental station broadcasting in the Belarusian language, went on the air July 21, 1995, offering mainly musical programming, news, and retransmissions of BBC, Deutsche Welle, and other foreign programs.
November 19
NTV, CENSORED
ORT, HARASSED, CENSORED
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka issued a decree cutting off the transmission lines connecting the Russian public television channel ORT and the Russian independent channel NTV with Belarus. Lukashenka justified the move by saying that the Russian channels were not objective in their news coverage. The restrictions were removed later the same day. ORT earlier had been ordered by the Belarusian Television and Radio Co. to vacate the Minsk studio it rents from the company by Nov. 10. Local ORT correspondent Pavel Sheremet and his staff refused to leave the premises because ORT's contract was valid until Dec. 31. CPJ appealed to Lukashenka on Nov. 18 to cease any further harassment of the press.
For more information contact europeweb@cpj.org