Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in BELARUS New York, August 11, 2000 –The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed that Belarusian authorities have not yet determined the whereabouts of Dmitry Zavadsky, a cameraman for Russian Public Television (ORT) who disappeared in Minsk on July 7.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by the recent confiscation of more than 100,000 copies of the Minsk-based independent weekly Rabochy. On September 13, according to local sources, police confiscated 112,000 copies of a special edition of Rabochy, nearly a third of the total print run, from the Magic publishing house in Minsk. The newspaper, published by the Belarusian Free Trade Union, had urged its readers to participate in the “Boycott-2000” campaign being organized by the opposition prior to the October 15 parliamentary elections. The police claimed that publishing a call to boycott the election was illegal.
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in BELARUS New York, July 12, 2000– The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the disappearance on July 7 in Minsk, Belarus of Dmitry Zavadsky, a cameraman for Russian Public Television (ORT). According to local and international sources, Zavadsky has been missing since he…
May 25, 2000 His Excellency Alexander Lukashenko President of Belarus Republic Minsk 220020 VIA FAX: 011-375-172-23-58-25 Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by the continuing pattern of intimidation by federal and local authorities of the independent press in Belarus. Over the past few months, we have monitored many violations of…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by the events of Saturday, March 25, when thirty-five journalists were among the hundreds detained in connection with a demonstration held in Minsk to protest your government’s ban on a march that was to have been part of opposition-staged festivities commemorating the 1918 founding of the Belarusian National Republic.
Click here to read CPJ’s protest letter. New York, March 27, 2000 — A total of thirty-five journalists were among the hundreds detained in connection with a demonstration held Saturday March 25 in the Belarus capital, Minsk. The demonstration was held to protest the official ban on a march that was to have been part…
President Aleksander Lukashenko, facing international condemnation for his boldfaced attempts to cling to power, resorted to increasingly crude tactics to rein in his media opponents. On July 20, President Lukashenko lost what little democratic legitimacy he still had when he refused to step down after his five-year term ended. Western countries, including the United States,…
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by your government’s decision to ban nine local publications, many of which had yet to publish their first issue. On October 4, Viktor Guretsky, director of the State Press Committee’s licensing board, canceled the registration of nine Minsk-based publications, claiming they had failed to obtain local authorities’ approval for opening their offices, as required under a provision of the country’s press law. Guretsky claimed that his committee had hitherto enforced the provision only outside Minsk, adding that the publications concerned have one month to seek the needed authorization and reregister.
July 29, 1999 His Excellency Alexander Lukashenko President of Belarus Republic House of Government Minsk, Belarus 220020 VIA FAX: 011-375-172-23-58-25 Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by the alarming number of recent defamation cases filed against independent newspapers in Belarus, and by the ongoing harassment of journalists there.
On May 3, in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day, CPJ announced its annual identification of the top 10 Enemies of the Press worldwide. Those who made the list this year, as in the past, earned the dubious distinction by exhibiting particular zeal for the ruthless suppression of journalists. Gen. Sani Abacha of Nigeria was…