BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

25/04/2006

Belarus' Oldest Independent Newspaper Fears Closure

Source: VOA News

The editor of Belarus' oldest independent newspaper says he may be forced to cease publishing, after authorities told him the weekly is no longer welcome in Minsk, the capital.

The editor of Nasha Niva, Andrei Dynko, says Minsk city officials passed that message to him after he was arrested and briefly detained last month.

Dynko was taken into custody at October Square in the Belarusian capital during protests against the controversial vote that re-elected President Alexander Lukashenko.

Nasha Niva is due to mark its 100th anniversary later this year. The newspaper is appealing to the United Nations for recognition by UNESCO, as an institution of cultural heritage.

In its early years, the newspaper was published in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, before moving to Minsk.

Source:

http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/3997