BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

25/06/2008

Belarusian journalists protest new harsh media restrictions

MINSK, Belarus (AP) - Dozens of Belarusian news Web sites on Wednesday filled their pages with grim black banners to protest a new media law that will severely restrict the last source of independent information in the repressive ex-Soviet state.

The popular online news resources also kept their blogs silent for an hour.

The bill, which won final approval in the lower house of parliament Tuesday, cracks down on news Web sites, the last remaining sources of uncensored information in this country of 10 million. Many newspapers that have been closed down have found refuge in cyberspace and become the only place for Belarusians to gain access to independent news and analysts.

The measure also prohibits local media outlets from getting vital foreign funding and obliges them to register with the government.

"The threat of closing down numerous news sites and sources of independent information on the Internet is as real as ever," said Zhanna Litvina, head of Belarusian Association of Journalists.

Reporters Without Borders assailed the bill as "repressive."

"We fear that censorship will be stepped up," the Paris-based media freedom watchdog said in a statement Wednesday.

The bill was drafted by President Alexander Lukashenko, authoritarian ruler since 1994. The government argues the Internet must be brought to heel to protect Belarusians from foreign propaganda.

The measure is expected to come into force quickly after it wins approval in the parliament's upper chamber and being signed into law by the president. The timing of this is not clear.

Source:

http://www.newschannel5.tv/2008/6/25/993463/Belarusian-journalists-protest-new-harsh-media-restrictions

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