Politician Paval Sevyarynets received a reply to its appeal for including Belsat TV into Belarus’s broadcasting network and turning Russian state-run TV station off air in our country.
In late December, Pavel Sevyarynets and other activists held a picket in support of Belsat TV in Minsk to draw the attention of society and the international community to the situation the independent TV channel is facing. The picketers handed over a petition to the Presidential Administration, and Ihar Lamanosau, Deputy Head of the office of handling public appeals, registered it.
The presidential administration gave it with a delay of almost a month. In accordance with the law, the letter of reply is to be written within 14 days.
The letter was signed by Valery Mitskevich, Deputy Head of the administration. It refers to the fact that a ban on Kremlin mouthpieces’ broadcasting in Belarus would be ‘illegal restriction of freedom of speech’.
According to Mr Mitskevich, Belsat TV is a foreign media outlet, and journalists must be accredited by the Council of Ministers.
The two-page letter in the Belarusian language explains why the signatories’ requirements cannot be met. The official refers to the law on mass media, according to which ‘broadcasting TV programs can be started only after obtaining the appropriate license’.
“Of course, one should not expect the protection of Belarus’s independence and freedom of expression for independent media of Lukashenka. All of these steps will have to be made by a new government. But their reply proves that the Kremlin TV stupefies the Belarusian authorities like a snake entrances a rabbit with its gaze,” says Sevyarynets.
belsat.eu
