Every year Belsat TV makes a selection from its the best films, reports and programmes. This year’s winners were awarded on December 10th, on the occasion of the channel’s 9th birthday.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Film of the year
‘Syarozha’ by Jerzy Kalina. The documentary tells the story of a Belarusian entrepreneur who was born in Poland and now lives here.
Syarhei ‘Syarozha’ Nichyparuk, the main character of the film, is a resident of the village of Budy near Bialowieza forest. He was a member of the Communist party, but later finished an Orthodox school of theology. His own story bears a strong resemblance to the fate of the Belarusian Orthodox minority inhabiting the eastern part of Podlaskie province. After the Second World war members of the Polish anti-Communist undeground took revenge on dozens of Belarusians for their loyalty to the Soviet regime. A number of pogroms took place in Belarusian villages in Podlasie, 79 people were killed. In dread of further acts of vengeance, the Belarusian minority hushed up murders.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpx9NS3CkcE”][vc_column_text]
Report of the year
Forbidden Song Of Kurdystan, a report by Siarhei Marchyk and Konrad Zagórski, was awarded for ‘courage and professionalism in showing the fate of the nation lving without their own country’.
The paths of the Belarusians and the Kurds are very similar. But Belarus is lucky to have its territory and be independent. Like the Kurds, we experience the consequences of executing our intellectuals. Most Belarusians are hardly involved inthe country’s political life, and there is a risk of being deprived of our sovereignty. The Kurds have been fighting for independence for centuries, but still in vain. Theyinhabit an area split by the borders of iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. In all these countries, they are fighting for self-determination. The most dramatic protests took place in Turkey, where the Kurdish language is banned. In October 2015, the Kurds created self-governments in thirteeb cities in the southeast of the country, which caused the escalation of the conflict…
[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liYGyoRn0-k”][vc_column_text]In this category, ‘Beyond The System’, the work by Maryia Bulavinskaya, was also awarded the top assessment of the jury.
After the Second World War, Yauhen Tkach, a graduate of Homiel Pedagogical Institute, was invited to work for the Ministry of State Security, particularly for the department of war collaborators’ tracing. Some time later, the young officer began to realize that the things were not only black and white – not all collaborators were, as claimed by the Soviet regime, traitors of the Motherland. This put an end to his carreer in the Ministry. But his former colleagues did not want him to let go of the KGB claws and kept Mr Tkach under observation. In the 1950s, he happened to knowabout Kurapaty, a place of mass executions of people by Stalin’s regime and started to secretly investigate the case. The Belarusian and Russian authorities have not yet recognized all the crimes committed by the ‘evil empire’.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i875Pc-aXTY”][vc_column_text]
Programme of the year
Pryvat (hosted by Valyaryna Kustava)[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”406890″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]
Web story of the year
The jury found that the journalistic investigation into the murder of Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet (author Siarhiej Pieliasa) and the story about the incident at the Belarusian NPP accident were the most important news on belsat eu that had a real impact on public opinion not only in Belarus, but also received international attention.
- Polish anti-terror expert: Man with cane could be Sharamet’s killer
- Incident at Astravets NPP construction site: State-run mass media silent
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
News story of the year
The news item ‘How Motavela was killed’ about the bancruptcy of the motorcycle company ‘Minsk-Mota’ became the news story of the year (author Stanislau Ivashkevich).
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Person of the year
According to the jury, the 2016 person of the year is Homiel-based independent journalist Kastus Zhukouski who has been repeatedly detained and then fined for ‘illegal production of media products’. In April, the Belsat TV contributor sewed his mouth in protest.
In June, Zhukouski was severely beaten and even tortured by the Belarus police. In its report on human rights violations in Belarus, the International Organization Amnesty International used his case as an example.
