BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
26/03/2008
Lithuanian Foreign Ministry demands explanation for journalistic violence
In cooperation with BNS
VILNIUS- Belarusian Ambassador to Lithuania Vladimir Drazhin was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday and presented with a note regarding the detention of Lithuanian journalists in Minsk.
The official note called for a detailed investigation of the incident, as well as an explanation and return of the seized videotape.
"The unlawful actions of Belarusian law-enforcement institutions when journalists are subjected to violence and prevented from performing their professional duties are a severe violation of the principle of the freedom of pres, which is respected in the democratic society. This runs counter the aim to develop good relations between the neighboring states. Lithuania, which has been consistently supporting open cooperation of the two nations living in the neighboring countries, as well as cultural and business contacts and direct contacts between people, cannot tolerate restrictions of generally accepted civil rights," the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said.
According to the press release, the Belarusian ambassador pledged to look all aspects of the incident and meet with the director general of the Lithuanian national radio and television services to settle the conflict.
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus stressed his repeated statements against the policy of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
"We have stated our position with regard to Belarus for a number of years. We speak for democratic principles and against the policy of Lukashenko, which has not changed a bit," Adamkus told journalists on Wednesday afternoon.
Lithuanian journalists were forcibly detained in Minsk on Tuesday and taken to a militia station, where their video recording of actions taken by Belarussian forces against demonstrators was taken away.
LRT journalist Ruta Lankininkaite told evening news via telephone from Minsk that she was detained by representatives of the forces and forcibly dragged a distance of about 100 meters to a bus, where she was interrogated by secret service agents. They then went on to damage her camera and removed a tape documenting the detaining of oppostition demotrators marking the 90th anniversary of the Declaration of Belarus Independence.
Even though the journalists had permision from Belarussian authorities allowing them to work in Minsk, they were taken to a militia station, where they were interrogated for about one hour.
The journalists were then released, but the video was not recovered.
Source:
http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/20072/
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