BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

04/04/2009

Russian Television Channels Report Alarming Tendencies in Cis

MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) - The five Russian television channels are alarmed at being taken off the cable television networks in Belarus on April 1.

The Belarusian cable television operator Kosmos-TV took five Russian television channels off the cable television networks in Belarus namely Channel One, NTV-Mir, Ren TV, TV-Tsentr International, and RTR-Planeta. The channels have been replaced with the television channels Rossiya, Vesti 24 Chasa, Mir, CIS, and TNT.

"We see this as a serious and dangerous step, a sharp and alarming step," Sergei Koshlyakov, director of the international relations section at All-Russia State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK) told Interfax on Thursday.

Koshlyakov said his company has no official comments on this matter.

"I believe there could have been some pressure from Belarusian companies to get rid of competitors. There may also be some political motives, the Belarusian authorities probably wanted to retain control over the information space," said Koshlyakov.

Such tendencies have been increasingly frequent in the CIS, said Koshlyakov. As an example, he mentioned the taking off the air of RTR-Planeta in Azerbaijan and "the well known conflict with Ukraine."

NTV General Director Vladimir Kulistikov told reporters that "this step has been taken without regard for the opinion of most television viewers in Belarus.

Source:

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/128407856

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