BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

25/06/2008

Belarus tightening controls on Internet journalism

The Associated Press

Belarusian lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to a crackdown on Internet journalism, one of the last remaining independent sources of information in the repressive former Soviet republic.

The legislation also forbids all Belarusian media outlets from accepting foreign funding, a restriction that will affect about 30 publications that now receive U.S. or EU money.

The bill, drafted by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko's office, "is among the harshest in Europe and throws Belarus back to the worst Soviet times," said Oleg Gulak, the leader of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee rights group.

The new restrictions come ahead of parliamentary elections, which Lukashenko on Tuesday set for Sept. 28.

His government argues that the Internet needs to be brought to heel to shield the population from foreign propaganda.

"We have to protect society from the negative effects of the Internet," First Deputy Information Minister Liliya Ananich told parliament members Tuesday.

The new measures require all Internet sites to be officially registered with the government; many independent newspapers that have been closed down by the authorities have taken refuge in cyberspace.

The legislation also toughens controls on journalists, who can be imprisoned for two years for reproducing foreign media reports that "discredit Belarus."

Source:

http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/676769.html

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