BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

18/06/2008

Belarus to tighten control of Internet media

Belarussian lawmakers moved on Tuesday to tighten the state's grip on Internet newspapers and news websites, the only independent media outlet left in Belarus.

The lower chamber of parliament passed in the first reading the new media law, proposed by the administration of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, will force all Belarussian media, including online newspapers and news websites, to be registered anew.

The Belarus Journalists' Association called on lawmakers to publish the bill and launch a public debate, but the association's representatives were not allowed access to Tuesday's parliamentary session.

"The new law is more repressive. It foresees registration of Internet sites whose activities will be regulated not by the law, but by government decrees," the association's lawyer Andrei Bastunets told AFP.

The bill, approved by a vote of 93 to one, is due to be considered in its second reading in the fall.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, has long been criticised by Western powers for imprisoning opposition leaders, imposing severe restrictions on anti-regime rallies, preventing criticism in the state-controlled media and clamping down on independent broadcasters and the press.

Source:

http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2891&iArticleId=4460954

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