BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
04/12/2007
Polish-funded TV Station To Begin Beaming Into Belarus
WARSAW (AFP)--A new Polish government-funded television channel is to begin broadcasting to neighboring Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko brooks no criticism, the station's head of news said Tuesday.
Belsat TV will go on air from next Monday, Alexei Dziekawicki told AFP.
"It will be the only independent channel in Belarussian for Belarussians, who don't have access to stations other than those controlled by the regime," Dziekawicki said. "Initially it will broadcast for three hours a day via the Astra satellite.
"Then, from January, it will be on air for 16 hours a day on the Sirius satellite," he said.
Dziekawicki noted around 7% of Belarussian homes have a satellite dish, and this would enable around a fifth of the ex-Soviet republic's 10 million people to watch Belsat.
"The people are sick of government propaganda on the state's channels," he said. "This will also be the only channel that is 100% in Belarussian. Lukashenko's channels are mostly in Russian."
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994 and is dubbed "Europe's last dictator" in some Western capitals, has imposed severe restrictions on opposition rallies.
Relations between Warsaw and Minsk have soured amid Polish criticism of his regime, in part because Poland has expressed concern over the treatment of Belarus' 400,000-strong Polish minority.
Poland has given strong support to the Belarussian opposition, providing a safe haven for other anti-Lukashenko media such as Radio Racja, which broadcasts across the border from northeast Poland.
A slice of Belsat's programs will be made in Lithuania which, like Poland, has been helping the Belarussian opposition.
Warsaw is also seeking to bring other players on board to help cover Belsat's annual costs of EUR7.5 million, including fellow European Union members such as the Czech Republic, as well as the U.S.
The date of Belsat's first broadcast, Dec. 10, was chosen deliberately because it also marks World Human Rights Day.
Source:
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