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The authoritarian government of Belarus is cracking down on journalists in the face of ongoing protests against head of state Alexander Lukashenko. A reporter for the German Press Agency in Minsk reported that accreditations had been withdrawn from various representatives of Western media. Some have already been expelled from the country.
Media officials said security forces detained her overnight. Authorities want to avoid reporting on the protests at the national level.
The Belarusian Journalists Association spoke of a massive withdrawal of accreditations of representatives of the Belarusian media who worked for foreign radio or television stations, newspapers and news agencies, such as the BBC. The British broadcaster strongly condemned the restriction of press freedom.
Russian media also reported that their own journalists had to leave the country. At least 15 media representatives are said to be affected, working for Reuters, Agence France-Presse, RFI or Radio Liberty. The ARD reported that three colleagues were detained at a police station in Minsk.
An information security commission made up of representatives from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior and the KGB secret service decides to withdraw the work permit. In Belarus, media workers need an accreditation to work there. The authorities of the former Soviet republic had recently rejected journalists without this work permit at the Minsk airport.
Since the controversial elections about three weeks ago, there have been demonstrations across the country against Lukashenko, who is claiming victory with 80.1 percent of the vote. The EU does not recognize the choice. It has been criticized internationally as grossly falsified.
Countries like Russia and China recognize the electoral victory of the Belarusian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated this in an interview broadcast on Saturday by state television station Rossiya 1: “As you know, I congratulated Alexander Lukashenko on his victory,” the Kremlin chief said.
On Saturday, the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom and Switzerland issued a joint statement condemning the violent crackdown by the Belarusian government against pro-democracy protesters. “We call on the Belarusian authorities to stop the violence and threats to use military force against the country’s own citizens.” All those illegally detained must be released immediately and free and fair elections must be guaranteed.
The foreign ministers of the EU countries agreed on Friday punitive measures against Lukashenko’s high-ranking supporters. The latest target number of around 20 is expected to rise.
“Great Parade of Peacemaking Women”
Despite strict bans on demonstrations, the protests continue. Women play a prominent role in this. They called for a “great parade of women peacekeepers” in the capital Minsk on Saturday afternoon. A two-kilometer-long protest march is planned from Freedom Square through downtown to Independence Square. Many women in Minsk had already formed a human chain on Friday night.
The objective of the action on Saturday afternoon is to achieve the release of the prisoners, prosecute the police and secure new elections, he said in the call. Videos circulating on social media show how bravely women of all ages currently oppose security forces:
The leader of the movement is activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya. The 37-year-old woman ran against Lukashenko in the August 9 presidential election and claimed victory. There have been protests and strikes across the country since the controversial vote, in which the president herself declared herself the winner with 80.1 percent of the vote after 26 years in office.
Tichanovskaya had fled to the EU’s neighboring country, Lithuania, fearing for the safety of her and her children. Her husband Sergei Tichanowski is in prison like hundreds of other Lukashenko opponents. The prominent blogger wanted to run for the presidential election, but was not allowed to do so, as was former bank chief Viktor Babariko, who was also jailed.
Because the challengers are in prison, the women – Tichanowskaya and, in Babariko’s case, his campaign manager Maria Kolesnikowa – took the fight against Lukashenko into their own hands. This had caused a great wave of solidarity among the female population.
After the initial mass arrests, the security forces initially withdrew. For a few days, the uniformed have returned to act against the protesters. According to the Wesna Center for Human Rights, there were again several arrests on Friday night (a list of detained opponents of the regime can be found here).
“The government uses violence to make people fear again. But that no longer works,” Maria Kolesnikova, from the movement for democracy in Belarus, told Tagesspiegel. The EU asked them to act “in a neutral and joint way with Russia” as a mediator or moderator to initiate a dialogue between Lukashenko and the opposition Coordination Council for a peaceful change of power.
