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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVL #0491/01 1771343
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251343Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY VILNIUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2444
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VILNIUS 000491 
 
AMEMBASSY MINSK SENDS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR BO
SUBJECT: BELARUS: GOB TIGHTENS SCREWS ON MEDIA 
 
Summary 
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¶1.  (SBU) The Parliament's lower chamber approved a controversial 
media bill which, if passed in the Upper Chamber and signed by the 
President, will subject online news sources to the same requirements 
as printed press, require re-registration of most existing media and 
accreditation of journalists, and cap aid from foreign organizations 
at thirty percent.  While senior GOB officials publicly advocated 
for the bill, independent experts voiced concerns over provisions of 
the bill that they believe provide legal grounds for further 
censorship and enforce legal control over internet-based media. 
Post believes the bill's adoption to be probable and potentially a 
significant set-back for freedom of the press in an already 
tightly-controlled environment.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Media Law Overhaul Rubber-Stamped 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) After half an hour of discussion, the House of 
Representatives June 17 approved on first reading (in a 93 to one 
vote) a new media bill that would require re-registration of most 
existing media within a year and require the same regulations for 
internet media as currently exist for print and broadcasting media 
outlets.  On June 24, the bill with minimal changes was quickly 
approved on second, final, reading (96 to two).  If passed in the 
upper chamber and signed by the President, journalists would require 
accreditation in order to work for foreign news outlets, and 
financial or technical aid from foreign organizations would be 
exclusively allowed by registered co-founders of media outlets from 
whom aid may not exceed 30 percent of the total budget.  The law 
would require journalists to disclose sources upon demand by the 
GOB. The final approval of the bill included a proposed amendment to 
establish a public supervisory council under the Council of 
Ministers, which will oversee the work of a coordinating committee 
comprised of GOB representatives, public associations and mass 
media. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Analysts: Bill Legalizes Repressive Practices 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), independent 
analysts, and civil society leaders vehemently reacted to what they 
called "the most repressive media legislation in Europe" aimed "at 
putting independent media on the verge of extinction."  Critics say 
that the bill is the latest GOB move to stifle freedom of 
information.  Various independent media advocates rejected the GOB's 
assurances to the contrary, arguing that under the bill, every media 
outlet, including internet-based newspapers, would have twelve 
months to re-register with relevant state agencies. 
 
¶4.  (U) Critics claim that while internet sources would not 
expressly be required to re-register, the new law would allow their 
regulation at the discretion of the Council of Ministers and could 
be blocked without explanation.    Unlike under current laws, the 
bill does not provide an exhaustive list of citations that could 
lead to suspension of a media outlet's legal status.  After 
receiving a single such violation from the Information Ministry or 
prosecutor's office, an online media outlet could be blocked or 
print media shut down by the GOB.  An editor could be held 
criminally accountable for reprinting information from unregistered 
sources or distributing materials that allegedly discredit or damage 
state or public interests. 
 
¶5.  (U) Observers protest the limitation of foreign ownership of 
media outlets at thirty percent of the total budget.  IT expert and 
founder of news portal TUT.by Yuri Zisser cited the foreign capital 
cap as the worst repercussion for high-tech companies.  Under this 
law, Zisser argued that TUT.by (500,000 readers per day), which is 
part of a larger IT company, could experience negative effects on 
its overall business because of complications attracting foreign 
investment.  Civil society activists expressed concern about the 
foreign support cap, noting that local branches of Russian media 
could even lose registration. 
 
-------------------------- 
GOB Adamantly Defends Bill 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) During the introduction of the bill to Parliament, Deputy 
Chairperson of the Presidential Administration Natalya Petkevich 
postulated that the bill posed no threat of "violation, prohibition 
or restriction" and served "to establish comprehensive rules of 
play" for "media market newcomers."  Petkevich dismissed speculation 
that the Parliament hastily considered the bill prior to the 
upcoming 2008 parliamentarian elections, saying that if adopted, the 
bill would come into force only six months after the elections 
scheduled for September 28.  She asserted that the bill would not 
 
VILNIUS 00000491  002 OF 002 
 
 
"regulate" or "change internet media operations" because it would 
not specifically require registration of internet sites but rather 
envisages regulation of "internet versions" of printed or 
electronically-distributed media.  Noting that the law would replace 
the current "outdated" law from 1995, Petkevich claimed that "the 
bill's provisions were designed to ensure that the state media 
improve their quality." 
 
¶7.  (U) Deputy Information Minister Liliya Ananich echoed 
Petkevich's statements, noting the bill "is consistent with the most 
democratic legislature."  She affirmed that the bill "bans unlawful 
restriction of the freedom of speech" such as censorship, violating 
journalists' rights, interference into editors' work as well as 
illegal closure of media outlets.  Ananich pointed to "a problem of 
disinformation flows" from websites abroad, which she said are aimed 
at destructively influencing processing in Belarus. She added, "But 
there is the experience of China, which has cut off access to its 
territory for such sites."  MP Yuri Kulakovskiy maintained the law 
would not "significantly worsen the situation with the media," and 
MP Anatoly Krasutskiy supported passage, saying, "it is of a 
progressive, not revolutionary nature."  Chairman of the state-run 
Belarusian Union of Journalists Anatoly Lemeshonok's estimated that 
"those, who want and love their country, want to tell the truth, 
enjoy enough of the freedom of speech in full." 
 
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Comment 
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¶8.  (SBU) If adopted in its current form, the media bill would 
provide legal grounds for a crackdown on the few remaining outlets 
of independent media and freedom of speech in the country.  Although 
the GOB has long experience employing censorship techniques, this 
law would provide an ostensibly more legitimate basis by which the 
GOB can persecute media, allowing means by which to eliminate 
independent press or arrest journalists for alleged libel.  Tight 
control of online news sources could precipitate a mass migration of 
both opposition-oriented and apolitical websites abroad.  To escape 
criminal liability, unaccredited journalists may resort to using 
pseudonyms and nicknames, driving Belarus' chattering class further 
underground.  Given the lightning speed at which the bill passed its 
first reading and the vocal support it has received by high-level 
GOB officials, post believes it unlikely that the bill will be 
significantly revised before its adoption. 
 
 
SAVAGE 
CLOUD