German Journalists Not Let in Belarus

13.11.2006.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refused to give entry visas to several foreign journalists: the head of the Belarusian affiliate of the Niametskaia Hvalia radio station Kornelia Rabits and the German journalist Ing Petz.

Moreover, several European politicians and Bundestag’s deputies have not been allowed to enter Belarus either. They were going to take part in the 9th Belarusian-German forum that is taking place in Minsk at the moment.

Andrei Papou (the press secretary for the Ministry of Information) claimed that it was the response of Belarus to the existing restrictions imposed on the country by the European Union, United States and other countries. He stressed that some important representatives of Belarusian mass media and Parliament were also forbidden to enter the European Union (namely Germany). ‘We think that those measures should be imposed on those who really hamper the free exchange of information’, claimed A.Papou, meaning the initiators of the restrictions imposed on Belarus.

It is necessary to mention that it’s not the first time foreign journalists have not been given entry visas in Belarus. But, unlike the Belarusian authorities, the European Union has published the list of persons who are not allowed to enter its territory. At the same time foreign journalists are informed they are forbidden to visit Belarus only at the last moment or when they have already arrived in Belarus and have a visa and accreditation. For example, it happened to journalists from Poland.

The BAJ Press Service