Belarusian-language program dropped from air on 'Unistar' radio

07.10.2009. Tags: freedom of expression, language rights, mass media.
Source: Charter`97.

The leadership of Unistar radio decided to take off the air Viktar Syamashka’s program Novaya Ziamlia, the only Belarusian-language program on this radio that could be heard since 1995, udf.by reports.

The program, focusing on alternative Belarusian culture, was air played about 200 times for four years. Its author, an officer of Unistar radio Viktar Siamashka, tells he was going to dedicate the nearest Novaya Ziamlia to ‘trasianka’, Belarusian–Russian patois. ‘I wanted to make a humorous program, tell how many people speak the Belarusian language and how many use trasianka, to play the appropriate songs’.

But this program won’t be aired. The administration of the radio station told the host the program was taken off the air due to the changes in air policy.

It is interesting that the decision of Unistar coincided with the warning of the Ministry of Information to another Belarusian radio station – Avtoradio for ‘lack of correspondence with the broadcasting concept’.

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