Stop reprisals against independent journalists
The National Platform
of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership issued an
appropriate statement on 12 December.
"The Platform
participants express a deep concern on the occasion of another series
of repressive actions on the part of the Belarusian authorities
towards Belarusian civil society organizations, their representatives
and partners, independent journalists and creative communities, as
well as religious denominations of Belarus.
The unacceptable
practice of criminal prosecution of journalists, independent editions
and creative youth communities has continued in the country
throughout 2012. We think that such actions do an irreparable harm to
the Belarusian culture and intellectual community and demand the
definitive cessation of the criminal prosecution of the journalist
Andrei Pachobut and express concern on the occasion of pressurization
of the intellectual magazine "Arche" and prosecution of its
chief editor Valery Bulhakau...," reads the statement,
disseminated through mass media.
The authors of the document
also remind about the visa denial to the head of the Radio "Racyja"
Council and chief editor of "Niva" (the weekly of
Belarusians in Poland) as an example of creation of artificial
obstacles to foreign partners of Belarusian civil society
organizations.
