ADSactly World - Belarusian authorities against freedom of speech
In August 2018, the Ministry of Information of Belarus proposed amendments to the law on “the media in Belarus”. The proposals were submitted for consideration at the regular session of Parliament. Some of these amendments look absurd and affect independent media. In addition, most of these changes will affect Internet users.
To verify the illegality and absurdity of these amendments, it is worth considering a few points that were proposed to be changed.
Increasing the authority of officials.
According to this law, civil servants receive additional opportunities to block unwanted media, Internet resources and pages on social networks. Previously, this process was submitted for public discussion, and often it ended in a warning, but now everything will change.
For example, an official after seeing a page on a social network on which, in his opinion, speak badly about his power, he can make a call to the appropriate service and block this page.
Universal identification
According to this amendment, it is planned to identify the identities of all those who leave comments on the Internet. By the way, no matter where you leave a comment, in social networks, on the news portal or in any other place, the citizen is obliged to identify himself. However, for such a procedure, they use large funds that would otherwise be used for the benefit of society.
Additional responsibility
According to this amendment, it is prohibited to disseminate information that threatens the state interests of the Republic of Belarus. However, they do not clarify what kind of “public interest” in question. But there are penalties that will be received by the media for the dissemination of unwanted power of information. They make up to 500 base units ~ 6000$
These are not all points, but in addition, I would like to focus on another interesting law. According to which, bloggers or any other distributors of information on the Internet will be equated with the media. That is, any Belarusian who will shoot a video on his YouTube channel will be considered as media. Accordingly, the authorities will be able to bring a blogger to justice for public disloyalty to the authorities.
Sometime after the law was passed in August, several journalists from various Belarusian news sites were detained under the dubious pretext. Every journalist was subjected to forced interrogation. In addition, offices of these websites searched and seized computers and equipment.
The official reason for the detention suggests that some journalists used paid information from an information agency, but did not pay for it. However, there is more objective, but informal assumptions. There is information that there is an insider in the ranks of civil servants. It was he who incognito provided classified information to independent media.
Thus, withdrawing the computers of journalists and the chief editors of the authorities are trying to find a real source of information they have closed. In addition, often after searches, hardware bookmarks are soldered to detainees' computers. In this way, you can further monitor the information of the suspect. As practice shows, KGB officers actively use this method.
Another independent opinion about this detention claims that the detention of journalists is carried out in order to intimidate on the eve of serious political events. One such event that is expected to take place in the country is a referendum on changes in the powers of the president. Information about him is kept secret.
One way or another, but foreign colleagues of journalists responded to the arrest. The state repressive machine once again spoils the image of the whole system. Currently, the majority of Belarusians do not trust the state media. Their rating is currently at an extremely low level. They do not cope with the growing competition of independent media and individual bloggers on the Internet. At a recent meeting, President Lukashenko said the following words:
“I monitor the media, there are separate statements on the Internet and so on ... I hear them, I see them, and I will try to respond to them as soon as possible”
The reaction was not long in coming. At present, political and social bloggers are actively intimidated. This happens in various ways. For example, the People’s Reporter, from the city of Brest, which covers an environmentally hazardous object — a blogger on YouTube’s channel — a Chinese battery plant under construction, was attacked by a Special Forces group.
Authored by Belarus Insider
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These are the kind of allegations that we must try to bring to light before it is too late. A long time ago I had a notion of some of the things that you have raised and denounced around here. It is not surprising, however arbitrary, that Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, is one of the unrestricted allies of Nicolas Maduro and his government. The two dictators know the power of the media so they have not only looked for a way to silence, but also to expropriate some media and use them to their advantage. When a government reacts with such laws in such a globalized and interconnected era, what it is exposing is its fear that the world will know the true face behind power: digital authoritarianism.
It is regrettable that in the 21st century, there are countries such as China, Iran, Syria, even Russia and Thailand, where there are so many obstacles to access the Internet freely. Similarly, it is striking that in Europe there are still countries with this kind of thoughts and ideals and that there are presidents like Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994. Simón Bolívar said:
Thank you very much for sharing such an excellent post, @adsactly.
It's a very serious complaint. Extremely authoritarian governments, dictatorships and totalitarianisms, subject people to atrocious and repugnant restrictions in order to preserve the most absolute control in their hands. Bending the will of the people allows them to have power over everyone and to do whatever they want (and what they want generally goes against the legitimate right of citizens). How to oppose when the apparatus of real and substantive violence is in those hands? Lobbying through the exercise of free thought. But this involves enormous risks for people.
However, people who rebel are in the crosshairs of authoritarianism because they possess great power, and one of their strongest expressions is words.
In my country, Venezuela, there have been attempts to impose similar laws that have stifled freedom of expression (fortunately, our government is inefficient and chaotic even to impose its dictatorship) and their application has fatally resulted in the near disappearance of the traditional media. The Internet and social networks have saved us from the total and absolute imposition of silence in the face of the atrocities of our country's government (fortunately, today it is at a difficult juncture that, apparently, will lead to its exit. I hope so!)
Belarus has a very difficult outlook. No nation should live under such a dire shadow. I wish with all my heart a lot of strength to its people for them to advance towards freedom!
In theory, Belarus should have all the more reason to comply with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights in order to accede to Council membership as soon as possible. Despite this, the government persists in its liberticidal attitude and continues to violate fundamental rights. So far one of the main accusations made to the Belarusian authorities concerns their repressive attitude towards freedom of expression. The independent press has been silenced, opposition parties denied access to public television channels and newspapers, and numerous laws passed to impose broad censorship and stranglehold. on the media.
It's a serious problem in a country.
Freedom of speech, is the human right of every human being. If the state curbs the freedom of its citizens it will certainly be a threat to everyone. If citizens have no freedom is this not a form of oppression by the authorities? if this is left without a good solution it will certainly cause turmoil in a country. The government that should protect all its citizens must be held accountable.
If the government has been anti-criticism and does not want to hear opinions from its citizens, is this not counterproductive?
but on the outside all of course every user and maker of news or opinions indeed must be able to account for everything. We must avoid speaking lies, slander and hoaxes.
The government and society must be smart and wise so that they can empower and then choose which facts and hoaxes.
If all parties can give opinions and get a meeting point, peace will certainly be achieved. The government can run well, and citizens can express their opinions freely and responsibly
Thank you Belarus insider
Thank you @adsactly
Thank you Steemit
Warm regard from Indonesia
Hello, @BelarusInsider (I guess that's your username). You present us with a very important, necessary and pertinent complaint. There is in the world a lamentable tendency to authoritarianism and totalitarianism, a tendency that I consider an involution and regression, after humanity had lived atrocious experiences of this type and we aspired that they had been overcome. But it has not been like that, and there are the real threats or in exercise of return to militarism, fascism, ultranationalism, xenophobia, discrimination, and so on. And among these threats and realities is the persecution of the media and journalists, the violation of freedom of expression and the press... The attempt to limit or control the digital media politically or ideologically (apart from respect for human rights) is a certain danger, which must be denounced and confronted with international rejection campaigns. Thank you for your post. Greetings.
Nothing more dangerous than when a country faces attacks to its freedom of expression, that is the airtura so that all the democracy and transparency is finished.
Great article.
Hi, @adsactly!
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