For Free and Fair Media in Belarus MISSION REPORT International Fact-Finding Mission to the Republic of Belarus Minsk, 20-24 September 2009 The organizers and main implementing group include: Civil Rights Defenders Danish Union of Journalists Index on Censorship International/European Federation of Journalists International Media Support Open Society Institute List of endorsing organisations List of endorsing organisations This report was written and endorsed by: Civil Rights Defenders (former Swedish Helsinki Committee) Stora Nygatan 26 SE, 111 27 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8 545 277 37 Contact: Joanna Kurosz Programme Officer Email:[email protected] http://civilrightsdefenders.org Danish Union of Journalists Dansk Journalistforbund Medier & Kommunikation Dansk Journalistforbund Gammel Strand 46, 1202 København K medier & kommunikation Tel: +45 33 42 80 00 Contact: Mogens Blicher Bjerregård President Email: [email protected] www.journalistforbundet.dk Index on Censorship Free Word Centre 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA United Kingdom Contact: Rohan Jayasekera Associate Editor Email: [email protected] Phone: +44 (0) 20 7324 2527 PDA: +44 (0) 795 682 7251 www.indexoncensorship.org International/European Federation of Journalists Residence Palace, Block C Rue de la Loi 155 1040 Brussels Contact: Marc Gruber European Co-Director Tel : +32 2 235 22 15 Fax : +32 2 235 22 19 Email: [email protected] www.ifj.org International Media Support Nørregade 18, Copenhagen K 1165 Denmark Contact: Jane Moller Larsen Programme Coordinator (M&D Unit) Phone: +4588327000 Fax: +4533120099 email: [email protected] www.i-m-s.dk/ International Media Support – For free and fair media in Belarus 3 List of endorsing organisations Open Society Institute Media Programme Contact: Biljana Tatomir Deputy Director Email: [email protected] www.soros.org/initiatives/media Additional endorsing organizations include: ARTICLE 19 Free Word Centre 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA Tel: +44 207 324 2509 Fax: +44 207 490 0566 Contact: Nathalie Losekoot Senior Programme Officer, Europe Email: [email protected] www.article19.org International Publishers’ Association 3, avenue de Miremont 1206 Geneva Switzerland Tel : +41 22 704 18 20 Fax : +41 22 704 18 21 Contact: Mr Alexis Krikorian Freedom to Publish Email: [email protected] www.internationalpublishers.org International Pen Brownlow House 50-51 High Holborn London WC1V 6ER Contact: Sara Whyatt Programme Director Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7405 0338 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7405 0339 Email: [email protected] www.internationalpen.org.uk International Press Institute Spiegelgasse 2 1010 Vienna, Austria Tel: (+43 1) 512 90 11 Fax: (+43 1) 512 90 14 Contact: Colin Peters Email: [email protected] www.freemedia.at International Media Support – For free and fair media in Belarus 4 List of endorsing organisations PressNow Witte Kruislaan 55 1217 AM Hilversum Postbank 7676 The Netherlands Elisabetta Plebani Head Office Tel +31 35 62 54 300 Fax +31 35 62 54 310 Email: [email protected] www.pressnow.nl Reporters sans frontières 47 rue Vivienne 75002 Paris France Tél. : 01 44 83 84 67 Fax : 01 45 23 11 51 Contact : Elsa Vidal Bureau Europe & Ex-URSS Email :[email protected] www.rsf.org World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers 7 Rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire 75005 Paris France Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 28 Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48 Contact: Virginie Jouan Executive Director, Press Freedom and Development Email: [email protected] www.wan-ifra.org UNESCO formed part of the mission delegation and contributed to the report. International Media Support – For free and fair media in Belarus 5 Contents Contents 1 Introduction ..............................8 2 Background and purpose of the mission to Belarus . 9 2.1 Participants in the mission delegation and organisations involved . 9 2.2 Objectives of the mission.............................10 3 Current media and press freedom situation in Belarus .......................11 3.1 Poor free media standards . .11 3.2 No significant structural changes . 12 3.3 Brief overview of EU-Belarus dialogue...................13 4 Physical attacks and harassment of the media .............................16 4.1 State harassment of media...........................16 4.2 Policy and security services attacks on journalists . .17 4.3 Impunity is the key issue . .17 5 Economic conditions for the media...........20 5.1 Many papers are kept outside the distribution and subscription systems.............................20 5.2 No changes in view yet...............................22 6 Accreditation and Registration ..............23 6.1 Accreditation of journalists . .23 6.2 Re-registration of mass media and new registrations . .24 7 Access to Information .....................26 7.1 The Law . 26 7.2 The practice........................................27 8 Media policy reform .......................29 8.1 Law on the Media . 29 8.2 Criminal Code . 31 8.3 Law on Counteraction to Extremism . .32 8.4 Law on Public Service ................................32 International Media Support – For free and fair media in Belarus 6 Contents 9 Broadcasting regulation and license/ frequency allocation.......................34 9.1 Legal acts . .34 9.2 Regulatory Body ....................................35 9.3 Licensing Processes . .36 10 Union issues and working rights .............38 10.1 The Belarusian Union of Journalists . 39 10.2 The Belarusian Association of Journalists ................39 10.3 Relations between State and non-State organisations.....39 11 Annexes.................................41 11.1 List of meetings during the mission . 41 11.2 Mission statement ..................................42 11.3 Overview of recommendations based on findings of this report . 44 11.4 Letter sent to the Council of Ministers of the EU..........47 11.5 Mass Media in Belarus, BAJ Newsletter..................49 11.6 UNESCO Media development indicators . .54 International Media Support – For free and fair media in Belarus 7 Introduction 1 Introduction This report is the result of an assessment and advocacy mission carried out in Belarus from 20-24 September 2009. The mission was undertaken by a del- egation of press freedom and media development organisations with long- term relations with media workers and institutions in Belarus. In Belarus, the mission delegation met with Belarusian government repre- sentatives and state and non-state media organisations, in order to express and exchange opinions on the present situation of independent media, press freedom, freedom of expression and access to information in Belarus.1 1 See Annex 11.1 – List of meetings during the mission International Media Support – For free and fair media in Belarus 8 Background and purpose of the mission to Belarus 2 Background and purpose of the mission to Belarus International Media mission in front of the Presidential Administration in Minsk. Photo: Mogens Blicher Bjerregaard/DJ Based on the knowledge and expertise of the participating organisations in reference to international media standards, the purpose of the mission was to undertake an assessment of the present media environment and freedom of expression situation in Belarus. In the same light, the purpose of the pres- ent report is to ensure that press freedom and media reform remain at the heart of the on-going negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the Belarusian government – both in regard to the current suspension of certain EU sanctions against Belarus, the longer term Eastern Partnership Ini- tiative and the Human Rights Dialogue (elaborated on below). A first meeting between some of the organisations of the mission and the Direction General E, Directorate Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Council of the European Union, was held in Brussels on 1 April 2009. Subsequently, up- dates on the media situation in Belarus were sent to the European Council by the group of organisations involved.2 2.1 Participants in the mission delegation and organisations involved The organisations participating in the delegation included: European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)/International Federation of Journal- ists (IFJ), Open Society Institute (OSI), Index on Censorship, International Me- dia Support (IMS), Danish Union of Journalists (DUJ) and UNESCO. The mission 2 See Annex 11.4 – Letter was carried out in collaboration with the Belarusian Association of Journalists to the Council of Ministers (BAJ) which hosted the mission in liaison with the EC delegation in Minsk. It of the EU International Media Support – For free and fair media in Belarus 9 Background and purpose of the mission to Belarus must be noted that a representative from the Civil Rights Defenders was sup- posed to take part in the mission, but was not granted a visa although she applied for one simultaneously with the other participants of the mission. In addition to the mission-delegation, a number of other media organisa- tions have been involved and have signed on to the mission statement. These organisations include: Civil Rights Defenders (former Swedish Helsinki Com- mission), PressNow, World Association of Newspapers and News Publish- ers (WAN), Article 19 (A19), International Press Institute (IPI), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Index on Censorship and Reporters without Borders (RSF). 2.2 Objectives of the mission The main objective of the mission was: To ensure the European Council insists that the Belarus government under- takes a genuine