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Belarus Revokes Accreditation of at Least 17 Journalists Covering
Post-Election Turmoil

RFE/RL

   MINSK - Belarusian authorities stripped accreditation from at least 17
   journalists from major foreign news organizations who have been
   covering the country's turmoil following the disputed presidential
   election.
   The move, taken on August 29 by a commission of the national Security
   Council, was a major escalation by President Alexander Lukashenko's
   government as it continues to face popular protest and international
   condemnation for the August 9 election, and for the harsh police
   crackdown on opposition protesters.
   The journalists targeted include employees of major Western news
   organizations including RFE/RL, the BBC, the Associated Press, Reuters,
   Agence-France Presse, Germany's ARD television, Deutsche Welle, and
   Radio France. Without accreditations, journalists are not legally
   permitted to gather news within the country.
   No reason for the government's decision was provided.
   It was not immediately clear if journalists from Russian state-run and
   state-funded news media, such as the TASS news agency, Vesti TV, or the
   RT channel, faced a similar loss of accreditation.
   'Desperate, ominous move'
   At least 17 journalists had their accreditations canceled, the Belarus
   Association of Journalists reported.
   "Stripping our journalists of accreditation on grounds of 'extremism'
   is a desperate and ominous move by an authoritarian government to
   stifle the independent media and ruthlessly control the availability of
   credible information inside Belarus," acting RFE/RL President Daisy
   Sindelar said in a statement. "It's a violation of international
   standards and an assault on the Belarusian people who rely on us."
   Four journalists from RFE/RL's Belarus Service were hit by the move,
   and one from Current Time, the Russian-language TV network run by
   RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.
   Others include two from the BBC, two from AP, two from AFP, two from
   ARD, and two from Reuters.
   Many of those affected are Belarusian citizens.
   Reuters journalist Tatyana Melnichuk told RFE/RL that she had been
   informed that her accreditation had been revoked via a telephone call
   from the Foreign Ministry.
   "They told us that our accreditation, like the accreditations of the
   BBC journalists, had been revoked and that we had to return them today
   or on Monday," Melnichuk said. "They didn't give any reason."

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