Ministry of Information refuses to register independent media

• 6.11.2009, 12:37

The Ministry of Information returned founder of the independent public and political newspaper “Marynahorskaya” documents for official registration to the newspaper.

The Ministry of Information appealed to article 12 (item 1.5) of the Law on Mass Media in its answer of November 2 and referred to the fact the newspaper doesn’t have a statutory seat, the press service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reports.

According to Volha Kulchanka, the fonder and director of the private publishing enterprise “Telegraf-Info” (the legal entity, the newspaper’s editor), this information is wrong.

“Marynahorskaya” newspaper faced problems with office premises in October. On October 14, the lessor, a local small businessman, said the Pukhavichy district executive committee ordered him to cancel the contract because of “financial insolvency” of the lessee. The lessor sent this notice to the editor’s office, the district executive committee and the Ministry of Information.

According to Kulchanka, the cancellation had no lawful grounds and contradicted the terms of the leasing contract. The matter was solved immediately and the newspaper preserved its statutory seat, which was reported to the Ministry of Information.

On October 30, Viktar Huretski, the head of the department on media registration and law control at the Ministry of Information called Volha Kulchanka and her lessor and asked whether the newspaper had a statutory seat. Both confirmed the leasing contract remained in force.

The founder is going to struggle for another consideration of the documents by the ministry.