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Pro-opposition paper Narodnaya Volya gets third warning in six months

The private newspaper Narodnaya Volya, which is known for its sharp criticism of Alyaksandr Lukashenka's policies, has received a third formal warning from the information ministry in six months.

The pro-opposition paper has been warned over a series of articles about the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany that were published this past March, said the press office of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).

The information ministry says that the articles violated Article 4 of the Mass Media Law, which bans media outlets from disseminating false information. According to the ministry, the History Institute at the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences has found the articles to contain false information.

The ministry says that the articles discredited the Soviet guerilla movement and the Red Army and led to a public outcry and street protests in front of the newspaper's Minsk office.

The warning requires the paper to correct the violations and notify the ministry of this within 10 days.

Narodnaya Volya received its first warning on November 17, 2009 for an October article that allegedly called for "interfering with the lawful work of the central election commission and for other extremist activities."

The warning was issued by Information Minister Aleh Pralyaskowski on December 24 for what was described as the distribution of false information about subscription in Minsk.

Under the country's media law, a media outlet may be closed if warned two or three times within 12 months.

Commenting on the warning, BAJ Deputy Chairman Andrey Bastunets played down the warning, saying that the information ministry had had the right ask a court to close down Narodnaya Volya already after the second warning. "That's why I view another sanction rather as a means of putting pressure on the paper," he said.

When reached by BelaPAN, Narodnaya Volya chief editor Iosif Syaredzich expressed certainty that the newspaper would not be closed down despite the third warning.