Belarusian Information Minister Liliya Ananich was handed an address of more than 150 journalists with the request to indicate her position on the beating of the tut.by correspondent Pavel Dabravolsky.
The appeal was handed by Andrei Alyaksandrau and Alena Sharamet-Andreyeva, they went to the meeting with the Minister of Information, which lasted an hour. In the address, the Head of the Information Ministry was asked to help establish a dialogue with the Ministry of Interior, so that journalists would not get beaten. The journalistic community stands ready to help with the organization of courses for the police to explain to them the rights of journalists: in particular, the right to be present in the courtroom and at mass rallies.
There was no response from the Minister, she promised to read the address, but said that she had no reason not to trust the Interior Ministry official response, which explains the legality of the police action.
"We noted that Dabravolsky had his injuries confirmed, there are videos and testimonies of people that prove that the police version of the events, to put it mildly, does not hold water. But she said she would be guided by the official response," says Andrey Alyaksandrau.
Lilia Ananich was constantly trying to look at the problem of violence against journalists through one particular case. She said that in Belarus there are laws and there are enough grounds for an effective dialogue.
Minister of Information insisted that journalists should be constructive, and journalism is meant to create. She emphasized that we have "a great police force" and advized to journalists to more thoroughly and deeply discuss domestic issues, including ethics, be more attentive to moderating forums and not complain.
We failed to get the issue across, said Andrei Alyaksandrau, but it was important to pay attention of the Ministry to the fact that it exists.
"We strongly wish to draw the attention of the ministry to the problem that exists and to prove that there are a lot of us and we are working together. We do not only see that there is a problem, but also offer solutions and encourage the normal dialogue with the police."