Mijatović wants Belarus to abolish obligatory accreditation of journalists
The accreditation dramatically restricts opportunities available to mass media, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media told BelaPan.
Dunja Mijatović is paying an official visit to Minsk on September 15 and 16.
She keeps mentioning the problems when contacting the Belarusian authorities, Mijatović stressed. She recalled her visit to Belarus in 2013: “I asked the government to do everything possible to lift charges form journalists and it finally happened. There are no imprisoned journalists in Belarus at the moment.” She meant the criminal cases started against Andrzej Pochobut, Iryna Halip, Natallya Radzina and Anton Surapin.
Besides the abolishment of obligatory accreditation, it is necessary to reform the Law on Mass Media and access to information in Belarus, the OSCE representative thinks. Internet freedom is also an important issue, she stressed.
