Issue of non-state newspaper 'Vitebskiy Kurier M' is suspended

The non-state newspaper Vitebskiy Kurier M had to suspend its issue since the beginning of 2009 and informed the Ministry of Information about it by a special letter.

‘The suspension is connected with solely economical reasons’, explaied the press-service of the Belarusian Associations of Journalists the legal advisor of Vitebskiy Kurier Pavel Levinau. ‘The newspaper is deprived of the opportunity to be distributed by subscription and sold at the newsstands of Belsayuzdruk, the printing houses of Vitsebsk oblast refuse to cooperate and we had to transport the newspapers from Smolensk. All this brings large expenses. That’s why all workers will have forced vacations,’ he said.

At present it is not clear for how long this suspension will last. According to Mr. Levinau, everything depends on the further development of the situation. ‘I don’t see any serious developments in the field of freedom of speech. Of course, it is good if two non-state newspapers Narodnaya Volia and Nasha Niva are distributed legally. However, nobody mentions about the regional newspapers in the state organs,’ says the lawyer.

The last issue of Vitebskiy Kurier M was printed in December 2008.