Many foreign journalists in Belarus lose accreditation

Minsk, Aug. 29: Belarusian authorities on Saturday withdrew the accreditation of several foreign media journalists, including AFP, ahead of the latest demonstration challenging the results of the presidential election.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, is facing unprecedented protests since the disputed August 9 election in which he claimed a landslide victory with 80 percent of the vote. The opposition has rejected the results as manipulated, and has organised two major demonstrations this month and called for a large-scale protest on Sunday.

Government spokesman Anatoly Glaz said the decision to revoke the media accreditations was taken on the recommendation of the country's counter-terrorism unit.

He did not specify how many journalists were affected by the measure, but foreign media including the BBC and Radio Liberty reported the withdrawal of accreditation of several of their journalists.

“The Belarusian Foreign Ministry called me and informed me that my accreditation and that of one of my colleagues as BBC correspondents had been cancelled. They demanded that I return my card,” journalist Tatyana Melnichuk said.

Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has fled to neighbouring Lithuania, an EU nation, after claiming she beat the 65year-old leader at the polls and calling for the protests.

She called news about the withdrawn media accreditations extremely worrying. “If true, it is another sign that this regime is morally bankrupt and the only way it will attempt to cling onto power is by fear and intimidation,” she said in a statement. —