Valer Bulhakau, editor of Minsk journal Arche, has reported that on 17 September, the Belarusian Ministry of Information suspended publication of the journal for three months, leaving its future in doubt.

As the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders reported on 22 September, articles in the September issue were judged to have breached the terms of the publication licence that limits Arche to publishing on history. Bulhakau's applications to cover politics have repeatedly been refused.

The cover of the issue shows riot police breaking up an anti-government demonstration in March. One of the articles is a detailed account of a 1995 crackdown on opposition parliamentarians who objected to a referendum to make Russian an official language in the country.

"The ministry's move dramatically demonstrates the Belarusian authorities' paranoid desire to fight not only the opposition but also all people with different opinions," Valer Bulhakau commented on the ban. He intends to appeal against the ministry's decision, but is not optimistic.

Eurozine appeals to its partners and readers to do all they can to publicize this act of political censorship.

More on Arche and freedom of the press in Belarus: "Arche" editor arrested in Minsk

Published 2006-09-27