26 September 2002
Brest journalists complain about limited access to information

 The Brest branch of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), which recently interviewed dozens of its members, says that most of them complained about limited access to information.
The BAJ branch in Brest has more than 40 members who work for private and state-controlled media, including the two major local papers, Vecherny Brest and Brestsky Kuryer. The latter is the only private periodical in town. Those interviewed pointed to official's reluctance to talk, accredit reporters, misinformation, and difficulties in obtaining permission for taking pictures.
However, most said the occupational conditions for journalists in Brest were "neither good nor bad", and some even called them "favorable".
Reporters employed by Brestsky Kuryer have been banned from attending regional government meetings, and the regional
government's Public Relations Department has been instructed not to give the paper any information. The BAJ's Brest branch, the biggest in Belarus, intends to urge the local authorities to observe the media law and the constitution, and to monitor violations. The Brest journalists are also collecting signatures under a petition to abolish articles of the criminal law stipulating harsh punishment for defamation of government
officials.