Will Belarusian TV grant its air time to the opposition?
Aliaksandr Milinkevich wrote an official letter to Aliaksandr Zimouski, Head of the National TV and Radio Company of Belarus. The opposition leader demands that the state television organizes a free live debate on Chernobyl issues with him and a group of Chernobyl experts on April, 25. (Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded on April, 26 1980).
The First National TV Channel, run by the Company, never allows even the minor opposition opinion to appear on the screen, not to mention the opposition politicians themselves. Actually, they do appear on television – as speechless characters in propagandist films and “analytical” programs, usually with the faceless voice commenting their actions.
The appeal of Milinkevich is justified by law. The Head of the Belarusian TV Company is obliged to answer the letter of Milinkevich within 15 days. The intrigue is not whether he would allow such a program – most likely not. One can also predict, on which grounds Mr. Zimouski would refuse Mr. Milinkevich (“including a new program is not foreseen by the broadcasting plan” or something like that). But the actual question is – how will Aliaksandr Milinkevich act after receiving a refusal? If you ask something according to the law, and get the unlawful refusal, you receive the moral right to demand. Don’t you?
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