Against Cruelty: Journalists quit Belarus state Media

The violent suppression of protests in Belarus forced TV hosts and journalists of state channels to resign, the Belarusian portal Tut.ua reports.

Eight employees left during two days, including journalists from Belarus 1, STB, and the First Channel of Belarusian Radio. Some of them announced their dismissal in social media.

Eugene Perlin, known as the host of “Makayonka, 9” and “Get in the morning, Belarus!”, as well as the voice of the Belarusian version of “Eurovision”, wrote on Facebook: “What happened to my Belarus? The answer to this was the decision to leave the TV channel Belarus 1.”

The host for ATN Serhiy Kozlovych also announced his resignation yesterday. He calls the solution independent and is ready to look for a new job.

The host of the military program “Arsenal” Vladimir Burko also announced his dismissal from the channel “Belarus-1.” He wrote on his Instagram page, “I am no longer the host of this TV project. I left on my own will, not without incident, but I left. I was the media face of the Ministry of Defence of Belarus unofficially for five years. I would never think, even in my worst dreams, that the soldiers and equipment I was talking about could be applied against their people.”

To recall, mass protests against the falsification of the 9 August presidential vote broke out in Belarus. According to the exit poll, Alexander Lukashenko won the election. Tear gas, light-noise grenades and water cannons were applied against the protesters. According to human rights activists, many people received injuries, and more than 5,000 were detained. One person died. A wounded 5-year-old girl was taken to the hospital. The car, in which she was with her family, was rammed by security officers.

“A 5-year-old girl was injured in a car hit by a jeep in Grodno. She was bleeding. I took her and her mother to the ambulance. The doctors said she needed surgery. The man was detained,” a man who took the victims to doctors said. The security forces told the family that they were guilty of the accident.

Natalia Tolub