The agency stressed that this limits independent coverage of events in Belarus.
The cancellation by the Belarusian authorities of existing accreditations of foreign media journalists is an alarming signal, which shows that President Alexander Lukashenko obviously does not represent the interests of his country and people. This was stated in a statement issued on Saturday by the German Foreign Ministry.
“The management of Belarus has stripped foreign media of accreditation. This is a flagrant new interference with freedom of the press and expression,” says Berlin. The German Foreign Ministry stressed that this restricts independent coverage of events in Belarus.
“This alarming step, in our view, once again shows that Lukashenko obviously no longer represents the interests of his people and country,” the German Foreign Office said. They stressed that this is also reflected in the “threat to reduce the diplomatic presence of some foreign missions. “Anyone who acts in this way would like his actions not to be monitored,” the German Foreign Office said.
On Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus stopped accreditations issued to foreign media from 2 October. The ministry statement says that in connection with the adoption of the new rules, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will re-accredit foreign media working in the republic. From October 5, the Commission for Accreditation of Foreign Media Accreditation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus will start its work in a new composition. Reception of applications online is also planned to be technically opened in the morning on Monday, according to the report.