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Jauhen Afnahel: Lukashenka Disgraced Himself Following His Master

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Jauhen Afnahel: Lukashenka Disgraced Himself Following His Master
The inscription on the photo: Lukashenka is an enemy of the Internet

One can put the kibosh on the "IT-economy".

Yesterday the "House" adopted scandalous amendments to the law on mass media which tighten censorship on the Internet and require mandatory registration of Internet users.

What will be repercussions of the new law? Coordinator of European Belarus campaign, one of the leaders of the Belarusian National Congress (BNC) Jauhen Afnagel answers questions of Charter97.org.

- They say, only fools learn from their mistakes, the wise man learns from the mistakes of others. The Kremlin owner gave Lukashenka a chance to see what the war with the Internet brought, when he disgraced himself when Telegram was blocked. It would seem conclusions can be made. But, apparently, the example of other people's mistakes are not sufficient, it is necessary to get a hit. I think that the "second series" of the war with free Internet will be the story how Lukashenka disgraced himself following his master from the Kremlin.

There are only two scenarios the Belarusian authorities can pursue: bad and very bad.

A bad variant is just described above.

"Very bad" scenario means that consequences of the law will be systemic.

First of all, it means further growth of popularity of the Russian propaganda which has sharply increased after blocking of "Charter-97", and also irreparable damage to the reputation of the country. Yesterday the European Parliament adopted the resolution on Belarus, which demanded to cease repressions against independent media. I wonder how Lukashenka is going to combine his IT-fantasies and blocking of sites and destruction of freedom of speech. It looks like one can put the kibosh on the "IT-economy".

- The blocking of Telegram caused an increase in its popularity in Russia. Even officials use it. What can we, the Belarusians, put up against the fight of the authorities with the freedom of speech?

- It should be remembered that the adoption of the law on mass media has a reason. It has been a long way for its adoption. The site of the Belarusian National Congress was blocked right after protests last year. Neither civil rights defenders nor international organizations showed their attutude. It was followed by attempts to hack sites of other organizations. Then the authorities had a dig at news resources. "Partisan" was the first to block, then "Charter-97" followed, and it happened amid fines to Belsat journalists and freelancers. Only a few dozen activists stood up for their protection. And some non-state media did not even try to hide the joy of "not being involved". Now we all reap the fruits of our own lack of action.

I'm convinced that this is not the end. If we keep silence, it will be even worse. They will block social networks and messengers, close down the sites which try not to criticize the regime. Either we learn solidarity and fight for their rights, or should be ready to watch only BT both on TV and in the laptop.

As they say, it's a blessing in disguise. There is always a reverse side: the sooner the Belarusians are deprived of an opportunity to discuss their problems on the Internet, the sooner they start doing it offline — on streets and squares.

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