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BELARUS
I. VGTRK
chief plans broader coverage of Belarus.
Belarusian
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on [3rd February] met
with Mikhail Shvydkoy, chairman of the All-Russian State
Television and Radio Company, or VGTRK, who came with a
proposal.
“We are
ready to launch from the first decade [first 10 days] of
April a Belarusian-Russian weekly television and radio
programme,” Shvydkoy said at the meeting.
He said
Russia’s presence on the airwaves in Belarus is more
extensive than [that of] Belarus in Russia, and major
happenings in Belarus are often broadcast in Russia as
isolated political events. Lukashenka agreed.
“We have the
hope that we shall put on the track the kindest relations
just with this channel, as both your and our company
express state interests,” he said.
Lukashenka said
the VGTRK enjoys ample broadcasting opportunities in
Belarus, with coverage of almost all of its
regions. He cited ongoing preparations to lead to
improvement of Belarus’s entire television and radio
network.
Lukashenka said
there are projects of a second, alternative channel on
Belarusian television to use the frequency band of the
Russian channel.
Shvydkoy met the
chairman of the Belarusian national television and radio
company, Grigoriy Kisel. They are expected to sign
a cooperation accord between the two companies.
ITAR-TASS news agency
(World Service), Moscow, February 3, 1999
II.
President proposes cooperation with VGTRK.
[On 3rd February]
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka met the leader
of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Company
[VGTRK], Mikhail Shvydkoy. A broad spectrum of
issues directly relating to the work of the Belarusian
and Russian television and radio companies and their
cooperation was discussed.
[Lukashenka]
Your
company has very good opportunities in Belarus. Its
broadcasts—not only television, I mean also radio
broadcasts, cover the territory of the whole
country. I will tell you frankly, we are now
getting ready to improve the whole system of television
and radio broadcasting in Belarus. We are working
on the issue of creating a second, alternative, [TV]
channel. In principle, the entrepreneurs today are
giving the controlling share to the state, but are ready
to invest big money in the second channel. So we
are thinking which of the Belarusian channels (they are
all busy, first of all, with Russian channels) we should
give for broadcasting.
We should decide
which company in Russia we want to work with. I
don’ t think that it is impossible to work with the
VGTRK. On the contrary, we like your idea of a
culture channel [Kultura channel], with which we have
very good contacts, and I believe they will be
continued. We are grateful to you for helping us
establish cooperation between this channel and our
Belvideocentre. We hope that we will establish the
best possible relations with this particular channel,
first of all, because, let us be honest, both our company
and your company express state interests.
Therefore, we have very few differences, and we should
resolve them on a principled basis.
Belarusian Radio First
Programme, Minsk, February 3, 1999
III.
President urges media “to catch up” with
Russia.
At the end of his
working day [on 8th December], Belarusian President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka took part in Russian Public
TV’s [ORT] live programme “Here and Now”
presented by the well-known journalist, Aleksandr
Lyubimov. . . .
[Lukashenka]
We have
fulfilled the tasks which we set out for ourselves
earlier. Today we are in a new orbit, just like,
generally speaking, the country itself. I am not by
any means saying that for [Belarusian] television to be
taken to a new orbit, its leadership should now be
replaced. Your team has a strong potential,
but you are cycling round an orbit built out of routine
problems. Yes, having achieved progress, you have
now been resting on your laurels, if one can put it this
way.
However, one must
not stop at this point, by any means. A further
decisive step is required. We cannot afford to fall
behind Russia’s five TV channels, currently
broadcasting [in Belarus]. It must be said that
they have a stronger financial and material base; they
were able to select their staff from the whole of the
[former Soviet] Union and they have more
experience. Nevertheless, we must catch up with
them.
Belarusian TV, Minsk,
December 8, 1998
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