Vladimir Ivanov

New York, March 20, 2006—Belarusian authorities muzzled independent journalists in the final hours of the presidential campaign—and beyond—as President Aleksandr Lukashenko won a third term in balloting on Sunday that international observers said fell short of democratic standards.

Authorities arrested three Belarusian editors without explanation and barred at least four Russian journalists from covering the vote, according to local and international press reports. Independent news Web sites reported technical difficulties all weekend. And today, press reports said, border police seized news footage from a Ukrainian television crew.

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is heartened by your stated commitment to improve the poor press freedom climate in Ukraine. There is much to be remedied--and many benefits to be gained--as your administration ushers in what is widely hoped to be a new democratic era.

Former President Leonid Kuchma's decade of corrupt and authoritarian rule was marked by government harassment, intimidation, and suppression of the independent news media. Most alarming were the unsolved murders of several journalists, which together created a culture of lawlessness and self-censorship.