Despite renewed crackdowns on the independent media in Belarus, there are signs that the tide is turning in the battle for free speech in the country. However, victory for the democratic forces will require politicizing Belarus’ young Internet audience, writes Iryna Vidanava.
Since the flawed elections and the ensuing violent crackdown on 19 December 2010, the Belarusian regime has been waging a war against the country’s independent media. According to the regime’s Minister of Information and former head of its Ideological Department, Alaksandr Pralaskouski, "Belarus has become an information battlefield".