On April 29, Grodno /BelTA correspondent/. The seminar for heads of republican mass media, which is currently underway in Grodno, opens a series of significant events and activities in the Belarusian media sphere. This was stated today at the seminar by the Minister of Information, Oleg Proleskovsky, BelTA reports. In response to remarks that have already begun to be heard, that the Ministry of Information allegedly gathered the heads of republican mass media after the elections and the terrorist attack to issue instructions, Oleg Proleskovsky emphasized that the seminar had been planned in advance. Moreover, representatives of regional mass media came up with the initiative to hold it. "There is no emergency in holding the seminar. It was planned in advance and opens a series of significant events held by the Ministry of Information in May and early June: these are the "Televershina" and "Zolotaya lіtera" contests, the "Mass Media in Belarus" exhibition, and the CIS media forum," the minister noted. According to him, such seminars are a "platform for communication" for media representatives, giving them an opportunity "to show themselves and to see others." Oleg Proleskovsky also drew attention to the fact that the role and influence of mass media in the modern world are difficult to overestimate. However, not all use this influence for the benefit of society and their country. For example, when covering the events of April 11 in the Minsk metro, Belarusian media, in the opinion of the minister, were divided not on the principle of state-owned and private, but on decent and indecent. "Some media outlets were openly self-promoting, distorting facts, and this is unacceptable. This is exactly what terrorists want – to sow fear and panic in society," said Oleg Proleskovsky. In this regard, he recalled the words of the President, spoken in the Address to the Nation and Parliament: they want to force our young sovereign state, which pursues an independent domestic and foreign policy, to dance to someone else's tune; Belarus is subjected to massive pressure. Someone really wants to destabilize the situation in the country, sow chaos, and distrust of the authorities among people, in order to then strangle our country with the resulting problems like a noose. -0-

BelTA