[New-imc] Re: Letter - reply to recent letter from Mr. Bondarenko.

[maria. v]

dear both of you :),

the issues raised by dmitry seem to me legitimate arguments. i dont see this
list as the place to be "polite"; its the place to be as open and
transparent as possible about new imcs.

i do agree with belarus independent that belarus(i)an independent media has
a right of its own to exist separate from imc russia. because belarus is in
a very precarious political situation, indepedent media focussing on belarus
solely is in my opinion very necessary. another issue is that belarusan
activists will not be able to fully involve themselves personally (let alone
in actual physical presence) in imc russia. this i think is important for
any imc and esp. for ones dealing with repression as harsh as that in
belarus.

but... being independent media is as dmitry rightfully points out not enough
to fulfil all the requirments to become part of the indymedia network. this
belarus independent site lacks all the "technical" features of open
publishing and from their response i do not get the impression they
understand what this concept would entail at all.

also, judging by the articles on the site and the layout, this site looks
like it might be connected to opposition political parties in belarus.
white-red-white flag; the emphasis on belarus as a historical entity, with
its own language, etc.; the desire to be considered part of "europe" not
russia. to people familiar with the belarusan situation this rings very
clear bells. not only of internal political alliance (already violating the
principles of unity), but also of moneybags from other places. 

there are non-hierchical groups in belarus, and grassroots activists as
well. some of them do and have done excellent independent media work much
more similar to the ways and politics of the indymedia network. i think that
before we allign ourselves to this group, we have to be very clear on who
they are and how they are connected to the groups just mentioned. if they
are excluded, i think we loose the possibility of welcoming an effective and
open belarus imc.

what if we ask belarus independent to take a closer look at the principles
of unity and ask them to explain more about their connections inside
belarus? in the mean time dmitry or others could see if there are more
people and groups interested in a belarus imc and what they think of this
initiative. actually, there is an underground cultural festival planned in
belarus for the autumn. the groups mentioned, plus other (east)european
media activists and artists will be there. it might be a good place to
discuss stuff in a facetoface setting.

i am not really familiar with new imc proceedings and dont know if this sort
of process is usual or even possible. but my itching elbow tells me we have
to dig a bit deeper here, before processing...

love/ maria. v

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