Belarus online media are full of dim prognoses of the upcoming vote on the new media law in the Belarusian Parliament. The changes to the Belarusian media law have been prepared since 2002 and can be voted on as soon as next week.

The changes will specifically address what the Belarusian government refers to as the anarchy in the Internet. It is difficult to say what amendments it would include. Belarusian independent media do not have much detail about the draft, and the Belarusian Association of Journalists points out that the new legislature is being hastily pushed through the parliament. Nothing much is being written on its content. Charter97.org reports that the draft law “On Mass Media” does not contain any fundamental changes in this sphere, and it will be considered by the “deputies” of the “chamber of representatives” on June 17.

Why fear then? Well, even if the law is not changed much, it can become a bit more specific where needed and more equivocal where they reckon necessary. Here’s why. If you were a Belarusian regime-serving judge or a prosecutor, with new law enacted, it would be very easy for you to build your case on those ambiguities of the Belarusian law. So if the government wants to put some online journalist behind bars and to intimidate others, or to close down an unwanted web site, the new law will most probably facilitate the procedure.

Here’s what the authorities have in mind but kind of not too sure how to do it. The first deputy Minister of Information Liliya Ananich recently noted that something should be done about the problem of “misinformation streams” coming from foreign web sites. Their aim, said Ananich, is to “influence the situation in Belarus destructively.”

“However, there is experience of China, where access to these websites at their territory was blocked,” L. Ananich said during a round table discussion, as reported by Charter97.org.

Well, quite an approach to bully us, isn’t it?

Now here is a question to us, journalists, – are we ready for guerilla fighting? How shall we go about the possible Internet filtering techniques? How shall we make our online media more anonymous and multi-faceted so that none of us gets into serious trouble because of our job?

Maybe we need to think more about applying Web 2.0 principles to our web sites. That is to make our media more interactive, less formulaic, and less reminding of a traditional media structure. I guess I’ll explicate these points in my upcoming posts. But my message for now is never fear and be prepared. We shall prevail