Users from Belarus are able to surf freely all Internet resources of recently prohibited there Russian gay portal www.gay.ru but only for a week. What has changed in the policy of Belarussian authorities and the only Internet provider "Beltelekom" knows no one, says Belarussian site www.gay.by.

Russian server www.gay.ru became accessible for Belarussian users only few days ago and at present all links of the Russian gay server www.gay.ru are available to surfers from Belarus, in contrast to previous only temporary "switches" to www.gay.ru. How long it will be open for the Belarussians only the time would tell.

"Beltelekom" - the only Internet provider in Belarus that controls external paths blocked the access to www.gay.ru in 2004 together with the other Russian gay sites - www.gayly.ru, www.qguys.ru, on the grounds of supplying "acts of sexual perversions, sketches of nude bodies that break ethical norms, offend human dignity and abase man’s personality to the level of carnal desires".

Another Belarussian gay site www.gaybelarus.by comments that www.gay.ru and www.lesbi.ru sites became available in Belarus only after long time correspondence of gay active members with the Belarussian Ministry for Communications. The official response of the Ministry finally confirmed the universal right of free access to information, saying that "according to the license given for communication activities, operators do not have the right to block its subscribers from the access to any information resources".

Translated by Yerdna Bananes