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Point of View

Does it honour you?

ImageBy Victoria Sumar

Today Vecherniy Kharkiv daily and Status quo online edition came out with a report that police officers had suffered bodily injuries as a result of a search operation at the apartment of Vyacheslav Ismaylov.

Actually, the both editions referred to a press release issued by the ministry of the Interior saying “when the above-cited citizen was informed through the house intercom we had to proceed with a search, he began uttering some obscenities and said he would use a firearm, if police officers approached his apartment”.

“Thus, we took a decision to call “Berkut” special force unit officers with the intent to force the entry door. The operation was conducted in presence of search witnesses and a representative of the local government body.

“As the apartment was searched, the journalist’s behaviour, as well as this one of his sons and wife was cynical, they used bad language, threatened the police officers  with a physical violence and dismissals from the ministry of the Interior.The police officers recorded all that on video”.

Frankly, it is hard to imagine how some unarmed persons could threaten the armed cap-a-pie “Berkut”-men with a physical violence.

Our journalist who is investigating the Klymentyev’s case now, was present at the scene. He said several times they called an ambulance for Ismaylov's wife, in order to prevent syncope. Not only she was unable to threaten anybody, she could not speak, as she was shocked by such a number of masked men armed with Kalashnikovs assault rifles.

There were five “Berkut”-men for each person in the apartment, and these brave soldiers, as it was found out, suffered physical violence…

Ismaylov was crying they tried to plant some white powder to his apartment, the journalists heard it. And today the police reported they did find drugs in the apartment…

So, I would like to ask these men with shoulder straps, who had signed this press release, and maybe this is a naïve question: have you ever heard what honour is?

All this smells a bad movie. But, unfortunately, this is Ukraine's reality.  This is a semi-criminal state where human rights is nonentity, where nor law, neither legitimacy exist. This is a country where its citizens are totally unarmed in front of the arbitrary rule of those who are supposed to protect them. This is Ukraine in 2010.  

Is this Ukraine for people?

 

IMI outcome


Upcoming events


PM crossed out critical journalists from the list once more
Tuesday, 22 December 2009

 

Facts of politicians intervening in composing of lists of journalists to take part in the political talk-show programs have been revealed. By doing this the politicians make attempts to intervene in the forming of the content of TV programs where these political figures are supposed to speak up. Serhiy Leshchenko, journalist for Ukrayinska Pravda online edition, claimed to be invited and then suddenly refused to take part in the live broadcast program “Svoboda” at the TV channel “Ukraina” where the PM Julia Tymoshenko was to answer to the journalists’ questions. After the list of journalists invited for this program was agreed with the PM Tymoshenko, his name was found to be crossed out of the list, as Leshchenko said on his personal blog at Ukrayinska Pravda, December 18th.

Leshchenko said: “The press-cutting service suggested not to include my name in the list of the journalists invited to live broadcast today with her, andSavik Shuster Studiodidnt dare to contest it.   

During the live broadcast the PM Tymoshenko was asked about this incident with agreeing the lists of the journalists she accepted to be invited in the program and others not. The PM replied that this was not her by herself being in charge of it, but she didn’t refute that fact of journalists being accepted or not to take part in the live program with her. 

Similar practice was revealed by the well-known journalist and anchorman of another live broadcastMajor politics” at the TV channel “Inter” Evgeniy Kyselyov. He said: “Since, actually, I invite politicians to take part in a collective interview, so I respect their right to discuss with me who is to put the questions to them”.   

IMI informed earlier about this incident at its French page. 4 December Tymoshenko was to take part in the “Major politics”, but three journalists, Serguiy Lestchenko («l’Ukrayinka Pravda»), Roman Skrypine (la chaîne TVi) and Olexandre Tchalenko (the Ségodna  daily) were crossed out of the lists. http://fr.imi.org.ua//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5425&Itemid=56

At the same time any intrusion into the editorial policy of mass media is defined by Ukrainian Law as the censorship.

At the same time the presidential election campaign is on. The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for January 17, 2009.

IMI

 
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Criminal liability as a repressive tool, who is to profit by it?
ImageThe Ukraine MPs are going to resume an old practice of criminal liability for libel. May 17, the MP Vasyl Kyselyov, who had been elected as a member of the Party of Regions list, has submitted a respective bill at the parliament (Verkhovna Rada).
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At the beginning of June several attempts to restrict the journalists’ rights have been reported
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The first week of June and the last week of May a number of incidents have been reported which are evidence of attempts made by new Administration of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers and some representatives of the governing party in the regions to restrict rights and freedoms of the mass media and Ukraine’s citizens. These are alarming attempts of the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and, being in his second job, co-owner of the most important TV channel to exert influence on procedure of delivering the authorizations to broadcast for two independent and critical towards authorities TV channels, Channel 5 and TVi. As response to this pressure the journalists have started a campaign “Stop to censorship!”, held the Journalist’s Day. One should remark, the action which involved several prominent journalists from national TV channels has not been even mentioned in the news at these TV channels. These are facts involving pressure by government bodies.

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