Maidan

The Movement ‘Stop Censorship” believes that the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal may have been subjected to external pressure over its cancellation of the results of the TV broadcasting frequency tender.

On 1 September Reporters Without Borders published its report of the fact-finding visit it made to Ukraine from 19 to 21 July. Entitled “Temptation to control,” it looks at the marked increase in press freedom violations since Viktor Yanukovych’s election as president in February

An overview of press and freedom of speech concerns, especially diminishing objectivity and fullness of information on television (sent to the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Rapporteur on Ukraine, and many other EU, PACE officials and NGOs)

The Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal has upheld the cancellation of the results of the January National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council tender for free frequencies and declared the licences of Channel 5 and TVi invalid

While the President continues to insist that he knows nothing, a German correspondent has told him directly that his Ukrainian contacts have had conversations with the Security Service. Konrad Schuller from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung believes these tactics are not confined to him and his contacts alone

Anna Herman, Deputy Head of the President’s Administration, is lavish with fine-sounding words about freedom of speech but does not provide a single proper answer to specific criticism. No idea whether, as she claims, Tymoshenko has “a massive machine for discrediting the regime”. With the latter’s prowess at discrediting itself, extra help would hardly seem required.

A number of Ukrainian human rights defenders and political analysts have criticized encroachments by the Security Service [SBU] on freedom of speech and civic liberties

Adrian Karatnycky’s article, “Orange Peels: Ukraine after Revolution,” (http://www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/orange-peels-ukraine-after-revolution ) was written about six months too late.

The President continues to ooze fine words about commitment to free speech, yet what are they worth when only those television channels from which there are attempts underway to remove broadcasting frequencies proved capable of covering information of public importance about the International Press Institute’s criticism of the situation with freedom of speech in Ukraine?

Reporters without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists have expressed concern over the disappearance of Vasyl Klymentyev, chief editor and reporter for the Kharkiv-based weekly newspaper Novyi Stil (New Style), known for uncovering wrong-doings of the authorities.