(RSF/IFEX) – RSF is protesting the restrictions imposed on the STB television station in Kiev. According to RSF’s information, on 8 June 1999, the STB private television station’s programmes, broadcast to the province via satellite, were suspended. According to the Ministry of Information, the Kiev relay station used by the television station does not conform […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF is protesting the restrictions imposed on the STB
television station in Kiev.
According to RSF’s information, on 8 June 1999, the STB private television
station’s programmes, broadcast to the province via satellite, were
suspended. According to the Ministry of Information, the Kiev relay station
used by the television station does not conform to “sanitary norms.” A short
time earlier, STB had been threatened with closure by the authorities, for
technical reasons. According to Dmitro Prikordoni, the station’s president,
this threat is motivated by the live broadcasts of parliamentary debates by
STB
(a majority of parliamentarians are opposed to President Leonid Koutchma),
despite the government ban on such broadcasts. On 4 June, the national
council which allocates frequencies had ordered the suspension of STB’s
programmes during a twenty-four hour period.
Known for the quality of its “Vikhna” information programme, STB is one of
the few independent audiovisual media in Ukraine. In the lead up to the
October 1999 presidential election, the station’s owners have stated that
they do not support a particular candidate, and wish to make STB’s
programmes available to all political leanings. The station, also known for
its reports on corruption and the misappropriation of funds, has already
been the target of reprisals from financial groups close to circles of
power.
RSF recalls that on 3 March, two masked individuals had burst into the
residence of Dmitro Dahno, STB’s commercial manager, and threatened him and
his wife with a knife. His wife was eight months pregnant at the time. The
station’s journalists and employees are allegedly under surveillance and
their telephones are said to be tapped. Vladimir Simkovitch, the president
of the station’s board of directors, allegedly received death threats via
telephone recently. In February, Sergueï Korenev, an STB cameraman, was
assaulted and his equipment was stolen by unknown individuals.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the information minister:
the
assaults on its employees
independent media prior to presidential elections in Ukraine
assaulted and one of their colleagues was illegally detained
all
media are under intense pressure by his country’s authorities
responsibilities he accepted when joining the Council of Europe, notably
under the European Convention on Human Rights, which he ratified in 1995
against STB ceases
Appeals To
Oleg Baj
Minister of Information
Ukraine
Fax: +380 44 228 0901
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
