(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Lord Russell-Johnston, chairman of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly, RSF called on the assembly to condemn and sanction Russia for its repeated press freedom violations. “At a time when the parliamentary assembly is considering new measures to defend freedom of information, we are all the more surprised that […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Lord Russell-Johnston, chairman of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly, RSF called on the assembly to condemn and sanction Russia for its repeated press freedom violations.
“At a time when the parliamentary assembly is considering new measures to defend freedom of information, we are all the more surprised that no sanctions have been planned against Russia, just as the Russian authorities are finalising a scheduled strategy of taking control over the most influential independent media throughout the country,” stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. “The seriousness of the situation for the future of democracy in Russia demands that the Council of Europe take an unambiguous stance to condemn and sanction Russia’s non-enforcement of its commitments to the Council of Europe. We are asking that on 25 April, you use all your influence to have the Parliamentary Assembly specifically study the press-freedom situation in Russia and clearly condemn the policy implemented by the Russian authorities, which endangers plurality of information,” added Ménard.
On Thursday 25 April 2001, the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly will consider a “Report on the freedom of speech and information in the European media,” presented by the Commission on Culture, Science and Education. This document recommends to the Board of Ministers the urgent implementation of new, more effective measures for defending freedom of information as well as more direct public pressure on member countries. It also proposes to nominate a general rapporteur for media.
Considering these decisions, RSF believes that it is of utmost importance to condemn and sanction Russia for its repeated press freedom violations. The power struggle staged by the government authorities with media-sector oligarchs is resulting in the pure and simple take-over by the Russian government of the only independent television network with a national audience, NTV, as well as the serious calling into question of the activities of such influential publications as the newspapers “Segodnia” and “Itogui”. ORT, the partly state-owned television channel with the largest audience scores for the entire territory of the Russian Federation, is also now controlled by a state-run group. Plurality of information in Russia is therefore directly threatened. The commercial excuses given do not exonerate the Russian authorities from their responsibility in the matter. All the more so in that the take-over of the Media Most group by the Russian state through the Gazprom company has occurred after months of steady deterioration in press freedom in Russia throughout 2000. Planned and theorised about in the “Doctrine on the Security of Information” approved by President Putin in September, this policy of controlling the media is now being systematically implemented.
