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Ukraine May Deny Radio Liberty Airtime
February 12, 2004
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 11:45 a.m. ET KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- A radio station that rebroadcasts U.S.-funded Radio Liberty's shortwave programming onto more-accessible FM frequencies is threatening to cancel the service, prompting a harsh complaint from the U.S. Embassy and speculation the move was politically motivated. The privately owned Radio Dovira sent a letter Wednesday threatening to deny the Radio Liberty FM airtime unless it makes format changes, said Radio Liberty spokeswoman Sonia Winter in Prague. Radio Svoboda, the Ukrainian-language service of Radio Liberty, has until Tuesday to make the changes or have its broadcasts restricted to shortwave, Winter said Thursday. But she said the demanded changes were not specified, ``and that's why it's such a strange decision.'' Radio Dovira representatives declined to comment. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty president Thomas Dine condemned the decision as a ``political act against liberal democracy, against free speech and press,'' In extraordinarily blunt comments, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev criticized the decision as ``a blatant attempt to get Radio Liberty off the air,'' adding it was ``especially deplorable in an election year in Ukraine when the need for news and information from a variety of independent sources is greatest.'' Mykola Tomenko, chairman of Ukraine's parliamentary committee on press freedom, called the move an ``active cleansing of the mass media'' ahead of October elections, in a statement posted on the opposition Our Ukraine Web site. Viktor Yushchenko, widely seen as the favorite to replace President Leonid Kuchma, called the decision ``undeniably political,'' alleging it was approved by top government authorities, the Interfax news agency reported. Kuchma's administration has come under increasing fire from Western governments, human rights groups and journalists who accuse him of muzzling the press. Ukraine's media climate has been under scrutiny since the 2000 death of Heorhiy Gongadze, an Internet writer who crusaded against high-level corruption. His decapitated body was found in a forest outside Kiev. Opposition groups allege Kuchma was involved in Gongadze's killing. Kuchma denies involvement. ------------------------------------------------------ Steve Holland, MI Drake R7, R8 and R8B |
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