RFE/RL panel focuses on press freedom (10/13/96)

RFE/RL panel focuses on press freedom

Ukrainian National Information Service

WASHINGTON - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty held a conference on Capitol Hill on September 19. The conference consisted of two panel discussions focusing on political reform and press freedom in Russia and Eastern Europe, and featured Grigoriy A. Yavlinskiy, a presidential candidate in the 1996 Russian elections. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and Rep. Edmund Royce (R-Calif.) were also featured guests.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcasts news and current affairs programs daily in 23 languages to 25 million listeners across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

The first panel was titled "The Future of Russia and the NIS." Paul Goble, director of RFE/RL, began by stating that it is "no longer just Russia and then the former Soviet countries." The other 14 independent states are just as important as Russia, he said. Mr. Goble also noted that a main hindrance to transforming the previous command economies to free market economies lies in the countries' histories.

The countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have little, if any, experience with modern democracy. According to Mr. Goble, this presents a new phenomenon, whereby the country is in an unfamiliar territory - a new frontier. These countries often look to the West to see how democracy should look.

There are, however, some countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union that are acting as models and showing the way to democracy. Mr. Goble noted Estonia as an example, since it has recently "graduated" from U.S. foreign assistance and recently held an election. Estonia's success has been a boost for all surrounding countries. In contrast, Mr. Goble then noted that the nations of Turkmenistan and Belarus are two countries that have gone backwards since obtaining their independence just five years ago.

Fred Hiatt, from the editorial board at The Washington Post, cited many obstacles the media has to overcome in Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. He noted that printing is fairly expensive and people cannot afford to buy newspapers and other such media items. Even further, he said, there is no stability in the media structure. There is a lack of political dependence because in a strong governmental environment, it is too risky for the press to issue opinions against the government.

Conversely, the public cannot trust a media that cannot be candid or even honest with its readership. The lack of financial security in these newly formed countries leads to corruption, whereby the press will take money for favorable coverage, he said. These obstacles are at the heart of the media's problems for establishing itself in Central Europe and the former Soviet Union.

The second panel set out to discuss different prospects for this area of the world. Kati Marton, from the Committee to Protect Journalists, questioned the media's freedom. Ms. Marton believes Western democratic pressure is needed. She said leaders in the former Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union are very sensitive to the reign of a free press and cannot bear citizens' dissent.

Much like Mr. Hiatt, Ms. Marton made a reference to government being an obstacle to the establishment of a free radio or press. The media has exposed unlawful privatization practices, for which they have received penalties from the government, including losing television rights, she said. Ms. Marton ended by emphasizing that this situation cannot be solved by an American "quick fix." She believes that America needs to make a consistent effort to help remedy this situation.

Mr. Yavlinsky, a fourth-place vote-getter in the first round of Russia's presidential election this summer, concluded the conference. Straying from the topic of the media, Mr. Yavlinsky talked mostly about politics. He addressed the status of Russia and its future. Mr. Yavlinsky said that 70 percent of the population voted for democracy. According to him, it is the hope of the Russian people that the democratic processes will continue.

Mr. Yavlinsky mentioned some signs of improvement in Russia and cited the zero percent inflation rate in August. This is a sign of stablization, as in 1992 the inflation rate was an astounding 250,000 percent. While stating the improvements, Mr. Yavlinsky also acknowledged that some things still need desperate improvement, such as Russia's collection of only 30 percent of taxes.

Mr. Yavlinsky sadly suggested that while the recent Russian presidential elections were open, they were not free, legal, equal or fair. Ending with a question-and-answer session, Mr. Yavlinsky said that the problem in Chechnya was that President Yeltsin was not making a strong commitment in any single direction. Mr. Yavlinsky recognized that Chechnya does not want to be a part of Russia and noted that he and his democratic party do not believe or condone violence to make Chechnya a part of Russia.