Kuchma denies being 'enemy of the press' (05/09/99)

Kuchma denies being 'enemy of the press'

RFE/RL Newsline

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma's press secretary Oleksander Martynenko said on May 5 that the Ukrainian president may file suit against the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) for calling him an "enemy of the press."

In addition, he said President Kuchma intends to send a letter to the CPJ refuting the "inaccurate information" on the basis of which he was included on the organization's list of the 10 biggest oppressors of the press.

According to Mr. Martynenko, the Verkhovna Rada, not the president, is responsible for tax policies in Ukraine, therefore, Mr. Kuchma cannot be accused of using those policies as "instruments of his hostility toward journalists."

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