Council of Europe delegation finds intimidation of press in Ukraine (10/10/99)

Council of Europe delegation finds intimidation of press in Ukraine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - An investigative delegation from the Council of Europe, invited by a coalition of presidential candidates to review the pre-election process in Ukraine, has concluded that the Kuchma government is intimidating the press and not allowing for an open and fair campaign season.

"We are a bit alarmed at the situation," said Anna Severinsen, the lead rapporteur sent by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) after an official request by the Kaniv Four candidates' coalition that it monitor the election situation in Ukraine.

The Kaniv Four, which includes presidential candidates Oleksander Tkachenko, Oleksander Moroz, Yevhen Marchuk and Volodymyr Oliinyk, has criticized the Kuchma administration for not allowing it access to the state-owned Ukrainian Television network in the run-up to the presidential elections, which are now three weeks away. It also has alleged that Kuchma supporters have perpetrated a virtual media blackout on all the candidates, with the president accepted.

A study released on October 6 by the Equal Opportunities Committee, a non-governmental organization, to a large extent supports the view held by the four candidates. It states that although the Kaniv Four closely follows Mr. Kuchma in the amount of coverage it receives in the press, those reports are more negative than those about the president.

"A considerable part of the mass media is controlled by the president's supporters, while the rest is by supporters of individual candidates," said Oleksander Chekmyshev, the head of the committee.

Tunne Kelam, Ms. Severinsen's partner on the PACE investigative team, criticized the manner in which the press has been bought up by political parties and leaders, calling it the "polarization of the press in favor of one candidate or another."

The PACE rapporteurs said they had gathered much anecdotal evidence that the press is being intimidated into submission and that government officials are being used for campaign purposes.

Ms. Severinsen cited the hounding of the STB television channel by government tax examiners as a good example of the violation of campaign procedures accepted in the West.

STB announced at the beginning of the campaign season that it would grant all candidates equal time on its broadcasts. Since then the government has sent an army of tax police from various levels of government to examine the television station's accounts. They have frozen its bank accounts and forced it to the brink of bankruptcy. STB has not broadcast a regular news program in more than a month.

Ms. Severinsen said she also had heard of campaign workers being harassed by fire inspectors and health inspectors. Mr. Tkachenko of the Kaniv Four told a press conference on October 5, a day after the PACE delegation arrived, that he had evidence people had been intimidated by government inspectors after making contributions to the campaign funds of candidates other than Mr. Kuchma.

The PACE delegation, which met with eight of the 15 candidates, as well as with journalists, the procurator general of Ukraine and the head of the Central Election Commission, explained that in September Ukraine had signed a PACE recommendation on how to run fair and free elections, by which it had agreed to adhere to Western, democratic traditions.

"It stresses the fundamental independence of the media," explained Mr. Kelam. "Coverage should be free and fair, balanced and impartial. It pays special attention to public broadcasts, government channels and programs. To ensure fair and balanced coverage there must be free access to political candidates and the right of reply."

The PACE rapporteurs found that equal access and the right of reply for Mr. Kuchma's opponents were sorely missing in Ukraine.

The two rapporteurs agreed that the situation in the press had deteriorated since the parliamentary elections in March 1998. But they sounded a note of optimism and underscored that the situation was salvageable, if the president were to take clear steps to level the playing field for all the candidates.

"I believe that it is important that the present administration show its support for freedom of speech and free elections," said Ms. Severinsen.

Both called on the president to ban all possible government inspections of candidates or media outlets in the three weeks before the election and to allow equal television access for each of the presidential hopefuls.

The rapporteurs, while admitting they had gathered little hard evidence and much hearsay and innuendo, stressed that the information considered most relevant was that which was heard repeatedly.

Mr. Kelam said the team's investigation would be added to the general report by PACE election observers on the manner in which the Ukrainian presidential elections had taken place, to be released by the Council of Europe after the vote is concluded.

If the election observers were to issue a negative report on the elections, Ukraine could face censure or expulsion, as it has several times previously for not fulfilling its obligation before the Council of Europe. No sanctions have ever been brought, however.

The two rapporteurs said the ultimate force for making sure that the country's elections finish smoothly will be the desire of its leaders to show Europe and the world that it is making the transition to a democracy successfully.

"The Council of Europe is an association of free and democratic countries," said Ms. Severinsen. "We could judge that the election was not free and fair. I think that is important. I think that Ukraine wants to continue to be considered a democratic country."

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