OSCE expresses concern about media freedom in Ukraine

VIENNA - OSCE Representative on Freedom of Media Freimut Duve reported on February 8 to the OSCE Permanent Council on the disappearance of Ukrainian journalist Heorhii Gongadze last September.

After having raised the Gongadze case on behalf of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on several occasions with Ukrainian government officials, Mr. Duve sent an adviser to Kyiv from January 31 to February 2 for an assessment visit, during which he met with government officials, lawyers, parliamentarians and journalists.

The overall opinion Mr. Duve encountered is that the investigation into the disappearance of Mr. Gongadze has been "extremely unprofessional," and that there has been a lack of transparency regarding the identification of the headless body found on November 2, 2000, in Tarascha.

In his report to the OSCE Permanent Council, the representative made a series of recommendations to the government of Ukraine: to invite international experts in a new effort to investigate the Gongadze case; to cease all acts of harassment against the media; to hold an open hearing on the state of media freedom in Ukraine.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 18, 2001, No. 7, Vol. LXIX

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