EDITORIAL: The un-free press (08/17/03)

EDITORIAL

The un-free press

Press freedoms in Ukraine are once again in the spotlight - and not only because they are among the subjects covered by annual surveys of freedom and human rights released by the U.S. Department of State, Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders (all of which have been reported in this newspaper).

As seen on our front page, freedom of the press, and the well-being of those who chose to be practitioners of this principle that we in the West so highly value, continue to face very real and very powerful threats in Ukraine. Therefore, the Ukrainian news media's ability to function is severely constrained. And, on page 2 of this issue, readers will learn that a proposed new law could make it even harder for the media to report to the people as intelligence services could be given the power to search, investigate and arrest journalists suspected of violating regulations about reporting "confidential information that is the property of the state."

In the absence of a reliable, unbiased and unthreatened news media, then, it is all the more important that the people of Ukraine have access to some source of independent and objective news reports. To this day, among the best such sources are Radio Liberty and the Voice of America - both of which are threatened with severe budget cuts. According to a letter written by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the body that proposes to reduce funding for the Ukrainian services of both radios for Fiscal Year 2004, "This decision will have an adverse effect on the ability of the U.S. to objectively and independently impart information to the people of Ukraine at an especially vulnerable time."

What the senator is talking about is the election of 2004 in which Ukraine is set to elect a new president. And, since he is co-chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission - a body that perhaps more than any other in Washington for decades has been supportive of Ukraine's freedom and now its transformation to a true democracy - his voice is an influential one that must be heard by the ultimate decision-makers. Sen. Campbell understands that Ukraine "now stands at the crossroad between democracy and authoritarianism" and that the next elections "will determine Ukraine's future for years to come."

"Ukraine's poor track record on media objectivity in recent elections should not be understated. Democratic opposition leaders legitimately fear that their access to the media will be severely constricted in the run-up to the presidential elections," the Helsinki Commission leader pointed out. Indeed. Need we remind readers of this paper of the shenanigans and falsifications, harassment and censorship, control of media outlets and denial of access to the news media and other, well, shall we say, far less than democratic actions on the part of the powers during the previous presidential balloting in 1999?

"With the media under assault and poised to work against opposition candidates ... it would be foolhardy to cut programming or otherwise scale back resources for the Ukrainian services of Voice of America and Radio Liberty," Sen. Campbell argues.

We agree. If Ukraine is to secure its democratic future in the next presidential election, freedom of information cannot fall victim to what the BBG and the White House Office of Management and Budget (the two entities that initiated the proposed budget cuts) have disguised as "shifting priorities." Frankly, U.S. officials would do well to read the reports of their own State Department.

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