Journalists' Day marked in Ukraine with calls for freedom of expression (06/13/04)

Journalists' Day marked in Ukraine with calls for freedom of expression

by Vasyl Pawlowsky
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - Ukrainian journalists celebrated their professional holiday on June 6, but the way they celebrated varied greatly.

Throughout the day, before the Journalists' Union on the Khreschatyk, journalists wearing t-shirts emblazoned with "Volia Slovu" (freedom for expression) volunteered their time, composed stories and distributed five leaflet editions of Zhyva Hazeta during the afternoon hours.

Oleh Onysko, an editor with Lvivska Hazeta, which initiated the event, told The Weekly days before the event that the main reason for organizing it was to show that journalists would produce their written word even under the poorest conditions.

"The main thing is that we have to want to do our jobs as professionals, to work well and honestly. But I do hope that the [political] weather will be in our favor," explained Mr. Onysko.

Co-organizers of the event included the newspaper Ukraina Moloda and the Internet publication Ukrainska Pravda, media that in the last months have also borne the brunt of a variety of pressure tactics applied by authorities.

In the case of Lvivska Hazeta, the State Tax Administration filed a criminal case against the newspaper's founders, Markian Ivaschyshyn and Yaroslav Ruschyshyn, for non-payment of taxes. However, according to local press reports, the evidence that officials presented during a hearing in Lviv on June 4 was not directly linked to the actual paper. The court reviewed the relationship between the Cultural Art Center Dzyga, headed by Mr. Ivaschyshyn, and the Open Stock Company Trottola, whose general director is Mr. Ruschyshyn. The State Tax Administration has charged that Trottola claimed expenses from advertising at the Slukhai Ukrainske Music Festival, sponsored by Dzyga, while no such advertising was evident at the event, which was held more than two years ago.

Ukrainska Pravda has also had its problems with state officials. On April 23 Maria Sambur and Valerii Vorotnik filed suit against the Internet publication for debasing their honor and dignity in an article written about them and demanded a settlement of 10,000 hrv apiece.

On May 27, Judge Tatianna Ostapchuk of the Pechersk District Court in Kyiv adjourned the case until June 21, stating that the address for Ukrainska Pravda given in the suit was not correct and that it would have to be resubmitted to the court. Judge Ostapchuk also demanded that Serhii Sholokh, former director of Radio Kontynent, return to Ukraine to give testimony.

Mr. Sholokh currently resides outside of Ukraine, having left the country after his radio station was shut down by state officials. Mr. Sholokh has claimed that state authorities have harassed him for his anti-government stances.

Ms. Sambur and Mr. Vorotnik filed similar suits against Ukraina Moloda in May, claiming the same compensation. They also demanded that the state seize the equipment and property of the newspapers, according to Ukrainska Pravda. The first hearing in the case was held in Kyiv on June 8, during which the court made a similar judgment in calling for Mr. Sholokh as a witness and calling an adjournment until June 30.

In a telephone interview with Hromadske Radio on June 8, Mr. Sholokh said he would return to Ukraine only after the current state leadership is put on trial.

"When Serhii Medvedchuk (assistant chairman of the State Tax Administration and brother of presidential chief of staff Viktor Medvedchuk) and [President] Leonid Kuchma are tried publicly, I will be a witness. But I will not return now," said Mr. Sholokh.

The director of Radio Kontynent added that there have been serious threats to his life on a number of occasions, even though he is outside of Ukraine, and it would be foolish for him to return at this time.

While organizers of the demonstrations could well be feeling the heat of the state apparatus, the weather was in their favor on June 6.

"It's a good thing that the weather is nice, which will give us a greater opportunity to distribute our paper," said Mr. Onysko. He added, "Primarily we are journalists who want to tell it like it is. True, most of us work for papers that have been labeled opposition publications, but we try to be balanced in the way we report the news. Just look, most of the people are taking this publication that we are putting together here on the Khreschatyk and walking away while giving us a smile of approval."

Besides the desire to pubicize the pressure being directed by state authorities toward the independent mass media, a second goal of the event was to draw the public's attention to the general problem with freedom of speech within the country. Iryna, a pensioner who was passing by the demonstration and who would not give her family name, said she realizes there is a problem between the state and the mass media in Ukraine.

"It's hard to know whom to believe anymore. But I think these young people would be here on the street even if it were not a nice day," explained the pensioner. "I spoke to some of them, and I believe in what they are doing. They want people to know the truth."

While no massive crowds gathered at the makeshift press office/publishing center, the story was somewhat different less than 50 meters away, where a large stage had been set up and from which various relatively obscure musicians performed under a large banner that read "Golden Pen" on the stage's backdrop.

Here a second distinct group of journalists spent their time celebrating their professional holiday. At one point the master of ceremonies announced the winners in three categories of journalism, which in fact seemed to sound much more like fields of public relations. Two of the awards were given to two companies whose corporate banners hung above and along the right-hand side of the stage.

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