aaus-list @ ukrainianstudies.org -- [aaus-list] LEAKED MEMO ON HOW TO INSTRUCT MEDIA

[Taras Kuzio <t.kuzio@utoronto.ca>]

Category: OPINION
    26 Sep 2002, KYIV POST
 
    Authorities dictate line to newsrooms


Growing concerns about media freedom in Ukraine were fuelled on Sept. 3,
when Mykola Tomenko of Our Ukraine distributed an unsigned memo, alleged to
have originated in the Presidential Administration, giving TV stations
detailed instructions on how they were to cover events.

The following is a slightly edited translation of another memo titled "Press
release" and dated Sept. 13. It was allegedly sent from the Presidential
Administration to the management of a central TV station. It was leaked to
the Post by employees of the station.

 

Attention

Please cover the day's events in the following order in all this evening's
news bulletins:

1. Please begin all news bulletins with the announcement that a requiem
concert is being held in memory of the victims of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
President Leonid Kuchma is attending.

2. President Leonid Kuchma took part in an Internet conference. The
president made a number of important statements. The main points are:

* he will step down as president in 2004;

* he is convinced that Ukraine does not need a dictatorship any more than
other countries;

* he considers that the government is ready for dialogue with the public,
but society itself is not ready for this. "Open government is like a road
with two way traffic."

3. Developments surrounding the protest actions planned for Sept. 16.

A) On Sept. 12, Shevchenko District Court banned the protest action planned
by the Yulia Tymoshenko Block, Socialist Party and Communist Party for Sept.
16 in the center of Kyiv. The ruling was final and is not subject to appeal.

According to the court decision, participants in the action will not be
allowed to gather in central Kyiv on Sept. 16. In line with the decision of
the city authorities, the action is to be held at the Chayka airfield on the
outskirts of Kyiv. Supporters of the president will hold meetings on
Hlushkova Prospekt. A number of mass events have been held at Chayka, most
notably the divine service conducted by Pope John Paul II in 2001. It was
well organized and excesses were avoided.

Please use archive videos from the Pope's service, showing militia,
ambulances and bio toilets. The number of participants should be mentioned.

B) On Sept. 13, the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Ternopil oblast councils adopted
appeals concerning the Sept. 16 action. The event is important and timely.
The texts will be distributed shortly.

C) The Presidium of the Ukrainian Trade Unions Federation adopted a
statement saying it is inappropriate to support the Sept. 16's action and
recommending their chairman not to take part in "this or other political
actions." 

The event is important and timely. You are requested to emphasize when
quoting the text that TUF chairman Oleksandr Stoyanov signed the statement
while showing Stoyanov's picture or some video.

D) The Lviv Oblast committee of the Communist Party has announced that it
will not participate in the Sept. 16 actions due to provocative statements
made by some nationalistic deputies.

The event is timely.

E) Presidential Administration head Viktor Medvedchuk made a speech
commenting on the Sept. 16 events. The event is important and timely. Please
quote the text in full.

4. The State Tax Administration has commented on the detention of an
assistant to Rada Deputy Oleksandr Turchynov of the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc
with a big sum of cash.

The event is sharp and timely. Videos  of the detention will be distributed.
Please give it broad coverage.

5. General Prosecutor Svyatoslav Pyskun was on an official visit to
Strasbourg Sept. 11 Sept. 13 at the invitation of the general secretary of
the Council of Europe. He made a speech at a meeting in the Committee of
Ministers. 

The event is important and timely.

6. An explosion was averted at a Lviv Oblast mine. The head of the oblast
Internal Affairs Department held a press conference.

The event is important and timely. According to the Lviv Internal Affairs
Department, the incident was not connected to the Sept. 16 action.

7. The Emergencies Ministry held a meeting in Uzhgorod on Sept. 13 attended
by Emergencies Minister Vasyl Durdynets and Rada Deputy V. Rizak [Editor's
Note: Presumably, this refers to Ivan Rizak, a member of the SDPU(u)
faction]. The meeting concerned eliminating the consequences of flooding.

For the information of editorial offices.

8. Deputy Yury Karamzin has announced that he received information about the
whereabouts of Gongadze's head.

No comments. 
     
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