Heorhiy Chechyk

Ukraine

Throughout 2004, Ukraine's authoritarian President Leonid Kuchma carefully groomed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych to succeed him when his second term expired at the end of the year. Relying on pro-government television stations, an obedient Central Elections Commission (CEC), and support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kuchma attempted to orchestrate a transfer of power that would have allowed him to remain politically active and avoid accountability for abuses in office.

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about recent closures of independent media outlets in Ukraine. We believe that these closures are part of a sweeping campaign to eliminate voices that are critical of the government and to block public access to independent sources of information in the run-up to presidential elections scheduled for October.

The campaign started in January when the Shevchenkivskyy District Court ordered the closure of the opposition daily Silski Visti, which is based in the capital, Kyiv, allegedly for publishing two advertisements in September 2003 for a book that was widely considered anti-Semitic. Local and international reports, however, suggest that the issue of anti-Semitism was used as a pretext to close Silski Visti, which was widely read, critical of the government, and supportive of the opposition Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU), in an election year.

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about recent closures of independent media outlets in Ukraine. We believe that these closures are part of a sweeping campaign to eliminate voices that are critical of the government and to block public access to independent sources of information in the run-up to presidential elections scheduled for October.

The campaign started in January when the Shevchenkivskyy District Court ordered the closure of the opposition daily Silski Visti, which is based in the capital, Kyiv, allegedly for publishing two advertisements in September 2003 for a book that was widely considered anti-Semitic. Local and international reports, however, suggest that the issue of anti-Semitism was used as a pretext to close Silski Visti, which was widely read, critical of the government, and supportive of the opposition Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU), in an election year.