The head of the State Committee in charge of TV and radio broadcasting appeals to mass media: “Do not denigrate our country for the sake of somebodys interests”
Ivan Chizh, the head of the State Committee in charge of information, TV and radio broadcasting:
“I have no data on the cases of the illegal persecution of the opposition mass media or of their closure because of political reasons. This confirms the real existence of the freedom of speech in Ukraine. However, 32 orphans, children of the perished journalists, live now in Ukraine, and the deaths of these journalists are unfoundedly connected with the political persecutuions. Thereupon I appeal to all workers of mass media to be objective. Do not seek for the non-existent sensations, do not fan the non-existent political scandals. Do not denigrate our country for the sake of somebodys interests. You must elucidate the events objectively, even if you are working off somebodys grants…”
Ivan Chizh mentioned an interesting fact. Recently a group of journalists from the central channel of the Hungarian TV asked to give them the interview. The questions were rather acute: about the notorious cases of murders of journalists, the alleged persecutions of the free press, etc. The reporter got the answers, with which he was completely satisfied.
According to the words of the correspondent of the Hungarian TV, the image of Ukraine as a totalitarian state is created by some Ukrainian journalists and politicians, but henceforth he will not believe them.
(«Kievskie vedomosti», 15 May 2003)