“Stop Censorship” responds to President’s words about public broadcasting
The movement “Stop Censorship” is asking President Yanukovych to include representatives of the movement in discussion of public broadcasting by the Humanitarian Council. According to a report on the President’s website on Wednesday, the President stressed that “the first major project which will make irreversible the course he has chosen towards affirmation in the country of democracy and freedom of speech will be the creation of a system of public broadcasting. Viktor Yanukovich is to initiate in the nearest future consideration of a concept framework for public broadcasting at a meeting of the Public Humanitarian Council” (created by Presidential Decree earlier in the year). http://president.gov.ua/news/17439.html
The movement’s statement expresses support for these declared intentions and offers a draft law envisaging the creation of public broadcasting drawn up as part of the movement. They are prepared to had this draft to the President and Government in order work together on its refinement and adoption.
“We believe that public broadcasting is an extremely important task for Ukraine. It should be based on clear and transparent principles of the formation of an independent Supervisory Council with the participation of representatives of the public, and should also have transparent principles of financing.”
The statement stresses that work on the concept and relevant legislation should take place with maximum transparency, with the involvement of journalists and civic organizations and movements.
“Given that the President has initiated consideration of this issue at a meeting of the Public Humanitarian Council, we ask that members of the movement “Stop Censorship” be included since there are no representatives of the journalist community on the Council.
We are convinced that the authorities, like the Ukrainian public, has an interest in creating a contemporary and independent public broadcasting outlet, and is thus very interested in joint work with journalists and civic society to this end.”