Situation in Ukraine shifts from promising to precarious

In its report on Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists notes that over the past few years, "Press freedom conditions ... have gone from promising to precarious, if not dangerous."

It continues:

"Although the number and variety of media outlets has continued to grow, attempts to manipulate their content by the administration of President Leonid Kuchma, his political rivals, local officials and related business interests have caused a profound erosion of press freedom in the country.

"The most serious symptom of the decline has been the rising tide of violence against journalists, most notably the murders of reporters and editors for their professional activity. Beatings of journalists have become routine. Few of these cases are investigated properly by police, and they generally go unsolved and unpunished."

The report goes on to mention the cases of one journalist who was killed and four who were attacked during 1997 in Ukraine.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, September 20, 1998, No. 38, Vol. LXVI

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