[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12062]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              FREE MEDIA UNDER PRESSURE IN THE OSCE REGION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 7, 2009

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, as Co-Chairman of the 
Helsinki Commission I can attest to the fact that freedom of the press 
is only a cherished dream for many today in the OSCE region. Vibrant 
independent media are an essential element of any democracy. Leaders 
the world over who are determined to remain in office by any means 
necessary understand perfectly the power of the press. That is 
precisely why they and their associates strive so vigorously to control 
the media. Indeed, there are a variety of means commonly used by those 
attempting to harass or intimidate journalists.
  Physical attacks on journalists have become commonplace in many part 
of the OSCE region along with police raids, spurious court cases, 
arrests, and forcible psychiatric hospitalization. In recent days those 
attacked included Argishti Kivirian, editor of the independent news Web 
site Armenia Today, Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, editor of Corruption and 
Crime, a weekly in the southwestern Russian city of Rostov-na-Donu, and 
Anastasia Akopyan, a young journalist assaulted following circulation 
of an interview she did with an opposition mayoral candidate in the 
Russian city of Sochi.
  The situation in several other OSCE countries remains mixed. While 
the Belarusian regime allowed two independent newspapers to distribute 
through state-controlled outlets, the overall media environment remains 
repressive. Independent journalists continue to be harassed. A new 
media law entered into force in February contains provisions that 
toughen state control over the media as the Belarusian government seeks 
to maintain a virtual monopoly over the country's information space, 
especially television. In Armenia, the independent A1+ television 
station, forced off the air by the authorities, remains silent despite 
a ruling on the case by the European Court of Human Rights nearly a 
year ago. While the release of some imprisoned journalists in 
Azerbaijan is a positive development, the authorities have yet to 
repeal criminal defamation provisions. In Georgia, the government 
should take decisive action on promised reforms on media 
liberalization.
  In the Balkans, media outlets are commonly targeted for harassment 
and occasional violence. In Serbia, several journalists were reportedly 
attacked earlier this year by a radical group organizing a 
commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of NATO bombing. Investigative 
media in Kosovo have come under pressure for their attempts to expose 
corruption. Independent media in Montenegro are frequently the target 
of trumped-up defamation and libel charges. In Albania, the magazine 
Tema was reportedly forced to cease operations under government 
pressure, while TV News 24 was apparently assessed a large fine for 
ridiculing another station's promotion of the country's prime minister. 
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the murder of Serbian 
journalist and editor, Slavko Curuvija, who testified before the 
Helsinki Commission shortly before his death, a case which authorities 
have yet to resolve.
  Meanwhile, in Kazakhstan, the opposition weekly Taszharghan has 
reportedly been forced to cease publication following the imposition of 
a $200,000 fine for damaging the honor and dignity of a member of the 
Kazakh parliament. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
at least half a dozen independent outlets and their staffers faced more 
than 60 such defamation lawsuits in 2008 alone, with many involving 
claims by senior government officials.
  Madam Speaker, nearly two decades after the breakup of the U.S.S.R., 
Soviet-era censorship survives in places like Uzbekistan and 
Turkmenistan, which, not coincidentally, ban all political opposition.

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