Security guards removed journalists who attended a Cabinet of Ministers meeting and called for an investigation into the May 18 beating of their colleagues during an opposition rally in central Kyiv.
The
government meeting began at 10 a.m. on May 22. When prime minister Mykola Azarov started speaking, several journalists turned their backs to him, displaying a statement taped to their backs that read: “Today the journalists, tomorrow –
your wife, sister, daughter. Act!”
The
journalists planned the act of protest to have the prime minister pressure the Interior Ministry in ensuring a proper investigation of the assault on journalists during political rallies staged on May 18.
“Before
the meeting I was asked by some journalists whether I would like to
participate and put the poster on my back. I agreed, although many
declined because they said their employer would not allow them,” says
Vera Shcherbakova, a journalist at Delo newspaper who participated in the
protest. “Azarov paused when we turned our backs on him and read the
message on our backs. Then he got very angry.”
“What
kind of show is this? Leave the meeting!” Azarov said. “Write down
everyone’s name and deprive them of their accreditation. We respect the
work of journalists but do not turn the government’s meeting into a
circus,” he added.
Shcherbakova
says that after she and her fellow protesters were ousted from the meeting hall, one of the security
guards crossed their names from the accreditation list.
The prime
minister’s spokesman, Vitaly Lukianchenko, said that the department of
information will consider the request of the prime minister and “take
action in accordance with the law”.
Media lawyers say the case does not constitute depriving somebody of accreditation.
“According
to the Law on information, a journalist can be stripped of their accreditation only if they have repeatedly disrupted an official
event like the government gathering or a parliament session or something similar. If the decision is made, a journalist should
be notified about it in writing within 5 days. However, in my opinion
these protesters did not disrupt the event in any way – they just stood there, silently. If they do receive the
decision they should go to court,” says Ludmyla Pankratova, a media
lawyer at the Institute of Regional Press Development, a Kyiv-based media
non-profit.
On May 21 Interior
Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko gave an account to parliament concerning the May 18
clashes in Kyiv and promised the attack on two journalists
and other incidents would be investigated. However, opposition politicians believe the blame will unjustly fall on them. Many journalists also do not believe a proper investigation will be conducted.
A martial artist, Vadim Titushko is suspecting of assaulting two journalists on May 18 during political rallies. He was photographed assaulting the journalists, but in a
leaked video on May 20, Titushko said he did not attack one of the journalists, Olha Snisarchuk of Channel 5, but tried to “shield her from the crowd
so she wouldn’t get kicked.”
Titushko added that he was hired by the opposition as an enforcer at the
rally. His job, he said, was to watch the tail-end of the opposition’s
march from European Square to Sofiyska Square and that he was promised Hr 250 for his services.
Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected]
