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Appeal of the Poltava oblast journalists — participants of the round table «Ethical realism as a principle of conscientious work of democratic press»

15.12.2003   
The journalist demand from new General Prosecutor of Ukraine Gennadiy Vasylyev to resume the investigation of the criminal case on the murder of G. Gongadze, to find the murderers and organizers and to pass them to court for the severe punishment.

To President of Ukraine L. Kuchma
To Head of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine V. Litvin
To Prime-Minister of Ukraine V. Yanukovich

To mass media

We are deeply indignant at the declarations of new General Prosecutor of Ukraine Gennadiy Vasylyev stated at his first press conference. In fact, these declarations abrogated the results of the18-month investigation conducted by his predecessor S. Piskun and hampered the search of the organizers and executors of the murder of our colleague journalist G. Gongadze.

We regard the statement of General Prosecutor G. Vasylyev as an attempt to «bury» forever the case on G. Gongadze’s murder.

We consider that as another demonstration of cynicism of our executive power and the endeavor to intimidate the representatives of mass media, who conscientiously fulfill their professional duties: the state does not protect them from the most terrible form of the political censorship — physical extermination, but also connives at the impunity of the murderers and organizers of the murders. This is confirmed by more than 30 unclosed murders of journalists during recent years.

We are expressing our resolute protest against the parliamentary fraction of the Communist party of Ukraine, owing to which G. Vasylyev was elected to the post of the head of the supreme Ukrainian agency that should supervise the law observance, in spite of numerous publications of the facts that dispelled all illusions about his business and personal traits, as well as about the political tasks he was fulfilling.

We demand from the General Prosecutor G. Vasylyev to resume the investigation of the criminal case on the murder of G. Gongadze, to find the murderers and organizers and to pass them to court for the severe punishment. We demand to complete, in the shortest possible time, the investigation of numerous criminal cases concerning the perished Ukrainian journalists, since we are sure that it was their work that caused their untimely death.

L. Kucherenko, I. Cherchaty, O. Gavrilchenko, V.Ksionz,
Z. Kovalenko, S.Vovkodav, G. Antipovich, E.Muller,
I. Finenko, I. Burdym, O. Gurin, M. Sikalo, O.Klochko, V. Mara
and others (all in all, 34 persons)
19 December 2003

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