Journalist leaves Crimean State Radio over alleged censorship

The banner reads: the Ukrainian language is our independence

Anna Petrova, author of the Ukrainian language radio programme “Two Colours” has handed in her resignation after the removal from air of the 13 July programme which  was about a banned protest in defence of the Ukrainian language.

Only a month after conflict over alleged censorship of the Crimean Tatar programme on the State-owned Krym [Crimea] TV Channel, a journalist from the Ukrainian language radio programme “Two Colours” has handed in her resignation after the programme scheduled for 13 July was removed. The author of the programme, Anna Petrova says that it was about a banned protest in defence of the Ukrainian language. She says that she has handed in her resignation in protest over this and other pressure and censorship recently. She has worked for Crimean radio for 20 years and is the author of a number of Ukrainian language programmes on radio and TV, as well as the weekly programme “Two Colours”.

The Acting Director Stepan Hulevaty has said that he plans to look into the situation and has therefore not signed Ms Petrova’s letter of resignation.

On 7 July in Simferopo there was a protest action banned by the court which passed and handed to the Permanent Representative of the President an appeal calling on the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn to not sign the Law on the Principles of State Language Policy and on the President to veto it, as well as submitting it to the National Defence and Security Council as being a threat to national security.

Last month Shevket Ganiev, the Editor and presenter on Crimean Tatar programmes, reported that a repeat of the programme “Khaberler”, news in the Crimean Tatar language, had been removed from air on 7 June because it didn’t give coverage to the President.  He asserted that Humenyuk had said that it was being taken off the air because it didn’t make any mention of President Yanukovych, and that he had earlier threatened to take measures if there wasn’t enough about Yanukovych

From a report at Radio Svoboda

see also:
• Few Crimean parliamentarians likely after October
• Crimean courts find against civic activists
• More peaceful protesters detained, this time in Simferopol
• “Why you shouldn’t vote for Party of the Regions” leaflet riles police
• Cherkasy: Censorship returns
• Freedom of speech issues in the Crimea coming to the fore
• Media Union demands dismissal of TV Crimea Acting Head
• Crimean Tatars demand broadcasting time
• TV Crimea – News removed because of Yanukovych?
• Court again protects Yanukovych from journalists
• “Ukrainska Pravda” suit over President’s Mezhyhirya residence at cassation level
• Appeal Court upholds ban on peaceful Stop Censorship action outside President’s mansion
• Stop Censorship appeals against ban on protest outside President’s Residence
• Only two TV channels showed the journalists at Mezhyhirya
• Yanukovych ignored journalist protest
• Stop Censorship calls on journalists to gather at Mezhyhirya