Post-Soviet Media Law & Policy Newsletter
Issue 40-41
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law November 15,
1997
KYRGYZSTAN
-
I. Kyrgyzstan to end relays of Russian TV stations.
LATVIA
-
I. Four new members of Radio and TV Council elected.
MOLDOVA
-
I. Television prefers ruling officials rather than opposition,
study says.
II. Association of independent press launched in
Moldova.
III. Audio-visual council thinks over candidates
for teleradio-moldova chief.
IV. Head of state TV-radio company resigns.
V. Media commission wants revision of law on audio-visual.
UKRAINE
KYRGYZSTAN
I. Kyrgyzstan to end relays of Russian TV stations.
From 7th October Kyrgyzstan’s communications department
is to stop the relaying of programmes of Russian Public Television [ORT]
and daily programmes from the Russia TV channel on the republic’s territory,
the ITAR-TASS correspondent learnt today from Bektemir Beyshenaliyev, director
of the republican association for radio relay lines, TV and radio broadcasting
[name and position as received].
[Beyshenaliyev] said that the measures are being taken
since in 1997 Kyrgyz communications workers have not received finance from
ORT and the Russia TV channel to pay for the relaying of their programmes
in Kyrgyzstan.
According to Kyrgyzstan’s communications department, ORT owed the republic
2m Kyrgyz soms (one som is 345 roubles), and the Russia TV channel about
9m soms, for relaying their programmes up to 1st September 1997. If the
financing issue is not resolved by 7th November, then the idle TV and radio
transmitters would be offered for lease, Beyshenaliyev said.
ITAR-TASS news agency (World Service), Moscow, October 1, 1997
LATVIA
I. Four new members of Radio and TV Council elected.
After five rounds of voting, the Saeima [parliament]
elected four members of the National Radio and Television Council [on 25th
September]. The elected are candidates proposed by the three largest factions
of the Saeima, Dace Kezbere, Baldurs Apinis [all phonetic], Mariss Andersons
and Olgerts Dzenitis [phonetic].
The voting lasted several hours because it was conducted
in secret using ballot papers. The cooperation council of the government
factions had beforehand agreed that the free seats on the council would
be taken up by candidates proposed by the three largest Saeima factions.
By law, every two years, four members of the Radio and Television Council
should be replaced. The ones to be replaced are chosen by drawing lots.
Latvian Radio, Riga, September 25, 1997
MOLDOVA
I. Television prefers ruling officials rather
than opposition, study says.
Both the state-run National Television and the private
television station Catalan give too much priority broadcast time to representatives
of the current power rather than opposition exponents, a study says.
The center CIVIS, an institution for sociological, political
and psychological analyses and investigations, shows that every fifth international,
or related to Moldova’s external relations, news story refers to Russia.
The center monitored in June-September 1997 the two
television stations.
“News story about Romania are reduced at least three
times at the National Television and two times at the Catalan station,”
the study reveals.
Its authors have found that the time of Russian-broadcasted
social-politic and economic programs at the National Television is four
times longer that the number of Russian speakers in Moldova.
BASA-Press, October 20, 1997
II. Association of independent press launched
in Moldova.
Moldova’s Association of Independent Press (AIP)
was launched Wednesday in Chisinau.
AIP leader Tudor Iascenco stated during a press conference
that the inauguration of the AIP is a proof of irreversibility of the process
of democratization of Moldovan society.
“The AIP will not compete with the Union of Journalists,
as it aims at finding solutions mostly to the economic problems of the
independent media in Moldova, as well as creating a database,” he said.
The AIP intends to train journalists, to give them juridical,
moral and material support. The organization is open to individuals and
legal entities working for the independent press, said Iascenco.
“We calculated that a 8-page weekly, with a 3,500-issue
circulation plus 300-400 lei from advertisement in every issue, could be
profitable in any settlement of the country,” Iascenco was quoted as saying.
President Lucinschi highly appreciated the foundation
of the AIP. His congratulation message reads: “The erection of the independent
press can be capitalized not through a gift from heavens or presidential
decrees, but through realization that in a market economy survives the
body which finds non-traditional modes of capturing the attention of the
readers.”
The AIP was registered by the Justice Ministry on September
29. Its founders are six periodicals, the news agencies DECA-press and
BASA-press.
Other press organs in Moldova are the Committee for
the Freedom of Press, the Journalism Center, the Union of Journalists.
BASA-Press, October 8, 1997
III. Audio-visual council thinks over candidates
for Teleradio-Moldova chief.
Moldova’s Audio-Visual Council (AVC) examined [on
7th October] the procedure of suggesting candidates for the post of president
of the state company Teleradio-Moldova.
Every claimant has to present his/her own program of
redressing of situation at the state television.
The AVC refused to include Dumitru Turcanu in the list
of the candidates, urging him to comply with the Parliament’s decision
to leave the post together with Adrian Usatii.
The AVC also disapproved the disposition signed by the
ex-president of Teleradio-Moldova, Adrian Usatii, naming Turcanu ad-interim
head of the company on September 26. Then, Usatii said his order is due
to the fact that he was elected leader of a political party.
All the AVC members voted Efim Josanu, chairman of the
National Olympic Committee, head of the company. Nevertheless, said AVC
chairman Alexei Ciubasenco, the list is still open.
At its next sitting, the AVC will consider other candidates,
but the final word belongs to the parliament.
BASA-Press, October 7, 1997
IV. Head of state TV-radio company resigns.
Mr Adrian Usati, director-general of the Teleradio-Moldova
state company, has resigned. He announced that at his farewell meeting
with the company staff [on 29th September].
Usati, as well as his deputy Dumitru Turcanu, director
of the national television, were dismissed from their posts by decision
of parliament taken on 24th July. However, they did not obey to that decision,
and continued to perform their duties. Mr Usati even signed an order on
his self-appointment and on appointment of Dumitru Turcanu to his post,
and, before leaving for a summer vacation, instructed his deputy to perform
the presidential duties.
Simultaneously with that, both of them have appealed
to court protesting against the parliament’s decision. Three court sessions
yielded no result, as they were ignored by parliament representatives who
were supposed to present several relevant documents, including the verbatim
of the memorable parliamentary sitting.
At the latest session, Adrian Usati stated he would
resign himself without waiting for court’s decision that will take a long
time to be adopted, and stated the parliament was responsible for the dragging.
Mr Usati, who openly backed Petru Lucinschi in the last
year’s presidential election campaign, has plunged into active politics
by now. He is already one of the leaders in the Civil Alliance for Reforms
which is negotiating the establishment of a centrist electoral bloc with
several parties of social democratic orientation.
The Teleradio-Moldova issue has been included into the
parliament’s agenda for the coming days. The legislature are supposed to
appoint new company bosses. Observers are not ruling out that some amendments
may be introduced into the law on the electronic media, and the huge state
company may be split into the national radio and the national television.
Thus, no big company director-general will be needed as such.
Infotag new agency, Kishinev, September 30, 1997
V. Media commission wants revision of law on
audio-visual.
The Parliament’s commission for culture, science,
education and media said it will suggest the lawmakers to revise the Law
on Audio-Visual in order to “regulate the procedure of dismissal of Teleradio-Moldova
chiefs.”
Valeriu Senic, chairman of the commission, believes
that the legislature should vote an act of interpretation of the Law on
Audio-Visual on the grounds that the law regulates just the procedure of
nomination and is not precise on the conditions of dismissal.
Speaker Dumitru Motpan stated during a news conference
last week that the Law on Audio-Visual must be revised as the president
and cabinet are represented in the Audio-Visual Council by persons named
by the former president and cabinet.
MP Arhip Cibotaru, one of the authors of this law, told
BASA that the Law on Audio-Visual needs no supplementary interpretation.
The Audio-Visual Council must remain an independent authority, he said.
The current Law on Audio-Visual was drafted in compliance
with European models and excludes monopoly from one of the parts on television
and broadcasting, Cibotaru specified.
The re-call procedure must be similar to that of nomination
of Teleradio-Moldova chiefs, he stated. “In other words, the Audio-Visual
Council is the one to propose leaders of this organization,” he concluded.
PM Valeriu Matei told BASA that the Law on Audio-Visual
needs significant modifications, including some for regulation of the way
of constitution of the Audio-Visual Council.
“It’s not good that the council consists just of representatives
of the Parliament, Cabinet and Presidency,” said Matei, adding that professional
and arts unions—such as the Union of Journalists, Union of Cinematographers,
Union of Composers—to should have their representatives in this body.
BASA-Press, September 29, 1997
UKRAINE
I. Parliament rejects president’s changes to media
laws.
The Ukrainian Supreme Council [parliament] has approved
a new version of the law “On public TV and radio broadcasting,” vetoed
earlier by the president [Leonid Kuchma]. . . . The parliament discussed
the president’s comments and made some editorial changes, without amending
the essence of the document.
In particular, deputies refused to acknowledge public
TV as a state asset, which would consequently grant the cabinet of ministers,
as the only body constitutionally entitled to the management of state assets,
the power to set up a public TV and radio network and adopt its statute
as well as other powers concerning property management.
The president also proposed amending the article regulating
the procedure of setting up public TV. According to Kuchma, the parliament
has no power to set up TV and radio organizations and control their operation.
But deputies voted in favour of the article stating: “Public TV and radio
is set up on the basis of a Supreme Council decision in accordance with
current legislation. . . .
The parliament also overruled the president’s second
veto on the law.” On the state funding of the media and the social protection
of journalists.”
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, October 22, 1997
II. Parliament fails to overturn president’s
veto on media law.
The Ukrainian Supreme Council [parliament] failed
to overturn the president’s veto on three laws that relate to the activities
of the media [on 23rd September]. At the same time the parliament passed
a new version of the above laws and took into account some of the comments
made by the president.
At Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma’s suggestion, the
definition of a concept for opposition media and also an article guaranteeing
their activities have been removed from the law “On state support for the
mass media and social welfare for journalists.” Deputies agreed with the
president that the concept of an opposition and an opposition press still
lacked legislative definition and because of this it would be inexpedient
to include the above provision as part of the law. At the same time, Article
2 of the law has been supplemented by a norm to the effect that “state
support extends to all the media that act in accordance with the constitution,
irrespective of their ideological or political persuasion and type of ownership.”
. . .
The new version of the law “On the procedure for broadcasting
the activities of the bodies of state power and local self-government in
Ukraine by the media” provides for the procedure and type of mandatory
broadcasting of the Supreme Council’s activities by the electronic media
to be defined by a separate parliament resolution adopted at each current
session. Under the changes, mandatory broadcasting should amount to 3 per
cent of airtime. Article 19 of the law also stipulates that 3 per cent
of the annual airtime on the national channel should be allocated to national
radio and television companies for relaying the activities of every branch
of state power and local self-government.
UNIAN new agency, Kiev, September 23, 1997