Post-Soviet Media Law & Policy Newsletter

ARMENIA

I.  New venture offers subscribers foreign TV channels.

I.  Azeri foreign minister praises Radio Liberty.
II.  Azeri foreign minister critical of RL “bias.”

I.  Belarusian region resumes relays of Russian NTV.
II.  Belarus reportedly presses for unified CIS media.

I.  State TV long-term aim is to be state-funded only.
II.  Ukrainian-produced radio programmes for Estonia.

I.  Press Release from ANESMI.
II.  State TV programme “muzzled.”

I.  Commission head deplores flouting of broadcast law.
II.  Commission revokes TV subtitling law.

I.  No bidder for LNK TV remaining shares.

I.  Audio-visual council requests private TV-telecom to give up making hidden electoral publicity.

I.  Ukrainian media, Deutsche Welle to cooperate.
II.  Regional paper in Ukraine begins issuing page in Romanian.
III.  Deputy PM defends liberalization of TV.

        Residents of Yerevan will soon have the opportunity to watch a wide choice of the best Armenian, US, European and Russian television programmes, the director of the AATV communications joint venture (Armenian-American satellite broadcasting and cable television) Robert Zakoyan told a briefing on 9th January in the HY Business Centre.
        He announced that the new enterprise, which is financed by the US television investment organization FSU and the Armenian cable television centre, will in two weeks’ time be able to relay programmes of the NTV, NTV Plus, Discovery, CNN and BBC channels.  It is also planned to carry Armenian national television free of charge for a six-month period and to show programmes of the A1 Plus TV company.  The organization envisages offering separate Internet-related services.
        Zakoyan said the relays would be via a 16-channel MMDS [Multipoint Microwave Distribution System] analogue system, on 2.5-2.7 MHz.  A trial showing of some programmes demonstrated that this ensures international-standard quality.  In the future, if the relevant frequencies are made available, relays on 24 channels are planned throughout the republic, and the programmes shown on one of the channels will have a simultaneous translation into Armenian.
        All citizens who have a television set—according to preliminary statistics, about 60 per cent of the population—may subscribe to the new television service.  A sum equivalent to 200 dollars has to be paid to install special decoders and antennas on television sets, and the monthly fee is 30 dollars.
        The president of AATV, Shane Sorg [as received], said that so far about 200 applications to subscribe had been received, mainly from staff of embassies accredited in Armenia.  He said that in future, as the subscription network expands, the choice of programmes will be made according to the clients’ wishes and a feedback system will be created for this purpose.  It is also planned to take orders from subscribers, and a system of privileges will operate if clients sign up for six- and 12-month periods.
     The director of the enterprise thinks it will be profitable even if only about 10 per cent of television viewers subscribe over 10 years.

Noyan Tapan news agency, Yerevan, January 10, 1998

        The journalists of the famous Radio Liberty radio station played no small role in the destruction of the Soviet empire, bringing the truth to all corners of the world on what was happening in the USSR, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Hasan Hasanov told the head of Radio Liberty radio station, Tom Dine and the head of the radio’s Azerbaijani service, Mirza Khazar.
        Hasanov pointed out that all conditions had been created in Azerbaijan for the work of the radio station’s nine correspondents.  A large number of newspapers, radio stations and television channels are operating in the republic, reflecting various viewpoints on the processes taking place in the republic, he added.  Tom Dine said that the Radio Liberty journalists accredited in the republic were trying to tell more about the democratic transformations currently taking place in Azerbaijan.  And if people in the world now know more about Azerbaijan, Tom Dine and Mirza Khazar said, then in their view this is due to Radio Liberty journalists.  Hasanov and his guests also considered a large number of other issues connected with improving the work of the famous radio station in the republic.

ANS news agency, Baku, January 31, 1998

II.  Azeri foreign minister critical of RL “bias.”

        “Some broadcasts by Radio Free Europe [presumably Radio Liberty, as Radio Free Europe broadcasts to eastern Europe and the Baltic states only, not to countries of the former Soviet Union] do worry the Azerbaijani leadership,” Foreign Minister Hasan Hasanov said at a meeting today with the head of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, Tom Dine and the head of the radio’s Azerbaijani service, Mirza Khazar.
        The Azerbaijani foreign minister is of the view that some programmes create an impression of bias, of lack of objectivity in the stances taken.  Hasanov stressed that these programmes could affect stability in the republic, which is particularly dangerous given the repeated attempts to destabilize the situation in Azerbaijan.
        The minister thinks that it would be incorrect in the present conditions to think that the statements and position of the country’s leadership are necessarily unobjective whilst those of the opposition are objective.  “Under the totalitarian regime such an approach may have been justified, but now many international organizations and heads of various states recognize Azerbaijan to be a democratic state,” the minister said.  In response to this statement, Dine commented that Radio Free Europe did not strive to cover only the opinions of the opposition, nor exclusively the opinion of the leadership.  He said that whereas previously the radio’s main task had been “to see the end of communism,” now the main task was to confirm the principles of democracy.

Sharg news agency, Baku, January 31, 1998

        The public committee, People of Vitebsk for NTV, has achieved its goal.  Insistent demands to resume relays of NTV programme, suspended about a year ago, were finally yielded to by the Regional Executive Committee, the regional TV and radio association and the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of Belarus.  The authorities based their decision on the human right to enjoy unfettered information, regardless of state borders. Relays of NTV will resume in Vitebsk in February.

Belapan news agency, Minsk, January 26, 1998

II.  Belarus reportedly presses for unified CIS media.

        Members of the Council of CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] State News Agencies intend to draw up a convention on the status of correspondents representing CIS states’ mass media in other CIS states.  The Council’s latest session took place on [9th January] in Minsk under the chairmanship of ITAR-TASS General Director Vitaliy Ignatenko.
        The Council of State News Agencies was formed on 3rd November 1995. Representatives of all the Commonwealth states with the exception of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine signed the relevant agreement.  Among other things, the draft convention envisages preferential conditions for the accreditation of a CIS country’s journalists in other Commonwealth states.
        Valeryy Talkachow, head of the Belarusian president’s press service, expressed the belief that it has now become necessary to create a single newspaper for the CIS member countries as well as a single radio and television channel.  The significance of the mass media is so great today that, if no realistic decision is adopted in this matter at the forthcoming session of CIS heads of state, we can definitely say that there will be no reform of the CIS, V. Talkachow considers.

“Will there be a single newspaper in the CIS?”, ‘Rossiyskiye Vesti,’ Moscow, January 13, 1998

        Estonian Television [ETV] would like to give up advertising and funding from sponsors gradually.  In future, the only source for ETV’s funding must come from the Estonian state’s coffers, Paul-Eerik Rummo, the chairman of the Broadcasting Council said.
        ETV would like to increase its programming to a round-the-clock schedule, Rummo said when commenting on ETV’s development plan drawn up until the year 2001 and endorsed by the Broadcasting Council.  Also, ETV would like to be funded solely from the state’s budget in future.

TV3, Tallinn, February 9, 1998

II.  Ukrainian-produced radio programmes for Estonia.

        Estonian Radio and the Ukrainian National Radio Company have signed an agreement to exchange radio broadcasts.  Here is Uku Toom with details.
[Toom]  Volodymyr Reznykov, the president of the Ukrainian National Radio Company, said that initiative for this agreement had come from the Estonian side and that he is grateful to Estonian Radio for this. . . .  What does the agreement with Estonian Radio establish?
[Reznykov] On the one hand, the Ukrainian radio takes upon itself the obligation to make Ukrainian-language broadcasts for Estonian Radio, on the other hand they are interested in obtaining direct information about the current socio-political, economic and cultural life in Estonia.
[Toom]  What does the Estonian side—that is Ain Saarna, Estonian Radio’s director-general—think of the agreement?
[Saarna] I can see that this agreement is useful for us in every way.  It is a basic agreement and does not cover any details, but in short, approximately 4,000 persons of Ukrainian origin living in Estonia will be able to hear genuine, authentic and more cultural Ukrainian spoken on Estonian Radio, on Radio 4 [Russian-language programme].
Estonian Radio, Tallinn, January 22, 1998

        The Association of Independent Electronic Mass Media (ANESMI) in the Kyrghyz Republic [a nongovernmental organization, which defends the rights of television and radio stations here in the Kyrghyz Republic] would like to draw your attention to the following concerning information:
1.     In May, 1997, Mezon TV, located in the city of Osh, received permission from the Government Committee on Radio Frequencies (GCRF) to broadcast on channel 3 (VHF) and channel 32(UHF).  The document was signed by V.T. Galichenko.  Two transmitters were purchased and a license fee of 211,000 soms was paid, but the license was never given out. In October, 1997, the national agency on communications was created, which assumed the responsibility for issuing licenses from the GCRF.  NAS immediately revoked Mezon TV's permission to broadcast on these channels.  The head of NAS (Orozbek Kaikov) wrote that NAS was not responsible for the decisions of the GCRF, and thus Mezon TV was not authorized to request financial compensation.
2.     In February, 1998, NAS closed down the radio station "Almaz," which broadcast in Bishkek and Osh.  NAS stated that there were errors in Almaz's registration documents.  According to Article 8 of the Law on Mass Media, passed on 2 July 1992, temporarily stopping or closing down the activities of a station can only be done in two ways--decision of the founders or by decision of the court.
3.     On 16 February 1998, NAS shut down the teleradio company VOSST for 36 hour.  This is again a serious violation of Article 8 of the Law on Mass Media.  As a result of the above facts, we feel that it is necessary to appeal to the President of the Kyrghyz Republic, the Prime Minister, and also the Parliament to stop this gross violation of the Constitutional right of "each to freely and without impediment, search for, receive, examine, produce, publish, and distribute information."
        Article four of the constitution of the Kyrghyz Republic guarantees the defense of personal property of organizations.  This right was reaffirmed in article 289 of the civil code of the Kyrghyz Republic.  The collective of Mezon TV has the right to recompensation for the expenditures and to appeal for clarification of the reasons for the revocation of its license for channels 3 and 32.
        The events with radio Almaz, and teleradio company "VOSST" violate article four of the Constitution of the Kyrghyz Republic about the equal defense of various forms of ownership, of the Law on Mass Media and the law on the defense of the professional activities of journalists.
        These discriminatory actions of the government structures against nongovernmental mass media impel us to draw attention to this situation concerning electronic mass media.  We ask you to make every effort to bring attention and a resolution to this problem.

Press Release from ANESMI, Kyrghyz, March 1, 1998

II.  State TV programme “muzzled.”

        The management of the Kyrgyz state television and radio company has decided to impose censorship on the “Monitoring” programme, ‘Vecherniy Bishkek’ reported on 27th January.  Texts of broadcasts to be put on the air must be shown to the management and there must be no divergence from the original text, the paper said.  This decision is the result of “Monitoring’s” very critical broadcasts.  But the management says that its only concern is to see programme material in advance to ensure that all the participants are mentioned in the programme credits.  Following is the text of the report headlined “A TV scandal: Airwaves muzzled”:
        A planned broadcast of “Monitoring” will not be shown on Kyrgyz TV tonight.  As producer and regular presenter of “Monitoring” Narkas Mulladzhanov told a ‘Vecherniy Bishkek’ correspondent, his programme was discarded at the last moment, just before it was due to be broadcast.
        In Narkas Samatovich [Mulladzhanov’s] opinion, the recent critical broadcasts of “Monitoring” with the participation of deputy president of the National Academy T. Koychuyev, Deputy Prime Minister Mira Dzhangaracheva and especially a broadcast on 20th January with the participation of the Communist leader K.  Adzhybekova provoked the dissatisfaction of the management of the Kyrgyz State National Television and Radio Broadcasting Company [SNTRBC].
        Mulladzhanov said that first deputy president of the SNTRBC M.  Mambetakunov demanded that he give texts of planned broadcasts to the management of the TV in advance.  And it stipulated that there should be no divergence from an approved text of a broadcast.
        Mulladzhanov refused flatly and he was shown at once who owns Kyrgyz television.  The conversation was held without witnesses, but Mulladzhanov considers it a “matter of conscience” for Mambetakunov to acknowledge that the conversation took place.
        One can and most likely must deal with Mulladzhanov’s scandalously popular “Monitoring” in a different way.  But is this not an attempt to limit broadcasts within the framework of departmental censorship?
        Mambetakunov explained the situation somewhat differently in a telephone interview with a ‘Vecherniy Bishkek’ correspondent.  He said the management of the SNTRBC demands only one thing from Mulladzhanov: that the ‘circle of heroes’ of “Monitoring” can be determined beforehand, in order to give their full names in the programme credits.  Well, in general, it would be good to show programme plans to the management.
        The scandal continues.

‘Vecherniy Bishkek,’ Bishkek, January 27, 1998

        If the National Radio and Television Council does not see that the provisions of the radio and television law are observed on private television stations, the head of the Saeima [parliament] commission on education [education, culture and science], Dzintars Abikis, will propose dissolving the council.  The law stipulates that 70 per cent of programmes on TV must be in the state language, and that films must be either dubbed into the state language or in the original language with Latvian subtitles.  Actually, however, a large proportion of films are dubbed into Russian with Latvian subtitles.  Moreover, private television is not observing the limits set down as to how many programmes shown may be in foreign languages, says Abikis:
[Abikis]  I was interested last Sunday in following the broadcasts from the private television studios, and I found out that, for example, on TV Riga, out of 24 programmes in the course of a whole day, only three were in Latvian. Therefore the 30 per cent [as heard] is not being observed, and nor is that provision in the law relating to the showing of films.
[Presenter] The head of the Saeima commission is calling for the dissolution of the council if the observance of the law by the television stations is not ensured during February.  Abikis emphasized that the Radio and Television Council has the opportunity to do that; moreover, there has been quite enough time now to implement the provisions in the law. . . .
 In its statement in response to the repeated statements by the chairman of the commission on education, culture and science, Dzintars Abikis, the National Radio and Television Council expresses the view that the more interested and responsible institutions are involved in the processes directed at further improvement in the implementation of the provisions of the state language law, the better the process will be.  The council acknowledges that broadcasting organizations are still permitting violations of several articles in the language law, but notes that the task of the council in solving these issues has not lost its relevance.

Latvian Radio, Riga, January 21, 1998

II.  Commission revokes TV subtitling law.

        The Saeima [Parliament] commission on education, science and culture has changed its views about the compulsory subtitling of films to be shown on television, its chairman, Dzintars Abikis, announced today [20th January].  The commission has revoked the law on supporting the stipulations in the language law which say that a film must be shown in its original language with subtitles in Latvian, thus excluding the dubbing of films.  The commission has decided not to be so categorical, as it must take account of the interests of the whole of society.

Latvian Radio, Riga, January 20, 1998

        A tender for a 44-per cent stake in the private Lithuanian television company LNK failed to take place [on 20th January] after the seller, the Lithuanian bank for agriculture, did not receive a single bid.
        The commission that organized the tender announced the result on [20th January]. It said it would inform the board of Agriculture Bank that no bids had been received and that the tender had failed.  The bank did not say what action it would take now.
        According to press reports, one application for participation in the tender had come from the Swedish mass media enterprise Marieberg International.  Other contenders for the 44-per cent stake in LNK were Hubertas Grusnys, director-general of radio stations M-1 and M-1 Plius, and his partner Richardas D.  Novikas, president of the United States radio and television company Clear Channel Communication International.  But Grusnys did not submit an application to participate in the competition as he was dissatisfied with its conditions. The owner of two radio stations tried to reach agreement with the leaders of the Agriculture Bank directly.  Grusnys already owns 56 per cent of LNK and offered no more than 6.4m litas for the rest of the stock, but the bank would not go for less than 9.6m litas.  Grusnys told BNS that he would probably continue talks with the bank this week.

BNS news agency, Tallinn, January 21, 1998

        The Audio-Visual Council (AVC) has requested the television station TV-Telecom to give up showing an ant in its advertisement spots inserted in the Russian ORT channel.
        The ant is the mascot of an electoral bidder, said the AVC.
        On [20th January] TV-Telecom representatives rejected the council’s accusations of making secretly political publicity, saying that the ant was used as a social symbol in commercials.
        The firm, however, will have to comply with the request as soon as the Central Election Commission (CEC) registers the Civic Alliance of Moldova, whose mascot is an ant.
        CEC chairman Dumitru Nedelcu urged Tuesday the AVC to order TV-Telecom to stop showing the ant in its commercials by March 22 or to pay taxes for the usage of this picture in compliance with CEC regulations.
        The Audiovisual Law allows the council to order private television and radio stations to limit antenna time offered to electoral bidders against pay.

BASA-Press, Chisinau, January 21, 1998

        The first visit to independent Ukraine by unified Germany’s president will be made “as Ukraine’s friend, will stress the importance of Ukraine in Germany’s international relations,” said German Ambassador to Ukraine Eberhard Heyken at a press conference [on 26th January] dedicated to German Federal President Roman Herzog’s scheduled 3rd-6th February visit to Kiev and Kharkov. . . .
        Also discussed at the press conference was cooperation among German and Ukrainian mass media, and German broadcasting company Deutsche Welle (German wave) presented a film on contemporary Germany under the present federal president, “Germany today is partner to the world.”  Ralf Siepman, director of the Kiev office of Deutsche Welle, said political programmes are only part of the company’s work, and that it is independent.  Siepman denied rumours that Deutsche Welle is under the pressure from the government and political parties.
        Siepman also said the company’s strategy is close cooperation with other TV and radio companies, in particular Ukrainian mass media.  Miodrag Soric, chief of the company’s eastern European office, said Deutsche Welle does not broadcast in Ukrainian because of lack of funds and because “everybody in Ukraine understands Russian.”  “It was difficult for me to convince our directors to broadcast in Ukrainian,” said Soric.  He added that according to a recent poll conducted by BBC, which broadcasts both in Ukrainian and Russian, Russian programmes are more popular.

Intelnews news agency, Kiev, January 27, 1998

II.  Regional paper in Ukraine begins issuing page in Romanian.

        The Russian-language newspaper Pridunaiskye Vesti (Danubian news), issued by the Ismail city council in the Ukrainian region of Odessa, has published with its first page in Romanian.
        Titled “Luceafarul,” the page was fully dedicated to Mihai Eminescu, the most beloved poet in Romania and Moldova.  The “paper within the paper,” meant for Romanian ethnics residing in southern Ukraine, was authored by film director Nicolae Ghibu, poet Vadim Bacinschi and teachers of Ismail.

BASA-Press, Chisinau, January 19, 1998

III.  Deputy PM defends liberalization of TV.

        The rise of privately funded TV programming was the focus of a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Valeriy Smoliy on [13th January]. The state-owned television network is being destroyed consciously and deliberately, said top Ukrainian sports commentator Valentyn Scherbachov.  “It is unbelievable that the state television is hosting two private television companies—Alternative and Gravis,” he said.
        Director of the TV/radio broadcasting company TV-Tabachuk Vadym Tabachuk said the Inter television channel is “a system of global contraband, because the channel displays high-quality Russian television programmes without paying any fees or taxes.”
        Complete denationalization of Ukrainian television is being caused by intervention of foreign capital, offered the head of the Ukrainian television union Viktor Tsendrovsky.  The meeting was also attended by representatives from the National Council on TV/radio broadcasting and Information Minister Zynoviy Kulyk, who previously headed the former organization.
        Smoliy said the state has lost its monopoly in the television broadcasting area with the appearance of alternative private broadcasting companies.  This testifies to a positive change and “gives us the opportunity to get acquainted with various standpoints and opinions related to the same problem,” said the deputy PM.

Intelnews news agency, Kiev, January 14, 1998