#6033
[Second Issue of the Day]
#3
strana.ru
January 21, 2002
Putin: Pro-Press Freedom, Didn’t You Know?
Putin scoops “Openness to the Press” prize in Moscow
By Victoria Whall
Vladimir Putin's relations with the press in the past year have been acclaimed by none other than the Moscow Union of Journalists, which awarded the Russian president with a prize for his "Openness to the Press" last Friday. According to "ITAR-TASS", Putin was nominated for his "sincere aspiration to inform each Russian citizen about reforms being carried out within the state."
Meanwhile, beyond Moscow, the Russian president is said to abuse the freedom of the press. In fact, in May of 2001 Putin was counted among the Ten Worst Enemies of the Press by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The New York-based Committee put him on a par with Carlos Castano of Columbia, Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine, and Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran - all of whom have been internationally criticized for their freedom of press abuses (and generally abhorrent democratic violations against their own people).
According to CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper, the enemies shared one goal, "to hold onto political power by controlling information and muffling criticism."
Apparently, Putin stands accused of masterminding the takeover of Russia's only "independent' television channel - NTV - by the country's industrial behemoth Gazprom, legal harassment against private media outlets, violent attacks carried out against journalists across Russia, Kremlin-imposed censorship in Chechnya and much more.
"Putin", Ms. Cooper says "pays lip service to press freedom in Russia, but then maneuvers to centralize control of the media, stifle criticism and destroy the independent press".
Given that U.S. perceptions of Putin and Russia has taken a radical change for the better since the "Ten Worst Enemies of the Press' were named last year, one might assume that CPJ's opinion of Putin is quite different today. That doesn't, however, explain the massive disparity in perceptions.
Accurately gauging Russians' nationwide opinion of Putin regarding his press relations is difficult, and the Moscow Union of Journalists does not necessarily represent social and demographic tendencies in the regions.
However, Russians across the country do have access to newspapers, and they are convinced, even if others aren't, that TV-6 - the latest "independent' Russian television channel in court - is owned by Boris Berezovsky who, as Paul Saunders of The Nixon Center noted recently, supported the Kremlin only until it became clear that the Russian president was not going to play his game.
In his article entitled, "More Carnage in The Washington Post", Mr. Saunders pointed out that these days, Mr. Berezovsky admits quite openly that he is in the media business to engage in political combat with the Putin government, not to ensure that Russian citizens enjoy access to independent and impartial media, or even to make money. As noted in "Nixon Center Blasts Washington Post For Biased Coverage of Russia" published in the Russian Observer on January 18, Paul Saunders offers a criticism of The Washington Post's coverage of Russia, and it seems a good place to start when looking for an explanation for Putin's blackened reputation - the Moscow Union of Journalists not withstanding.
As to whether the Kremlin imposes censorship on coverage of the war in Chechnya, the answer is clearly yes. The question is, to what extent has this censorship differed from the controls put in place in every military conflict. It is, after all, very much the norm for journalists to be restricted in such cases.
Perhaps it is a bit much to expect the world to join the Moscow Union of Journalists in applauding Putin for his "Openness to the Press", but equally insisting that he remain in the rank of the "Ten Worst Enemies of the Press" seems equally extreme.
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