Radio Liberty might be shut down in Russia

The broadcasting license may be revoked from Radio Liberty, aide to the RF president Sergey Yastrzhembsky said today.

Starting January 28, the radio station will broadcast in the Northern Caucasus in several native languages, Chechen including. Mr.Yastrzhembsky fears that the station’s coverage of the events in Chechnya and the Northern Caucasus will be biased.

In his interview with Yezhednevnaya gazeta (Daily newspaper) he said that reports by journalists of Radio Liberty came in handy for Chechen militants during 1999-2000. The aide says: “The position of Radio Liberty journalists was, as we think, inadequate in coverage of the events in Chechnya, as it was biased and not neutral: the radio station acquitted the separatists of their actions.”

Currently, the radio station holds a license from t Russia’s Ministry for Press for broadcasting in Russia. If the Russian legislation is infringed upon, “the measures provided by the legislation," up to theclosure of the representative office, will be applied to the staff.

There is no doubt that the radio station will keep on following the same line of supporting the Chechen guerrillas. As before, the money appropriated by the USA is to do its work.

In this case, let us hope that the words of Yastrzhembsky will finally become reality, and effective measures will be applied to the mouthpiece of the pro-American “fifth column” in Russia. However, a new wave of protests of the champions of "freedom of speech" and glasnost may then arise in Russia (and outside Russia).

Sergey Yugov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/01/28/36200.html