Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Russian threat to Radio Liberty's Chechen service |
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| Ali |
| 05/17/01 at 09:11:03 |
Russian threat to Radio Liberty's Chechen service Mark Franchetti, Moscow Putin: shutdown threat THE Kremlin has threatened to shut the Moscow office of Radio Liberty, a station funded by America, if it starts broadcasting a Chechen language service. The Russian authorities, which have waged a brutal campaign against separatist guerrillas in Chechnya, are angry at what they see as politically inspired attempts by America to stir up dissent in the republic. The plans for a Chechen service are backed by senior figures in Congress such as Senator Jesse Helms, the powerful Republican chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee. The dispute coincides with growing concern about media freedom in Russia after last month's hostile takeover of NTV, an independent television station critical of President Vladimir Putin, by a consortium linked to the Kremlin. A source close to Radio Liberty said the Kremlin warning was made to senior journalists at the station. "A Russian cabinet minister told me the Kremlin is furious and will take steps against the station," said the source. "It doesn't like much of the station's coverage and this would provide it with the perfect excuse to take action." The initiative appears to come from Mikhail Lesin, the press minister, who has publicly criticised Radio Liberty's plans. The Federal Security Service (FSB), the KGB's successor, is also pushing for action. "If Radio Liberty goes ahead with a Chechen service, we are not going to take it calmly," warned Alexander Zdanovich, an FSB spokesman. "The FSB will fight everything that threatens Russia's interests, including in the world of the media." Radio Liberty irritated the Kremlin during the cold war, broadcasting across the Soviet Union from transmitters on the other side of the iron curtain. The Russians repeatedly tried to jam them. After the Soviet Union's collapse, Boris Yeltsin signed a decree as Russian president allowing the station to open in Moscow. This was regarded at the time as a symbol of post-communist Russia's commitment to freedom of speech. Putin would merely sign a presidential decree to shut the office. He could also cancel an arrangement under which its output is carried by Russian transmitters. This would force Radio Liberty to rely on the more expensive, lower quality short wave broadcasts that sustained it during the cold war. Neither move would prevent the station launching the service, which will almost certainly be broadcast from the Czech Republic or Turkey. Officials at Radio Liberty's Washington headquarters insisted they would not bow to Russian threats. They are already recruiting Chechen speaking staff for the service and expect to launch it in August. "We have been given instructions by Congress to start a Chechen service," said Paul Goble, head of communications. "It's one thing to make threats, another to carry them out. If the Kremlin took steps against the radio, the worsening of American-Russian relations would be serious. The Kremlin must be sensitive about that." Concern about press freedom in Russia intensified last month after the takeover of NTV. Segodnya, an independent daily newspaper, and Itogi, a journal published in conjunction with Newsweek, the American magazine, were both closed. Tom Lantos, a Democrat congressman, tabled a resolution last week demanding Russia's expulsion from the G8 group of leading industrialised nations in protest at the crackdown. Helms's spokesman said the Russians had long been trying to undermine Radio Liberty. "This is part of a larger pattern by which the Russian authorities have tried to divert an independent media," he said. "Their recent harassment of Radio Liberty provides an example of the intensity with which they are determined to do so. We hope they will be stopped." It is not the first time the station has clashed with Russian authorities over its handling of Chechnya. In January last year Andrei Babitsky, its star reporter whose coverage of the conflict had angered the Kremlin, disappeared while working in the region. He was feared dead, but was found to have been arrested and held in one of the infamous detention camps for suspected Chechen terrorists. |
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