Protesters arrested outside Russian embassy in Kyiv

Here is what one would call freedom of speach and expression, isn't it a sad case? Yanuk and his cronies are trying to copy their BIG BROTHER PUTIN in freedom loving traditions just like it is in RUSSIA!!! RG

Police in Kyiv on Aug. 31 arrested several demonstrators protesting freedom of assembly restrictions outside the Russian embassy.

The demostrators, organized by Coalition of Participants of the Orange Revolution (COPOR), a non-governmental organization, surrounded the Russian embasy to show support for Russian civil activists, who traditionally gather on Victory Square in Moscow on the 31st day of every month to defend their right to freedom of assembly.


Source: Kyiv Post

Germany's Merkel voices concerns over media freedom in Ukraine at president Yanukovych's visit

Germany's chancellor urged Ukraine's president Monday to strengthen media freedoms in his country, while stressing the potential for further co-operation between the two nations on energy issues.

Germany sees unanswered questions regarding some democratic processes in Ukraine, "in particular in the area of press freedom and the freedom of expression," Chancellor Angela Merkel told visiting President Viktor Yanukovych.

Merkel said both sides agreed to openly and frankly discuss those issues in the future, if critical questions arise.

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Source: CP

Ukrainian Journalists, Artists In Censorship Protest

More than 100 Ukrainian journalists and artists have taken to the streets of Kyiv in a protest over perceived censorship on the country's television networks.

Protesters rallied outside a courthouse as judges discussed the attribution of frequencies to two Ukrainian television channels, TVi and Channel 5, which are seen as independent of state control.

"Freedom of speech and justice should exist everywhere on Earth, without exception, and if every person starts with freedom of speech on a personal level with himself and those around him, then everything else will be fine," writer Dmitry Kapranovy said at the rally.

Private channels TVi and Channel 5 are at loggerheads with one of the main national networks, Inter TV Channel, whose owner, Valery Khoroshkovsky, is one of the country's richest businessmen and also head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).

The court today delayed its decision on the case.

Source: RFE/RL

Going Down

Yanukovych’s popularity suffered a double-digit plunge, according to an August opinion poll, as voters balked at tough austerity measures adopted by his ruling coalition in return for badly needed loans from the International Monetary Fund.

The nationwide poll, conducted by the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center Aug. 10-14, found that 22.5 percent of Ukrainians completely supported Yanukovych in August, down from 39.7 percent in May and 40.9 percent in April. According to the poll, 38.7 percent of those surveyed support some of his actions, while 33.3 percent don’t support him.

Regarding the upcoming elections, the president can be expected to use so-called administrative resources to help candidates whom he supports while hampering his opponents' chances, Fesenko said. Similar tactics were initially used by Russia’s Vladimir Putin in his building a managed democracy, Fesenko recalled.

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Source: Kyiv Post

Independence Day of Ukraine

Traditionally on August 24, the Independence Day of Ukraine started a day earlier three years ago. A new holiday, Day of National Flag, was introduced by a presidential decree in 2006.

After facing two World Wars and several political upheavals, Ukraine achieved independence from the Soviet Unions on August 24, 1991. The constitution was adopted nearly five years later.

Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia. It is bordered on the west by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary; on the southwest by Romania and Moldova; on the south by the Black Sea and Sea of Azov; on the east and northeast by Russia; and on the north by Belarus. The capital and largest city of Ukraine is Kyiv.
Picture courtesy Kiyv Post. You can view other pictures by clicking here.

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Source: Manila Bulletin

Ukrainian police search for missing newspaper editor

Ukrainian police are searching for a missing editor whose newspaper was known for its criticism of law enforcement agencies, Interior Minister Anatoly Mogylyov was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Ukrainian media freedom groups have complained about growing censorship and attacks, including physical ones, on the media, since President Viktor Yanukovich replaced liberal pro-Western politician Viktor Yushchenko in February.


Vasyl Klymentyev, the editor-in-chief of the "Noviy Stil" newspaper, which focuses on corruption issues in the eastern Kharkiv region, went missing on Aug. 11 after leaving home with an unidentified man, according to police reports.

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Source Montreal Gazette

Disappearance Raises Fresh Questions About Media Climate In Ukraine

Vasyl Klymentyev was last seen last week, when he met a colleague to discuss an article he was writing about a local prosecutor and a tax official.

The editor of "Novyy Styl," a weekly newspaper in the eastern city of Kharkiv, Klymentyev is a well-known critic of the authorities. Police say they suspect he may have been killed.

Klymentyev's deputy, Petro Matviyenko, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that he and Klymentyev had met on August 11 to discuss photographs they'd taken of mansions belonging to regional tax chief Stanislav Denisyuk and other officials.

The authorities say Klymentyev was last seen later that day getting into a BMW with an unknown man. A manhunt is under way and officials are investigating on charges of "possible premeditated murder."

Klymentyev's case is raising new questions about the state of press freedom in Ukraine after pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych came to power earlier this year in an election that repudiated the Orange Revolution and its pro-Western leaders.

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Source: RFE/RL

Ukraine journalists threaten strike over press freedom

Ukraine journalists warned Sunday of strike action over work conditions, complaining of a deterioration in press freedom in the past six months under President Viktor Yanukovych. Click here to read the story here.

SOurce: China Post

Ukrainian Nationalist Groups Protest Russian Patriarch's Visit

Nationalist groups gathered near the "Ukrainian House" in Kyiv to protest Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill's visit to Ukraine, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.

The some 80 protesters gathered representing the nationalist Svoboda (Liberty) party, the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists, Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian National Self Defense, and the Ukrainian People's Party.

They staged a performance called "Glamorous Tour of a Moscow KGB Agent" that was officially banned by the Kyiv authorities on July 26.

The protesters also displayed Ukrainian flags, their party banners, and placards saying "Reverend Kirill muddies the waters for the Ukrainian nation" and "No to the Moscow priest-colonizer!"

About 30 policemen watched the protest but did not intervene. No violence was reported.

Other protests during Kirill's eight-day trip had been disrupted or otherwise disallowed.

Kirill, who started his visit to Ukraine on July 20, attended a religious service on Kyiv's Volodymyr Hill on July 27 to celebrate the day of Russia's conversion to Christianity.

Source RFE/RL