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END NOTE: UKRAINIAN TELEVISION DISPUTE CASTS GLARE ON BROADER PROBLEM xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

MINSK, KYIV TRADE ACERBIC REMARKS OVER JAILED UKRAINIANS. Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ruslan Yesin said on 2 May that Belarus harbors no "special attitude" toward Ukraine, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported. Yesin was referring to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk's statement the previous day that Belarusian authorities have refused to release five Ukrainians arrested during a demonstration in Minsk on 26 April because of their "special attitude" toward Ukraine (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 May 2005). "The Republic of Belarus has always rejected the language of pressure, including media pressure," Yesin said. "We hope the Ukrainian side will not copy pseudo-democratic methods and forms of building interstate relations imposed by certain countries and international organizations." Ukrainian commentators suggested that Minsk granted early release to 14 Russians detained during the same demonstration while leaving the five Ukrainians in jail because of its prejudice against Kyiv, which backed a recent UN resolution condemning Belarus' human rights record (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 April 2005). Meanwhile, a Minsk court that was reportedly scheduled to review the Ukrainians' jail sentences on 2 May postponed its hearing to 3 May. JM

...AND 'MEDIA REVOLUTION' IN UKRAINE. Reporters Without Borders said in a press release on 3 May that the 2004 presidential election campaign in Ukraine was marred by numerous attacks on media freedom. In total, 20 journalists were arrested, 32 physically attacked, and five threatened, and 30 media outlets censured by the authorities. Simultaneously, the media watchdog said the presidential campaign gave rise to an "unprecedented rebellion against censorship." "The Orange Revolution of presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was accompanied by a media revolution that may or may not be sustained," Reporters Without Borders noted. JM

PUNDITS SEE UPS, DOWNS IN UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT'S FIRST 100 DAYS. According to a number of political and economic experts, the first 100 days of Viktor Yushchenko's presidency of Ukraine marked on 3 May have brought him not only success on the international stage and high popularity at home but also serious problems. "Yushchenko managed to keep society's morale and hope for a better life high," AFP quoted Ukrainian political analyst Andriy Yermolayev as saying on 2 May. But Yermolayev added that while a new budget adopted in March boosted incomes by 25 percent in the first three months of 2005, it also led to 4.4 percent inflation in the same period. At the same time, economic growth slowed to 5.4 percent between January and March, compared to 10.8 percent for the same period in 2004. Yushchenko's economic adviser, Boris Nemtsov of Russia, believes the Ukrainian government's intent to re-evaluate dozens of privatizations has "scared away" potential investors. According to Yuliya Tyshchenko from the Ukrainian Independent Center of Political Studies quoted by RIA Novosti on 2 May, Yushchenko has made a number of controversial regional appointments that are seen primarily as rewards to supporters of his election bid and who are not necessarily those whom local elites and the general public would really want to have as their leaders. Tyshchenko opined that Yushchenko's first 100 days have not brought any major changes to Ukraine. JM

UKRAINIAN TELEVISION DISPUTE CASTS GLARE ON BROADER PROBLEM

The Ukrainian Supreme Economic Court on 28 April rejected a complaint by the Prosecutor-General's Office against an earlier decision of the Kyiv Appellate Economic Court to approve the expansion of the broadcasting license of the NTN television channel to a nationwide network. Vitaliy Shevchenko, head of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting (NRPTR), an eight-member constitutional body empowered to issue broadcasting licenses in Ukraine, said the same day that the broadcast council will appeal against the Supreme Economic Court decision.

The legal clash between the authorities and NTN over its license expansion has struck a raw nerve in the media sector in Ukraine, where many broadcasters are widely regarded to have obtained licenses under dubious circumstances. Since NTN is partly owned by Donetsk-based oligarch Eduard Prutnyk, who was once an adviser to then-Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the case also has political undertones.

"The NTN channel considers that the actions of the Prosecutor-General's Office [against NTN] show signs of the witch hunt in the Ukrainian media sector," NTN said in a statement in early April. NTN journalist Volodymyr Kartashkov openly accused President Viktor Yushchenko's administration -- which came to power following the country's recent Orange Revolution -- of resorting to "politically motivated retribution" against his political opponents. NTN journalists organized a series of pickets in front of the presidential administration and the Prosecutor-General's Office in Kyiv in April to protest what they perceived as an official intention to close down their channel.

A closer look at the controversy over the NTN license suggests that NTN's allegations of "politically motivated retribution" by the authorities are difficult to substantiate. On the other hand, the authorities' actions with respect to the channel also appear to be motivated by more than simply an intention to restore justice and lawfulness in the media sector.

NTN began its broadcasting on 1 November 2004 under a license issued in April of the same year. In early 2004, NTN -- then known under the name Telestudio Information Service and authorized to broadcast only in Kyiv and Simferopol -- applied to the broadcast council for an expanded license under the new name to beam its programs over 24 frequencies throughout Ukraine.

Under Ukraine's law on broadcasting, new frequencies are allotted to broadcasters by the council under a bidding procedure. NTN, which was eager to begin broadcasting before the 2004 presidential election (presumably to support Yanukovych's presidential bid), did not wait until the broadcast council had launched such a tender but turned to courts to get its license expanded. The Kyiv Economic Court and subsequently the Kyiv Appellate Economic Court ordered the broadcast council to amend NTN's license to allow for its expansion. The broadcast watchdog refused to do so, but NTN began nevertheless to broadcast on the basis of the court rulings. In the meantime, it turned out that the courts had ruled that NTN be allowed to broadcast over 75 frequencies in a number of Ukrainian cities.

The broadcast council, whose composition was recently changed to include four Yushchenko nominees (the other four are appointed by the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian legislature), believes that it is the sole authority for allotting new frequencies and that NTN's license expansion was not an amendment of the old license but rather a totally new license. Therefore, the broadcast council argues, NTN must undergo a standard bidding procedure if it wants to broadcast legally on a nationwide scale.

However, the problem is that NTN is not the only broadcaster in Ukraine whose license has effectively been issued by court. Such broadcasters include the TET and KRT television channels as well as, according to the "Zerkalo nedeli" weekly, the pro-Yushchenko Channel 5, which was generally credited for its substantial contribution to the victory of the opposition-fueled Orange Revolution.

If that is the case, some say, then why has the Prosecutor-General's Office singled out NTN in its attempt to restore justice in the media sector and failed to take into account other broadcasters with similarly questionable licenses? Because, NTN answers, the current authorities want a redistribution of broadcasting frequencies to award broadcasters who are sympathetic to the current government.

Whatever the outcome of the current dispute between NTN on one side, and the Prosecutor-General's Office and the broadcast council on the other, one thing is of great importance for the Yushchenko government's image, both at home and abroad: Yushchenko, who claimed to be on the media's side in the battle for freedom during the Orange Revolution, must avoid even the impression that such freedom does not extend to media outlets run by his opponents now that he is in power.

So there are two credible paths to a resolution of the licensing issue. As some Ukrainian observers have suggested, if certain broadcasting licenses are to be questioned, the authorities must apply similar criteria to all potential transgressors and avoid focusing only on those that are uncomfortable to the government. Or, as others have proposed, the revamped broadcast council should simply forget what happened with broadcasting licenses in the past and launch a completely new chapter in their allocation.

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

RFE/RL Belarus and Ukraine Report
Vol. 7, No. 17, 3 May 2005

A Survey of Developments in Belarus and Ukraine by the Regional Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team

UKRAINE

TELEVISION CHANNEL DEFENDS CONTROVERSIAL LICENSE. The Ukrainian Supreme Economic Court on 28 April rejected a complaint by the Prosecutor-General's Office against an earlier decision of the Kyiv Appellate Economic Court to approve the expansion of the broadcasting license of the NTN television channel to a nationwide network. Vitaliy Shevchenko, head of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting (NRPTR), an eight-member constitutional body empowered to issue broadcasting licenses in Ukraine, said the same day that the broadcast council will appeal against the Supreme Economic Court decision.

The legal clash between the authorities and NTN over its license expansion has struck a raw nerve in the media sector in Ukraine, where many broadcasters are widely regarded to have obtained licenses under dubious circumstances. Since NTN is partly owned by Donetsk-based oligarch Eduard Prutnyk, who was once an adviser to ex-Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the case also has political undertones.

"The NTN channel believes that the actions of the Prosecutor-General's Office [against NTN] show signs of the witch hunt in the Ukrainian media sector," NTN said in a statement in early April. NTN journalist Volodymyr Kartashkov openly accused President Viktor Yushchenko's administration -- which came to power following the country's recent Orange Revolution -- of resorting to "politically motivated retribution" against his political opponents. NTN journalists organized a series of pickets in front of the presidential administration and the Prosecutor-General's Office in Kyiv in April to protest what they perceived as an official intention to close down their channel.

Under Ukraine's law on broadcasting, new frequencies are allotted to broadcasters by the council under a bidding procedure. NTN, which was eager to begin broadcasting before the 2004 presidential election (presumably to support Yanukovych's presidential bid), did not wait until the broadcast council had launched such a tender but turned to the courts to get its license expanded. The Kyiv Economic Court and subsequently the Kyiv Appellate Economic Court ordered the broadcast council to amend NTN's license to allow for its expansion. The broadcast watchdog refused to do so, but NTN began nevertheless to broadcast on the basis of the court rulings. In the meantime, it turned out that the courts had ruled that NTN be allowed to broadcast over 75 frequencies in a number of Ukrainian cities.

However, the problem is that NTN is not the only broadcaster in Ukraine whose license has effectively been issued by a court. Such broadcasters include the TET and KRT television channels as well as, according to the "Zerkalo nedeli" weekly, the pro-Yushchenko Channel 5, which was generally credited for its substantial contribution to the victory of the opposition-fueled Orange Revolution.

If it is so, some say, then why has the Prosecutor-General's Office singled out NTN in its attempt to restore justice in the media sector and failed to take into account other broadcasters with similarly questionable licenses? Because, NTN answers, the current authorities want a redistribution of broadcasting frequencies to award broadcasters who are sympathetic to the current government.

"RFE/RL Belarus and Ukraine Report" is prepared by Jan Maksymiuk on the basis of a variety of sources including reporting by "RFE/RL Newsline" and RFE/RL's broadcast services. It is distributed every Tuesday.