His Excellency Boris Yeltsin
President of the Russian Federation
Moscow
Russia

Vienna, 23 March 1999

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI) is most concerned about the serious threat to freedom of expression and opinion in Russia posed by the passing of a bill which would tighten state control over the country’s broadcast media by creating a television and radio watchdog.

On 17 March, the upper chamber of the Federal Assembly, the Federation Council, approved the bill by 115 votes, with seven against and two abstentions. The bill, which had been already passed by the lower chamber State Duma on 10 March, must now go to the President for signing into law.

The law “On the Supreme Council for the Protection of Moral Standards in Television and Radio Broadcasting in the Russian Federation” would create a high council comprising 12 members – three each nominated by the President, the Government and the two parliamentary chambers – to protect moral standards in broadcasting and television. The council would be empowered to take “appropriate measures” against any television or radio station broadcasting a programme “liable to enflame social, racial, national, religious hatred, enmity or superiority, or advocating war, violence or cruelty.”

We understand that although the law would not let the new council ban the broadcast of reports or force media companies to co-ordinate with it, the council would be able to issue reprimands and impose fines for broadcasting material that does not meet “acceptable” moral standards.

IPI; the global network of editors and media executives, believes that the bill seeks a return to censorship and the centralised control of the media, and could be used to suppress legitimate news and opinion, in particular during the campaigns for the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for the end of this year and in mid-2000, respectively. We therefore urge Your Excellency to veto the bill when it goes to you for signing into law.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director