“Krymska svitlytsya” newspaper deprived of its office. Ministry of culture put forward its arguments

“Krymska svitlytsya” newspaper was deprived of its office, as its editor in chief Andriy Shchekun told to « Krym.Realii » (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty). He said the premises have been transferred to the Oleksander Dovzhenko National center “in violation of Ukrainian legislation on reforms of state and printed press media”. "It (the state enterprise "Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center "- Ed .) got this property in lack of signatures from our side, neither this decision has been approved by the Property funds (the State Property Fund of Ukraine – n/editor). That was an absolute violation of the procedure , " Shchekun said. As to Ivan Kozlenko, General Director of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center, the premises have been transferred in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine. "If the editor of the newspaper" Krymska Svitlytsya " wanted to receive the premises on lease as the legal successor of the editorial office “Krymska svitlytsya", as in compliance with the law, then he had to file a request from his company to the State Property Fund of Ukraine," Kozlenko told. The Ministry of Culture noted”Krymska svitlystya” had been registered in March 2019 by Andriy Shchekun (now its editor in chief), had no relevance to the Ministry of Culture. "Since there was no succession treaty, the newspaper, registered by Andriy Shchekun under the same name in March 2019, has nothing to do with the newspaper" Krymska svitlytsya", co-founder of which had been the Ministry of Culture and which ceased to exist," the ministry said. The ministry argues that, according to the law on reforming the state media, the editorial board "Crymska svitlytysa" had to found a legal entity and conclude an agreement on legal succession of premises with the Ministry of Culture, but this was never done. "Despite the repeated appeals from the Ministry of Culture, the labor collective of the newspaper" Krymska svitlytsya" failed to execute its own decision (about the transformation of the media into a separate subject of management - Ed. ). Therefore, according to the requirements of the law, since January 1, 2019, the certificate of registration of the newspaper expired, "- the document reads. The ministry added that the decision to transfer the premises of the "National newspaper and magazine publishing house", which included the newspaper "Krymska svitlytsya", was approved due to "growing debt". "Given the above mentioned, in order to prevent the growing of debts, the Ministry of Culture has adopted the decision to transfer state property that was kept on its balance to the "Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center ", the ministry said. One should remind, on February 20, the editorial board of the newspaper "Krymska svitlytsya" was delivered the certificate of state registration as the printed media outlet. According to Andriy Shchekun, the founders of the newspaper were the NGO "The Crimean Center for Business and Cultural Cooperation" Ukrainian House "and the NGO " Taras Shevchenko national society "Prosvita". The publisher of the newspaper is the state-owned company "National Newspaper Magazine Publishing House". In May 2018, the newspapers "Krymska svitlytsya", "Ukrainian Culture", "Culture and Life" claimed to have funds problems and being obstructed to implement reforms. The Ministry of Culture informed that the decree was issued to compel the director of the "National newspaper and magazine publishing house" Andriy Shchekun to re-register the newspapers and magazines of the publishing house, in particular, "Krymska svitlytysa". Shchekun himself emphasized that, in accordance with the law "On reforming state and communal printed mass media", the decision of the labor collective, as well as the decision of the Ministry of Culture as the founder of the publication, was necessary to reform the "Krymska svitlytysa". He noted that the collective had adopted the respective decision on reforming of the newspaper in August 2016, while there has been no decision of the Ministry of Culture. The first edition of the newspaper "Krymska svitlytsya" was published in Simferopol on December 31, 1992. The newspaper was published in Crimea until 2014. The editorial office moved to Kiev in March 2016.