RSF urged to drop bill granting national status to DOM TV channel

rsf

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the president Volodymyr Zelensky and MPs of the Servant of the People party to drop the bill by means of which the DOM TV channel is supposed to get the status of national broadcaster.

Such is the message of the statement made by the international human rights organization "Reporters Without Borders".

“A bill to be voted on tomorrow plans to include the state-controlled channel "Dom" into the Universal Program Service, requiring its broadcasting by all national cable operators. This would set a dangerous precedent and violate Kyiv's international commitments,” as RSF noted.

RSF reminded that, as in compliance with the resolution of the Council of Europe in 2005, Ukraine is obliged to "turn state broadcasters into Public Service Broadcasters."

RSF called on the head of state and MPs from the "Servants of the People" to give up the bill or take measures to ensure the independence of this state channel.

As IMI reported, on January 26, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy instructed its chairman Mykyta Poturayev to submit a proposal to withdraw the draft law #4487 “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine“ On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons ” which is supposed to repurpose TV channel Dom. The members of the committee referred to meaningfulness and tenability of changes to the media legislation, as well as compliance of the above amendments with the requirements of the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada.

On January 27, the Verkhovna Rada is going to consider  the draft law on amendments to the Law of Ukraine №4487 “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons” in the second reading. Once adopted, the document will give the state-run Russian-language channel Dom, which was set up to broadcast to the temporarily occupied territories, the national status.

The Media Movement has opposed the strengthening and reorientation of state media (including the Dom and Rada TV channels), which have recently taken place at the behest of the president, his team and the Servant of the People parliamentary faction..