Violence against journalists in Ukraine must stop

Journalists were among the first victims of the fighting in the streets of Kyiv. The events of the past week were the culmination of a protracted period of attacks on journalists and the free media. Video-documented attacks on journalists in Ukraine, in which the profession of journalism in itself has been under attack, must now really get the world community to understand that the attacks on journalists must stop

Opinion piece by Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, President of the Danish Union of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists, and deputy chairperson of International Media Support (IMS) and member of mission to Ukraine organised by IMS

The brutal murder of Vyacheslav Veremei in Kyiv happened during the bloody days from 18 to 20 February. Before he was killed, Veremei said that he was a journalist. He was then pulled out of the car and beaten, before being shot when he attempted to escape. He was merely doing his job, and leaves behind a son aged four. A further 50 journalists were assaulted in the same period, often as police stand passively by while Kyiv burned.

Governments around the world have a great responsibility to send out clear signals to each other and to their police and military that journalists must be freely and safely able to perform their journalistic work, which is one of the cornerstones of democratic development. Many journalists do their work with great courage and at considerable risk to their own lives. They need protection, and must not become targets for government forces or rebels.

I was in Kyiv during those violent days on behalf of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), in a partnership mission organised by International Media Support (IMS) to study the situation of journalists and the media, freedom of the press and the safety of media professionals.

We walked straight into a flashpoint that exploded. On the first day we could see the demonstrators’ painstakingly building barricades, mixing Molotov cocktails and digging up cobblestones. They were preparing for the worst. Many other citizens were making coffee and sandwiches for them, while others had arranged for toilet trailers.

The ominous expectations implied by the preparations came true, as was revealed early next morning, when I tried to distinguish between the different sounds of shock grenades, fireworks and battle. The latter erupted, as you know, when the police forces attacked the demonstrators. On the same morning that we in the international mission decided to leave the hotel, we were confronted with a scene that implanted itself firmly on our retinas.

People came running up, carrying the wounded to ambulances and the field hospital that had been set up in the cafe outside the hotel. The Red Cross had also established posts at various spots. The next sight we met was of three cold corpses – an image that cannot be forgotten.

With a crystal-clear understanding of the seriousness of the situation, we in the partnership mission were given a deep insight into the conditions of journalists in Ukraine, and of how those poor conditions had escalated over three months, culminating in these days in February. During the first three months, there had been 137 attacks on journalists, who had been beaten, sometimes while police looked on passively. An equal number of journalists had had their equipment destroyed, or been detained by the authorities, etc. – some of them quite simply because they were journalists.

Every single assault has been carefully registered by the local journalists’ unions and media organisations, and in several instances there is also video documentation available. But this helps very little when the unions try to take up these cases with the authorities, and confidence in the Ukrainian judicial system is now so threadbare that they have more faith in the ability of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to help.

It is absolutely necessary that an independent investigatory committee examines all these cases. If the Ukrainian authorities do not do this themselves, then clearly, both the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, with their separate mandates, should attempt to place maximum pressure on the government of Ukraine. Studies of the Ukrainian conditions should in this case be undertaken by an international committee, while the Court should give priority to Ukraine if and when it is asked to adjudicate in a case.

Much of the Ukrainian legislation does in fact guarantee the protection of journalists, but the law must be applied. However, the law also includes some clearly misconceived legislation. Its special definition of a journalist is one such example:

A journalist is defined in such a narrow sense that not even press photographers or camera operators are perceived to be journalists, and therefore do not enjoy the same protection. This is completely absurd, as it is often the press photographers who are on the front line, and the more than forty smashed cameras and the many digital storage devices confiscated during these bloody days speak for themselves.

Every time someone tries to formulate a special legislative or other indication of who is a journalist, the question arises of who is not included. In Denmark, the free speech clause in the Constitution alone would make this impossible, as it states that everyone must be able to express themselves in speech and writing. Like much else in the Constitution, this concept possesses a breadth that corresponds to the normal conditions of life today, when there are many different forms of expression.

Consequently, if freedom of speech and of the press are to be taken seriously, all governments should refrain from pinning journalism down to specific definitions. Journalism must find its own form, and must regulate itself, or else censorship will be introduced and camera operators may, as we have seen in Ukraine, find their freedom of expression limited or completely removed.

Another form of censorship arose when the regime pulled the plug on a national TV channel, Channel 5, which like other media had found itself hamstrung in various ways, thereby limiting the right of the public to independent information.

Safety is crucial to free and independent journalism, so we must be able to quickly supply journalists in Ukraine and elsewhere with the necessary equipment, such as flak jackets and sturdy helmets, as well as safety training. Fortunately, this already happens in many situations, because many international media organisations possess the necessary focus and, often in partnerships, can provide the assistance needed.

We were in Kyiv when things exploded. Now we must follow up on the situation by pursuing the recommendations arrived at by our mission, which consisted of both local and international partners. Journalists’ unions and publishing organisations in Ukraine have already joined forces to propose the establishment of an international investigatory committee, and the first meetings with European institutions are being planned.

Let us agree to keep the spotlight on Ukraine now, so that the situation for citizens and the media can begin to improve. Free and independent media, and the safety of journalists, are an important prerequisite for positive democratic development in the country.

Mogens Blicher Bjerregård took part in a media support partnership mission organised by International Media Support (IMS) to study the situation of journalists and the media, freedom of the press and the safety of media professionals.