MOSCOW, October 28 /TASS/. Moscow has called for thorough investigation into all cases of violence committed against journalists in Ukraine and is urging Kiev to take measures to stop the "hunt" on media workers, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told a conference in Vienna.
The text of Gatilov’s report at the “Russia and Europe: Urgent Problems of Contemporary International Journalism. Global Challenges in the “Media” Mirror” conference was published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website on Tuesday.
Ukrainian crisis in European media
In his speech, Gatilov noted that the crisis in Ukraine had revealed geopolitical partiality of some European media who departed from ethical standards. “We are really witnessing an unleashed information war, a war which is being waged without any rules when more and more often media circulates unchecked data and make references to false authorities by using sophistical reasoning,” the Russian diplomat said, adding that none of those authors were really concerned with the consequences of their actions.
“As a result the picture of real events is distorted for the sake of momentary political considerations,” Gatilov stressed.
Ebola virus vs "Nazism virus"
“Apparently, the spread of the Ebola virus is worrying people. This theme is constantly and fairly present in the news.
At the same time, one question comes to mind: can the virus of Nazism and national exceptionalism to which the European states are losing immunity have the same fatal consequences?” the Russian deputy foreign minister asked.
Coverage of civilian deaths and violence against journalists in south-east Ukraine
“For how long can the facts of murders and the existence of mass graves of innocent civilians in south-east Ukraine be ignored?
Is it possible to turn off foreign television channels and impose sanctions on them?” Gatilov went on to say. He added that most European media outlets were hushing up those facts or were simply refusing to see them.
Gatilov said that European journalists were ignoring outrageous facts of violation of the rights of their fellow-journalists who were covering the events in south-east Ukraine. He recalled all facts of intimidation, physical violence and censorship against journalists.
“The list of crimes includes murders of Russian journalists Andrey Stenin, Anatoly Klyan, Anton Voloshin, Igor Kornelyuk and Italian photo correspondent Andrea Rocchelli,” the Russian deputy foreign minister said.
“We resolutely condemn violence against media workers in Ukraine and demand a full-scale investigation,” Gatilov stressed. “First of all, we are urging the Kiev authorities to take effective measures to end an open "hunt" on those who are risking their lives every day and every hour to tell the truth about the situation in Ukraine,” the Russian deputy foreign minister said.