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‘We’ll fight until we win’: Three Ukrainian TV channels go silent to protest censorship

On September 26, Ukraine’s National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting stripped five TV companies from the 112 Ukraine holding of their national broadcasting licenses

Journalists waiting near the office of the 112 Ukraine TV channel in Kiev, July 13, 2019 EPA-EFE/STEPAN FRANKO

Journalists waiting near the office of the 112 Ukraine TV channel in Kiev, July 13, 2019

© EPA-EFE/STEPAN FRANKO

KIEV, October 2. /TASS/. Three Ukrainian TV channels — 112 Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK — went silent for 30 minutes to demonstrate their protest against censorship, said the 112 Ukraine channel, which had been stripped of its digital broadcasting license, but is still available online, and on cable and satellite networks.

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The channels’ hosts and guests taking part in the protest went on air wearing black tape over their mouths.

"The authorities want to silence all those who say what they don’t like to hear. But no matter what they do, they won’t be able to muzzle independent media. We are fighting and will continue to fight until we win, and we do believe that it will happen. Sooner or later, there will eventually be freedom of expression in Ukraine again," 112 Ukraine General Producer Artem Marchevsky pointed out.

"We don’t want to be silent and it was hard for us to keep quiet for half an hour. The world around never stops moving and our task as highly professional journalists is to cover developments in real time as things unfold. However, we also want to speak honestly and openly, there are millions of people who want to hear us. And if the authorities deprive them of such an opportunity, then let there be a half an hour of shame for the National Council," 112 Ukraine Director General Yegor Benkendorf.

On September 26, Ukraine’s National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting stripped five TV companies from the 112 Ukraine holding of their national broadcasting licenses. To explain the move, the Council said that under the licenses, the TV companies should have operated as regional ones instead of rebroadcasting the nationwide 112 Ukraine channel. National Council member Oleg Chernysh said that 112 Ukraine would only be able to operate through cable, satellite and online.

The 112 Ukraine TV channel slammed the watchdog’s decision as wrongful and said it considered such moves as "hardline censorship that calls into question freedom of expression in Ukraine." According to the channel, its audience dropped by 40% following the license revocation.

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