©HK/ÁÐÀÌÀ
PHOTO:
- Æóðíàë³ñò Ãåîðã³é Ãîíãàäçå, ó áþð³ Óêðà¿íñüêîãî Êîí´ðåñîâîãî Êîì³òåòó Àìåðèêè (ÓÊÊÀ) â Íüþ-Éîðêó. 17 ãðóäíÿ 1999ð.
- Heorhiy Honhadze, photographed on December 17, 1999 at the headquarters of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America in New York.
Honhadze visited the U.S. in December 1999, meeting with community
and press organizations in search of support for a proposed free
press group. Upon his return to Ukraine, Honhadze and his colleagues
established "Ukrayinska Pravda",
which has rapidly acquired a reputation as a publication critical of Ukraine's current government.
More about this story >>
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New York - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
(www.cpj.org) has sent
a formal letter of protest to Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma about the case of
missing journalist Georgyi Gongadze (Heorgyi Honhadze). CPJ asks
that all concerned readers join them in protesting this latest
attack on free press. CPJ cc'd the letter (see below) to the following
individuals and organizations:
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Kostiantyn Gryshchenko, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S.
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Mikhail Potebenko, Ukrainian prosecutor-general
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Steven Pifer, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
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American Society of Newspaper Editors
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Amnesty International
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Article 19 (United Kingdom)
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Artikel 19 (The Netherlands)
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Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
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Freedom Forum
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Freedom House
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Human Rights Watch
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Index on Censorship
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International Center for Journalists
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International Federation of Journalists
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International PEN
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International Press Institute
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Harold Hongju Koh, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
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Alain Modoux, Director, UNESCO Freedom of Expression Program
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The Newspaper Guild
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The North American Broadcasters Association
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Overseas Press Club
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Reporters Sans Frontières
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Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
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The Society of Professional Journalists
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World Association of Newspapers
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World Press Freedom Committee
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September 25, 2000
His Excellency Leonid Kuchma
President of Ukraine
vul. Bankivska 11
Kyiv, Ukraine
Via Fax: 011-380-44-293-7364/291-6161/293-1001
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the
recent disappearance of Georgy Gongadze, the 31-year-old editor of the
news Web site Ukrainska Pravda
. This event has alarmed the journalistic community in Ukraine and
further eroded your government's already limited credibility on press-freedom
issues.
Gongadze, whose site has often featured critical articles about Ukraine
government officials, disappeared in Kyiv on the evening of Saturday,
September 16. Gongadze had left the home of a colleague at 10:20 p.m.
to meet his wife and two young children at home. He never arrived.
The police launched an investigation, but so far have turned up no leads.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Parliament has established a special commission
to investigate Gongadze's disappearance. According to local sources, there
are grounds to suspect that the abduction was related to the editor's
professional work.
Shortly after Gongadze disappeared, the deputy director of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs, Nikolay Dzhyga, announced that authorities were looking
into three possible scenarios: that Gongadze planned his own abduction,
that he was involved in an accident, or that the abduction was related
to Gongadze's journalism.
On September 19, however, Deputy Interior Minister Mykola Dzhyha announced
that the police have ruled out any political motive. Police officials
are now suggesting that the disappearance was related to Gongadze's personal
life. This conclusion is premature, to say the least.
Gongadze's disappearance follows several suspect or inconclusive investigations
into the deaths of local journalists. Sixty local journalists expressed
their concern about this trend in a letter sent to Your Excellency and
the Ukrainian Parliament on September 19. The letter cited the cases of
Kievskiye Vedomosti correspondent Petro Shevchenko (found dead
hanging from a rope in an abandoned building in Luhansk on March 13, 1997),
and murdered Vechernyaya Odessa editor Boris Derevyanko (shot in
the heart and stomach on August 11, 1997).
This year alone, two journalists have been beaten after publishing articles
about official corruption, according to CPJ research. These cases demonstrate
that Ukrainian journalists put their lives at risk when they dare to criticize
government officials and other powerful figures. CPJ protested all these
attacks in letters to Your Excellency, but has received no reply.
As a nonpartisan organization of journalists devoted to defending the
rights of our colleagues around the world, CPJ calls on the police to
investigate Georgy Gongadze's disappearance
thoroughly, and to release information about the case in a timely manner.
We also urge Your Excellency to take all necessary measures to ensure
the safety of reporters in Ukraine.
Thank you for your attention to these important matters. We await your
reply.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
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Join CPJ in protesting
this attack on the press
Send a
letter to:
His Excellency Leonid Kuchma
President of Ukraine
vul. Bankivska 11
Kyiv, Ukraine
Via Fax: 011-380-44-293-7364/291-6161/293-1001
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