BRAMA, November 25, 2002, 1:00 pm ET
Press Release
Schaffer commends Ukrainians dedicated to defense of free speech
WASHINGTON, DC [11/22/02] — U.S. Congressman Bob Schaffer (R-CO) delivered remarks before Congress today urging the recognition of the fourth day of December as "a day of sorrow for lost journalists."
On Friday, November 22, 2002, Rep. Schaffer honored the memory and the courage of journalists who have given their lives in the pursuit of truth. Schaffer offered his commendation to organizations dedicated to the protection of Ukrainian journalists, the abolition of censorship and the defense of free speech. Schaffer also called upon the government of Ukraine to resolve to recognize December 4th as "a day of sorrow for lost journalists."
Rep. Schaffer also demanded of the government of Ukraine to expeditiously resolve the deaths of journalists Georgiy Honhadze, Ihor Aleksandrov, and Mykhailo Kolomiyets. The death of Honhadze, the beating death of Ihor Aleksandrov, the director of a television station in the Donetsk region in July 2001, and most recently, the death of Mykhailo Kolomiyets, the director of Ukrainian News in Kyiv, "reinforces doubt about the state of freedom in Ukraine," remarked Schaffer. "The lethargic pursuit of the investigations of these deaths by authorities indicates official apathy if not tacit approval."
In many developing countries, harassment, in the form of threats, arrest, and even kidnapping and murder is used as a tool to silence journalists who dare to report the truth. No single attempt at censorship has sparked more protest than the disappearance and murder of Georgiy Honhadze in Ukraine in 2000. "This crime cast international attention on the systemic oppression of freedom of expression, and cast significant doubts on the level of democratic development in Ukraine," said Schaffer.
Continued government control of the media, and often violent oppression of freedom of expression denies the Ukrainian people their inalienable human rights and prevents democracy from rooting and growing in Ukraine. Therefore, I call upon the government of Ukraine to resolve the deaths of these journalists expeditiously, to implement an agenda for the defense of free speech, and to recognize the fourth day of December as "a day of sorrow for lost journalists."
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Congressman Schaffer was first elected to Congress in November of 1996.
He is a member of the Committees on Agriculture, Resources, and Education
and Workforce. He is Vice Chairman of the Education Subcommittee on
Education Reform, Chairman of the Western Caucus Water Working Group,
Co-Chair of the Western Water Caucus, President of the Republican Junior
Class, and the Speaker's appointee to the House Republican Policy Committee.
His official Internet website address is www.house.gov/schaffer.
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