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Moldovan journalists representing the portals Diez.md and Komersant.md, who tried to visit Ukraine in order to cover the events happening in the neighbor country, reached only the country border. Ukrainian customs officers interrogated journalists about the purpose of their visit and then told them that they were not allowed to enter the country for professional purposes.
Olesea Cember, a journalist of Diez.md, said that officers at the Platonovo customs check point interrogated her about the purpose of her visit to Ukraine. “A personal file was filled in for me with all the necessary information: the purpose of my visit, how many days I planned to stay in Kiev, by what method I was going to present the events, the address where I would be accommodated, the money I had on me, and much more. After the question sheet was completed, I answered the same questions, but this time the conversation was recorded on video,” the journalist explained.
Cember was then told that she was not allowed to enter the country for the reason that she did not have an invitation from a Ukrainian media outlet or the amount of money that was minimum necessary for the foreigners visiting the country. “I was informed that this prohibition was only valid for this work-related visit, and later I would have no problems doing it for personal purposes,” Olesea Cember added.
The editorial board of the portal expressed their regret about this incident.
Another journalist, representing Kommersant.md, who also tried to go to Ukraine, faced problems as well. This time at the Starokozache customs check point. The journalist was told that there was some internal regulation on prohibiting journalists’ access to Ukraine.
Kommersant.md also wrote that Ukrainian customs officers allowed the crew of Publika TV to enter the country only after the intervention of the Ukraine ambassador to Moldova Sergey Pirozhkov. It happened after journalists spent several hours at the country border.
Peaceful protests in Ukraine, initially focused in Kiev, degenerated over the past week into violence and clashes between police and demonstrators. Several regions of the country were flooded by riots, people occupying government buildings and in increasing numbers demanding the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych and of the government.
Source of photo: Flickr Creative Commons
