Broadcasting of Russian televisions suspended

Latvia has banned the broadcasting of Rossiya RTR television for three months. According to the National Council for Electronic Media of Latvia, this channel disseminated subjective information about the situation in Ukraine in some of its materials, says ITAR-TASS.

Previously, Lithuania “has repeatedly suspended Russian televisions, but was forced to resume broadcasting them by court decision. The majority of Russian channels are transmitted to the Baltic countries through companies registered in the EU, which makes their removal from the air more difficult,” writes europalibera.org.

The broadcasting regulator of Latvia analyzed the content of programs on Rossiya RTR from 2 to 17 March. Following the analysis, the Council concluded that the channel’s programs disseminate information contrary to the country’s legislation on mass media and contain materials with elements of military propaganda regarding the situation in Ukraine. However, this decision can be challenged in court, ITAR-TASS adds.

In addition, last week the Council initiated an administrative case against the Russian-language television Pervy Baltijsky Kanal. According to the Council, this channel disseminates biased information about Latvia, which can be labeled as attacks against the country’s information space.

These measures of Latvian authorities have come after in Ukraine a Kiev court ruled for temporary suspension in the broadcasting of Russian televisions for the duration of the lawsuit filed by the National Broadcasting Council (NBC) against a company retransmitting these channels. The process involves Pervy Kanal, Rossiya 24 and NTV televisions.

Earlier in Moldova, Ana Gutu, member of the Liberal Reformatory Party, addressed a public letter to the president of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) Marian Pocaznoi, requesting that the aggressive propaganda of Russian televisions be stopped. According to the MP, members of the BCC should demand that the distributors of Russian radio and televisions retransmitted on the territory of Moldova replace informative programs with those of other type, whose content would include European, national or local news, or cultural and educational programs.

In her turn, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, during her visit to Moldova on 18 March, expressed her opinion about the interdiction of televisions broadcasting materials with elements of manipulation and propaganda. “Suspending, banning channels in our digital age is a lost battle,” Mijatović said.

Source of photo: http://www.lithuaniatribune.com