Заява журналістів 1+1 на англійській

We come out with this open letter because we understand our
responsibility to the society, we value our reputataion and do not agree
to compromise our conscience.

We, the journalists of TSN, want
to announce that censorship is being established at the 1+1 TV channel
now!

We have been predicted to throw light on some of themes and
events. Our topics which contain critique of the Ukrainian authorities
are being expelled from the broadcast because of political reasons. The
final decision about the publication of newscast is taken not by the
newcast editor or editor-in-chief but by the Chief Director of 1+1.

The
last straw was the final TSN newscast which was put on the air on the
2nd of May this year. The material about the political confrontation at
our Parliament turned into a classical example of informational killing.
We annouce that we do not appear for the defence of the opposition and
do not sympathise it. A journalist always leaves his or her political
preferences outside topics but we think that every party has a right to
inform spectators about its position.

We ask You to pay attention
to the fact that the courageos attempt of our colleague Myroslav
Otkovich to attract Your attention to the problem of censorship turned
to a charge of engagement, dilettantism and amateurism, announced by the
deputy director of President's Administration. Despite of it we do not
have any doubt neither as for facts of censorship which were mentioned
by our colleague nor as for his professional skills.

We do not
want to be serfs and propagandists. The freedom of speech is not a mere
word for us but the foundation of our profession. That is why we
announce our protest against the opression of freedom of speech.

We
demand to stop the manual management of Television Service of News
(TSN) right now.

We demand to stop the shameful practice of
implementation of "directives", “marching orders” and prohibition of any
given themes.

We demand to return to TSN the basic principles of
journalism: objectivity, balance and equidistance of political forces.

In
case if our demand will be ignored, we will consider the possibility of
one-day warning strike. Furthermore, from today we will give to public
all facts of censorship known to us.

Simultaneously we ask
international organizations, particularly PACE, OSCE, to pay their
attention to the dangerous transformations taking place in the
information space of Ukraine and help us, Ukrainian journalists, to save
the freedom of press, because it is extremely difficult to stand
against the politicians who neglect the principles of democratic values.

We
appeal to all our colleagues. We know we are not the ones who happened
to be in the circumstances of political censorship. We know how
difficult it is to make this first step now. In 2004 we have found the
energy in ourselves. We have overcame the fear. Everybody has overcame
his own fear. And we said "NO" to the censorship.

Today there is
no land, where somebody can build his “house on village age”, and day
by day it becomes fewer and fewer.

We’re risking to lose the
profession, the confidence of our compatriots, The country everybody of
us wants to live in. The country in which our children will live.

Brotherhood!
We appeal you to unite and save together the esprit de corps of our
profession!

Let’s show that we are much in number. The people who
value the liberty of press, not the imitation of it. We are strong.
Together.

Signed,

Hryhoriy Zhyhalov, TSN correspondent

Serhiy
Kudimov, TSN correspondent

Solomiya Vitvytska, TSN correspondent

Marharita
Sytnyk, TSN correspondent

Svitlana Berezivska, TSN correspondent

Borys
Ivanov, TSN correspondent

Tetyana Kovalenko, TSN correspondent

Zhan
Hovoseltsev, TSN correspondent

Yulianna Saukh, TSN correspondent

Inna
Bondar, TSN correspondent

Ihor Bondarenko, TSN correspondent

Oleksiy
Likhman, TSN anchorman

Yulia Borysko, TSN anchorman

Ilona
Dovhan, TSN anchorman

Vitaliy Haidukevych, TSN anchorman

This
letter is open to signing.