Christian broadcaster in Ukraine warns against press restrictions
New Life Radio Employees broadcasting. Photo Facebook, Радио "Новая Жизнь"
Eastern Europe
The Ukrainian Christian broadcaster New Life Radio-Odessa feels threatened by the new restrictions that the Ukrainian government puts on press agencies. Because of the war in the country, the government has passed a ban on Russian music in broadcastings. It will come into force within two months.
The war has negative consequences for the freedom of press and religion, the Chrisitan radio writes in a press release. Recently, the Ukrainian government enshrined gay rights in the law to be eligible for EU membership.
Furthermore, the ban on Russian music from radio and TV stations is problematic for the activities of New Life Radio-Odessa. As the broadcaster is intended for both Russians and Ukraine, this hinders its work as all the studios are located in Ukraine.
The exact consequences for the work of the broadcaster are not all the way clear yet. Currently, New Life Radio is investigating whether they can by-pass the ban and still reach the Russian population with their broadcasting in other languages.
The radio station also considers the possibility of moving the Russian language studio outside of the country. This might be difficult though, because it is hard for Russian speaking Ukrainians to receive permission to work and live abroad.
According to New Life Radio, the restrictions remind of the Soviet era. “It is a basic mistake of the Ukrainian government in showing their lack of commitment to the most basic democratic ideals for freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of religion”, the broadcaster writes in the statement. “New Life Radio left Moscow in 2019 to escape the very type of government media control that Ukraine now introduces.”
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