OSCE slams Ukraine: decommunization laws threaten freedom of speech
New laws on decommunization in Ukraine pose a threat to freedom of speech, and controversial information should be discussed exclusively in an open discussion, the organization believes.
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This is stated in the OSCE release posted on the organization’s website.
“The laws signed by the President of Ukraine condemning the communist regime could threaten freedom of speech in the country and lead to the suppression of critical voices in society,” said OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović.
“The media is a vital element of a healthy democracy and its role must be respected at all times,” Mijatović said. “Controversial information should only be resolved through open discussion,” she wrote.
Mijatović also emphasized that representatives of civil society were not given the opportunity to participate in public discussions on this law.
Let us recall that the day before Petro Poroshenko signed four laws: “On the condemnation of the communist and national socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes in Ukraine and the ban on the propaganda of their symbols”; “On access to the archives of the repressive bodies of the communist totalitarian regime of 1917 - 1991”; “On the perpetuation of the victory over Nazism in the Second World War of 1939 – 1945” and “On the legal status and memory of fighters for the independence of Ukraine in the twentieth century.”
The documents prohibit Soviet symbols, condemn the communist regime, open the archives of the Soviet secret services and recognize Nazi collaborators from the OUN, UPA and other fascist organizations as fighters for the independence of Ukraine.
Let us recall that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that after the adoption of the law on decommunization, Ukraine will no longer survive as a unitary state.
The OSCE has lashed out at Ukraine, saying decommunization laws threaten freedom of speech.