UNITED24 - Make a charitable donation in support of Ukraine!

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=6/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / ARREST (L-UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-263483
BYLINE=OWEN FAY
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  The Russian government has been spending 
much of the day/Wednesday denying that the arrest 
of a high-profile media tycoon was politically 
motivated.  It is widely understood that the 
Kremlin has been unhappy with Vladimir Gusinsky 
and his organisation, leading many to think his 
arrest is part of a media crackdown. From Moscow, 
Owen Fay has this report.
TEXT:  Vladimir Gusinsky, whose publications and 
radio and television stations are often critical 
of the Kremlin, was taken to a Moscow jail on 
Tuesday night on suspicion of embezzling up to 10 
million dollars.  His supporters were quick to 
denounce his detention as being politically 
motivated.
/// OPT /// Mr. Guzinsky heads a company called 
Media-MOST, which in turn controls the television 
station N-T-V, the only privately run station in 
Russia.  N-T-V is known for being highly critical 
of the government, particularly over the war in 
Chechnya, and that is leading to the charges of 
intimidation (by the government). /// END OPT ///
President Putin, speaking in Madrid, Spain where 
he is on an official visit, said he knew nothing 
of the arrest.
  /// PUTIN ACTUALITY IN RUSSIAN, FADE UNDER ///
"I'm on business meetings," President Putin said, 
"so I won't touch any, if they even exist, of the 
political aspects of that case."  He went on to 
say, "I simply don't know anything about it."
However, President Putin later denied Mr. 
Guzinsky had been arrested because his news 
organisations have angered the Kremlin.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov also 
dismissed fears of a media crackdown by saying 
there must have been serious grounds to justify 
taking Mr. Guzinsky into custody.
/// KASYANOV ACTUALITY IN RUSSIAN, FADE UNDER ///
"According to the law," said Mr. Kasyanov, "an 
arrest like this is carried out only in exclusive 
cases," and he added, "I think that the 
Prosecutor's Office must have thought twice 
before making their decision."
Last month, heavily armed masked paramilitaries -
under the direction of the Russian government's 
intelligence service - raided Mr. Gusinsky's 
headquarters in what was widely seen as an act of 
intimidation, and later ruled illegal in court.
After the raid, a media watchdog group was set up 
to protect press freedoms. It is chaired by 
Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the 
Soviet Union.  He says the arrest is not only an 
attack on the media, but an attempt to embarrass 
President Putin:
/// GORBACHEV ACTUALITY IN RUSSIAN, FADE UNDER 
///
"I think it's not only an effort to step on the 
throat of a free press," Mr. Gorbachev said, "but 
it's also an effort to strike the President who 
just started serious and very difficult reforms."
Masha Lipmann is the editor of the news magazine 
Itogi - one of Mr. Gusinsky's publications. She 
says that Mr. Gorbachev's theory is nonsense, and 
that in order to understand why an independent 
Russian media tycoon would be arrested without 
charge, it is not necessary to look any further 
than Vladimir Putin:
     /// LIPMANN ACTUALITY - IN ENGLISH ///
      I think he is a no-nonsense man, and I 
      think he cares about having his goals 
      implemented. And if freedom of the press 
      gets in his way, he will crack down on the 
      freedom of the press and I don't think he 
      will hesitate.
            ///END ACT///
Mr. Gusinsky's company also owns the radio 
station Echo Moskvy, which is the same station 
that hosted a live call-in show with President 
Clinton during his recent visit to Russia. 
(Signed)
NEB/OF/GE/KL 
14-Jun-2000 13:55 PM EDT (14-Jun-2000 1755 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.





NEWSLETTER
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list