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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

How UTN Portrays Ukraine

26 January, 1999 - 00:00

By Natalia LIHACHOVA, The Day
Frankly, I would like nothing better than to live in the country portrayed
daily on the government-run UTN (UT-1) television channel, from 9:00 a.m.
to midnight. Of course, the country they talk about is not so sated and
boring as those where they have to turn for entertainment to various sex
scandals at the highest levels. But otherwise, this country seems quite
livable. There are no schoolteachers going on dry hunger strikes, demanding
the six months back wages due them; no homeless children, for whose miserable
lot is the state is fully to blame; no businessmen suffocating under the
pressure of taxes; no scientists or scholars making ends meet by trading
in bazaars; and no peasants who have forgotten when they last held bank-notes
in their hands. Of course, this UTN country has its problems like Communist-provoked
barroom brawls by the parliamentary podium, a body described as showing
very poor performance. Some of its citizens are caught in the act of presenting
fake Panamanian passports when crossing the Swiss border. One of its citizens
is shown accusing the General Prosecutor of having built a dacha worth
$70,000 and the respondent telling him precisely where to shove his accusations.
Now and then selflessly courageous law enforcement authorities hunt down
and destroy gangs, throwing former lawmakers behind bars and preventing
theft of public property. There are also contract killings and disasters.
Sometimes top-level bureaucrats fail to understand IMF strategies, especially
when it comes to refusing loans. How dare they! Most importantly, no matter
what happens in this imaginary country the situation is invariably kept
under control by the Premier, Deputy Premier, and of course the President.
Even though we learned from UTN last week that only 23 foundations had
been laid for the homes of victims of the Transcarpathian flood disaster
and 183 families (sic) had been given housing, we were also happily informed
that the Prime Minister called a Cabinet meeting quickly and said he was
dissatisfied with the situation. Before that we learned that the President
had made certain meaningful assignments. Also, UTN always seems to be opening
new orphanages, showing sponsors visit them and hand out generous presents,
while the orphans sing and dance by way of appreciation. Tuberculosis?
It is mentioned only when a new hospital is opened somewhere. Harvest campaigns
seem to start only on well-managed collective farms, now renamed collective
agricultural enterprises, with enough machinery and good crops. In a word,
all negative aspects in this UTN Ukraine are kept strictly pro rata the
positive ones to the latter's benefit. One's heart mellows and eyes fill
with tears of joy. If only one could forever forget about the surrounding
reality which some other channels stubbornly and viciously remind one of
on a more or less regular basis, not to mention what one sees with one's
own eyes everyday.

 

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