Three Newspapers Being Stifled in Luhansk Oblast

On October 14 three opposition newspapers, printed in different print houses, did not reach their readers. The newspapers Rakurs, Nashe zavtra, and XXI vek are known in Luhansk as publications supporting presidential candidates Oleksandr Moroz and Yevhen Marchuk. Thanks to their independent stand, they have aroused great interest among a certain segment of readers. On the eve of the elections, these publications were denied printing facilities simultaneously by different printers under various excuses. XXI vek editor Yuri Yurov told The Day that he had been warned beforehand that the print shop would refuse to print the issue if he did not change the subject of the articles. That issue carried on the front page a big portrait of Yevhen Marchuk wearing a general's uniform and the short caption, everything has to be accounted for, ”as well as the editor's extensive analytical material about Leonid Kuchma, and the statement of Mr. Marchuk's consulting aide Vlad Kryvobokov about his being persecuted. Yuri refused to cancel the publications, for which he suffered the next day. The printing house refused to accept the diskettes with a fully-prepared newspaper, explaining that the newspaper's solvency raised serious doubts and thus required an audit. The editor received no official documents stating the motives for refusal.

An entirely different story was told The Day by Rakurs editor Mykola Severin. His newspaper is printed at the Donetchchyna Publishing Company, but on Wednesday they did not accept the order due to an alleged breakdown of a machine. Mr. Severin also failed to strike a deal with the Stakhanov Printers, where the Socialist newspaper Nashe zavtra is printed, for the reason that: the printer had been closed the previous day by the tax authorities. Then the Alchevsk city printing house accepted the order, but asked an outrageous price for its services.

On the same day the editorial offices of XXI vek, Rakurs, and Nashe zavtra, and the coordinating board of the Independent Order of Journalists made a statement in which they condemned these official actions aimed at suppressing the opposition media.