What Kind of Minister of Truth will Ivan Drach Be?
Last Thursday Verkhovna Rada agreed to appoint Ivan Drach, as requested by the President, chairman of the State Committee for Information Policies, Television, and Radio.
The Day had already forecast this appointment, discussing specific problems in our information space. But now we can also forecast that these problems will be excruciatingly complicated for the famous poet, political journalist, and films scriptwriter turned politician. The main reason is that, in contrast to the practice of most Western countries, our top information bodies are always political agencies. In essence, both under Zinovy Kulyk, Oleksandr Savenko, and Oleh Bay, they knew no practice other than that of a ministry of truth. This meant loyal, and sometimes even fervent, service not even to the state but to specific political figures in the executive branch.
We hope to ask Mr. Drach questions in The Day’s coming issues about the principles and ideas with which he is going to occupy his new official post. For this appointment was apparently made not in the least in connection with the desire to proclaim new reforms in our media and book publishing. What will these reforms touch upon first?
In his comments to The Day, chairman of the Ukrainian Union of Journalists, Ihor Lubchenko, expressed hope that Mr. Drach will help our country finally work out a clear-cut official policy toward the electronic media, including the issue of state funding, and that he will initiate laws on the protection of the Ukrainian press market.
Meanwhile, famous television journalist Vyacheslav Pikhovshek has expressed fears that the appointment of Mr. Drach will cause a Ukrainian national ideology to be made “compulsory.” “Mr. Drach could be tempted,” Mr. Pikhovshek says, “to begin to identify what is Ukrainian and what is not Ukrainian.”
Without doubt, we will now also link with the name of Ivan Drach the products put out by our state-run channels, products of not the best quality and loaded with undisguised and extreme political bias. Will Mr. Drach manage to trigger opposite processes? For example, the process of state television’s gradual transition to the principles and organization of private stations. Will the State Committee for Information Policies be able to become quite a self- sufficient structure independent of the influence of financial-political groups? Will it promote the true understanding of the freedom of speech by our journalists?
Let us hope Ivan Drach accepted this proposal, being well aware of the processes now underway in our information space. In the long run, to wade for the second time into the same political river entails responsibility.
