When Ukrainian blogger Olena Bilozerska won the Best Ukrainian Blog award at the Bobs, an annual social media competition organized by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, many eyebrows were raised.
The blogger is known in Ukraine for her right-wing views, which some
activists judged incompatible with the Bobs’ spirit of promoting open exchange
of ideas, freedom of expression and support for human rights around the world.
Petitions were quickly launched, with one demanding Deutsche Welle strip Bilozerska
of the award while another supported the decision.
On May 13 Deutsche Welle issued a statement declining the request. They
stressed she was not picked by a jury, but rather received 46 percent of online
vote, surpassing all other candidates by far.
Mustafa Nayem, a Ukrainian journalist and member of the jury, said he was
the one who submitted her candidacy for the award. Nayem said that while he
does not share many of Bilozerska’s views, he praises her blog “for
serving as a grounds for the open discussion for (people with) right wing and
xenophobic views.”
This is how the blog was described on the Bobs website: “Writing
under the motto, ‘I know how things should be,’ Olena Bilozerska enlightens
readers on events that don’t make it into mainstream media, including street
protests and corruption cases. Bilozerska is known for her speed in getting the
news and photos posted to her blog, which is among Ukraine’s most widely
read.”
However, in Ukraine she is primarily known for reporting on right wing and
extremist events that have little, if any chance of media coverage. For
example, in 2008 she covered the ultra right’s torchlight procession against
foreign students in Ukraine.
In her comment she then wrote: “I consider the action correct and
necessary. I am not sure if, as a result, some of the foreigners will
understand that they are guests here, that they do not own the place, but maybe
they will, at least, give it some thought.”
In 2007 she made a comment about black people: “Seriously and without
jokes, though, about my attitude to [black people] – it’s all simple. I am
neutral to those of them who don’t live in Ukraine. Those who live here are a
real threat to Ukraine. But at the present stage of historical development,
this threat is far from being the main one. When a bear is pushing its way into
your house, it is not time to poison the mice.”
Bilozerska praised the decision of Deutsche Welle in her blog and said the
“dirty campaign” against her was organized by the
“Ukrainophobes.” She also said her rivals were bringing up her old
entries and have not read her blog. She did not comment on her highly
controversial earlier statements.
Kyiv Post staff
writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected]
