Brussels - The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has condemned as totally unacceptable a violent attack by Ukrainian MPs on Director General of the National Television Company of Ukraine (NTCU) Oleksandr Panteleimonov. "On behalf of the EBU and all the public service broadcasters of Europe, we condemn this vicious attack on the director general of NTCU," said EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot.
He said that such actions are totally unacceptable.
“We call on the Ukrainian authorities to react swiftly and resolutely. Independent public service media and freedom of expression are indispensable to a proper democracy,” the EBU president said.
“In a videoed scene posted on YouTube, a group of members of Ukraine’s far-right nationalist party Svoboda, including MPs, invaded the office of NTCU Acting Director General Oleksandr Panteleimonov yesterday evening. The men are seen to manhandle and strike Panteleimonov while shouting at him to write a letter of resignation,” reads the description to the video posted on EBU Web site.
The EBU was unable to reach Panteleimonov, but he is said by colleagues to be in a state of shock following the assault.
