BRUSSELS - Ukraine's envoy to the European Union Kostiantyn Yeliseyev has said European media exaggerate the scale of racism in his country.
“I’m surprised at the ongoing speculation in influential European
media over the issue of racism in Ukraine,” Yeliseyev told
Interfax-Ukraine.
Earlier, the BBC showed a film on racism in Ukraine and Poland. In
response to criticism, the British radio and television company’s
management insisted that the movie showed authentic racist
manifestations.
The BBC management pointed out that those manifestations had not been
officially condemned and argued that this proved their authenticity.
Yeliseyev took issue with that. He said that on Thursday the
EU-Ukraine parliamentary cooperation committee denounced all
manifestations of racism and xenophobia in Ukraine and Poland and
claimed that they were not typical of either country.
“For this reason, the deputies urged the international media to
publish comprehensive and accurate information on those important
subjects and not to engage in speculation on them,” the envoy said.
He suggested that British journalists visit games in Ukraine of the
current UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2012) and meet with
Ukrainians, including soccer fans.
