It’s great that 349 members of parliament – nearly 80 percent of the body – voted on Oct. 2 to rescind a libel law that could have imprisoned journalists and other citizens, imposed stiff fines and banned media professionals from working. But the law should never have gotten as far as it did, winning a majority of 244 votes on the first reading on Sept. 18.
It’s not progress.
Journalists can be commended for their quick response against the law. International organizations, business groups and governments deserve gratitude for applying pressure.
But there is no reason to start patting ourselves on the back and proclaiming a return of people’s power to Ukraine.
Like in most victories, many deserve credit. We suspect the libel law stepped on the toes of President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration and the nation’s wealthy oligarchs who control most of the media – Rinat Akhmetov, Viktor Pinchuk, Igor Kolomoisky, Petro Poroshenko and Valeriy Khoroshkovsky/Dmytro Firtash (if they are still in business together). Fines and legal expenses would come out of their pockets, while texts sterilized by the threat of prison would turn off readers and talented journalists alike.
If media owners helped, they still need to exert greater responsibility. They can start by cleansing the profession of unethical practices, like paid-for stories, and bolstering editorial independence. Yellow journalism provided some impetus for this poorly conceived law. Banning unethical practices is easy.
Just do it. For our entire 17 years of existence, which the Kyiv Post celebrates this month, we are proud to say the newspaper upholds high ethics. We believe in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics. Trust is a rare and precious commodity in a nation in which most outlets are used by their owners as political tools. But ethical behavior pays off.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear what the future holds. Pro-presidential lawmaker Vitaly Zhuravsky, who authored the law, says he may revisit the issue after the Oct. 28 parliamentary election.
Ukraine’s backsliding on democratic freedoms has been slowed down, but it has not been reversed.
