Article 9

I. The Parties undertake to recognize that the right to freedom of expression of every person belonging to a national minority include; freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas in the minority language, without interference by public authorities and regardless of frontiers. The Parties shall ensure within the framework of their legal Systems, that persons belonging to a national minority are not discriminated against in their access to the media.
2.Paragraph 1 shall not prevent Parties from requiring the licensing, without discrimination and based on objective criteria, of sound radio and television broadcasting, or cinema enterprises.
3.The Parties shall not hinder the creation and the use of printed media by persons belonging to national minorities. In the legal framework of sound radio and television broadcasting, they shall ensure, as far as possible, and taking into account the provisions of paragraph 1, that persons belonging to national minorities are granted the possibility of creating and using their own media,
4.In the framework of their legal systems, the Parties shall adopt adequate measures in order to facilitate access to the media for persons belonging to national minorities and in order to promote tolerance and permit cultural pluralism.

Mass-Media

161. Under the Crimean Constitution from October 1998 only Russian was declared to be an official language and a language in public service in Crimea, that means absolute monopoly of Russian language in state and public life, and in state system of secondary and high education.
162. The single all-republican weekly newspapers edited in Crimean Tatar language "Crimea" and "Yani dunya" (New World) are threatened to be closed because of lack of money. Only literature-art magazine "Yildiz" (Star) in Crimean Tatar language is published one time in month due to the lack of money.
163. The Government had given in 1998 2 mln. grivnas for the support of the periodical press from the republican and local budgets of Crimea, but no one per cent of this sum was given for Crimean Tatar's press. But if even is brought an appropriate item in budget, it is not mean else, that money will be given. For example, in this year was provided for a giving 35,000 grivnas to the newspaper "Yani Dunya" (New World) and 15,000 � to the magazine "Yildiz" (Star). But practically was given only 13,000 grivnas to "Yani Dunya", 3,000 grivnas to the magazine �Yildiz�. At recent meeting of Commission of Supreme Council press, came unanimously to the opinion that financing of Crimean Tatar's publications necessary to stop in general, and provided money for them give to new - created organization �Women's equipment with a prosthetic appliance� which is engaged in problems of aborts. At the same time 75,000 grivnas were given to one Russian newspaper "Rural newness" in Belogorsk.
164. According to the list of the members of staff 4 persons working in State Tele-radio Company "Crimea". Only 20 persons (about 5 %) of them working in Crimean Tatar's studio of television and radio. General volume of broadcasting of Crimean television constitutes 73 hours weekly, and broadcast on Crimean Tatar's language only 3 hours and 30 minutes. It means about 4,5 % of broadcasting time. There was not a case else when State TV-Radio Company gave any equipment to Crimean Tatar's studio.
165. Recently volume of radio broadcast in Crimean Tatar's language constituted 10 hours and 10 minutes weekly, that is ten times less than radio broadcast in Russian. But in September a decision was accepted to reduce this volume else more than twice and now the volume of radio broadcast in Crimean Tatar's language constitutes only 4 hours and 10 minutes.


Back