On this Sunday, 22nd of May, in Moscow a demonstration against censorship occurred near the television centre of Ostankino initiated by the party “Yabloko”. Protester’s put on masks, which covered their mouths, reading “Shut Off” and held placates demanding more freedom for the Russian mass-media. (27-MAY-05)
The demonstration gathered more than one and a half thousand people. There were representatives from both left and right wing parties: “Yabloko”, SPS (Union of Right Forces), “Our Choice” and Communist Party RF, National Bolshevik Party, Avant-garde of Red Youth. There were a lot of activists from non-governmental organizations such as Moscow Helsinki Group, the movement ‘For Human Rights’, Russian Union of Journalists, Committee-2008 etc.
Wearing their masks reading “Shut Off”, protesters wanted to say that they are switched off from broadcasting. The state channels show government propaganda every day while there are fewer and fewer independent channels.
Gregory Yavlinsky, leader of the party “Yabloko”, in his speech at the demonstration said that they gathered to say openly “Yes” to freedom of speech. There is no free speech in the Russian Federation. Freedom of speech is not freedom of depravity. Freedom of speech is free discussion of problems and issues. We demand common TV; we want to say “Yes” to our speech on TV and “No” to broadcasting violence and lies.
The protest against the current politics of total control over Russian mass-media united all of these organizations. It means that all political forces are unified in an opinion that censorship, as in the soviet period, is coming back.
