Regions Party calls ambiguous PACE resolution on media freedom in part on Ukraine

The PACE resolution on the state of media freedom in Europe in terms of the media situation in Ukraine has been evaluated differently by representatives of the authorities and the opposition.

"It, in my opinion, does not reflect the situation in Ukraine really unambiguously. I voted against the amendments that concerned Ukraine, because they were introduced without any grounds," a member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, Regions Party MP Volodymyr Pylypenko, told Interfax-Ukraine.

In particular, he was surprised at the adoption of the amendment regarding the parliament's failed initiative to resume criminal responsibility for libel.

"This issue was removed from the agenda of parliament, and it should not be raised," he said.

He noted that other states also had a lot of complaints to the document and therefore the PACE could not accept the recommendations of the Committee of Ministers.

"The amendments that were adopted so easily, in my opinion, include unproven and often conflicting data, and it's not only my position, but also the position of other members of delegations from other countries," Pylypenko said.

A member of the delegation to PACE, Batkivschyna MP Volodymyr Ariev, in turn, said on his Facebook page that the PACE had voted in favor of two amendments proposed by him – regarding concerns about attempts to resume criminal responsibility for libel in Ukraine and concerns about a sharp increase in Ukraine in the number of violations committed against journalists in 2012, especially during the parliamentary elections.