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SBU chief co to forgo frequency auctions
Journal Staff Report

KIEV, June 13 – The media group which recently successfully contested an auction selling frequencies to two independent television stations will not bid for new frequencies after all, said the chief of the SBU security service and the owner of the group.

The comment by Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy, the SBU chief, shows there was no economic reason for contesting the auction in the first place, except to disrupt the expansion of two independent television stations.

“I guarantee, as the owner, that Inter group will not bid at the next auction in case it will be conducted,” Khoroshkovskiy told Ukrayinska Pravda online newspaper on Friday.

The two independent television stations, Channel 5 and TVi, on Tuesday lost dozens of broadcasting frequencies following a court ruling on a lawsuit from Inter media group.

Channel 5, the leading 24-hour television news station, and TVi, a station that focuses on political talk shows, vowed to appeal the ruling, but admitted it was an uphill battle with the authorities.

The developments disrupts expansion of the independent television stations and is the most devastating attack on media outlets since the election of Viktor Yanukovych to presidency in February.

“This is not an economic battle,” Viacheslav Kyrylenko, the leader of the opposition For Ukraine group, said. “This is an attack on the freedom of speech. They put pressure on the two opposition channels.”

Opposition lawmakers plan to launch investigation of the attack and will seek to create the committee in Parliament within days, Kyrylenko said.

Petro Poroshenko, the owner of the Channel 5, said Khoroshkovskiy should step down from his post for the time of investigation to avoid further pressure.

Poroshenko said the attack on the television stations may hinder Ukraine’s talks with the European Union over visa-free travel between the two entities later this year.

“I believe the issue of the freedom of speech will be put on agenda,” Poroshenko said in Shuster Live talk show on Friday.

“Your actions,” Poroshenko addressed Khoroshkovskiy, “are caused by either non-professionalism or corruption interest, but either way they greatly harm the interests of the state.”

Poroshenko also said Khoroshkovskiy did not have economic reason for contesting the sale of the frequencies because there are more than 150 frequencies that are currently available.

“If anyone wanted to get frequencies, they could be easily obtained,” Poroshenko said, adding that the authorities will probably suspend the auctions in order to leave the status quo.

“You are misleading the society and the television stations because you know that there will be no any auctions,” Poroshenko said. (nr/ez)




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