Maria Zakharova noted
that the pople of the peninsula are the first source of information about life
over there and can "talk about their achievements, problems, everyday
life"
SEVASTOPOL, October
11. /TASS/. Crimea has managed to break through the information blockade at the
international level, and Crimean journalists have started to participate in
international events. It is important because people living on the peninsula
can provide reliable information about what is happening in the region, Russian
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS.
"I think, and I
will repeat myself, that the information blockade is already broken. We have
examples of Crimean journalists participating in international forums, off-site
or personally. We will continue working on this," Zakharova said.
She noted that after
Crimea had begun to form part of Russia, activists and regular citizens of the
peninsula did not have a chance to talk on the international scene, while they
are the first source of information about life on the peninsula and can
"talk about their achievements, problems, everyday life."
"We know that
the main goal of Crimean journalists in the area of international relations is
to make their voices be heard. And with that goal, the foreign ministry is
undertaking relevant work and organizing their participation, <…> while
the West actively resists that. We organize and remain in contact with
international organizations, public organizations [to discuss] the
participation of Crimean journalists in a lively debate, when the issues are
directly related to Crimea," the diplomat added.
Crimea’s information
blockade
On March 11, 2014,
Crimea’s legislature and the city council of Sevastopol adopted a declaration
of independence of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol
amid a political crisis and change of power in Ukraine. On March 16, Crimea and
Sevastopol held referendums, in which 96.77% of Crimeans and 95.6% of the
people of Sevastopol voted to be incorporated into Russia. In both cases the
turnout was above 80%. Ukraine, the United States and the European Union
refused to recognize the independence of Crimea, and its forming part of
Russia.
Some countries have
introduced an information blockade of the peninsula, which created issues
connected with the region’s representation on the international scene. On
September 11, head of the Millet Crimean Tatar TV channel Ervin Musayev took
the floor at a meeting of the OSCE and introduced himself as a representative
of Crimea, Russia, three countries - Ukraine, Canada and Austria - protested
and the mic was turned off. In 2017, Andrei Trofimov, Head of the Crimean
Branch of the Russian Union of Journalists, was stopped from delivering his
address at the Ukrainian delegation’s request.
Source: ITAR-TASS
12-10-2018
