https://sputnikglobe.com/20220525/rt--sputnik-ban-eu-turned-into-nato-branch-limits-publics-access-to-information-activists-say-1095772379.html
RT & Sputnik Ban: EU Turned Into NATO Branch, Limits Public's Access to Information, Activists Say
RT & Sputnik Ban: EU Turned Into NATO Branch, Limits Public's Access to Information, Activists Say
Sputnik International
The Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ), along with several other organisations, has filed a petition with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg... 25.05.2022, Sputnik International
2022-05-25T14:37+0000
2022-05-25T14:37+0000
2023-02-09T11:44+0000
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"I welcome this initiative and would like to see even more human rights organisations take a strong stand in favour of freedom of information and challenge the EU’s ban on RT and Sputnik", says Taylor Hudak, journalist and editor at AcTVism Munich. "The public is not free and informed if entities like the EU ban news organisations it does not like simply because those organisations provide a different perspective".In early March, the European Union suspended the broadcasting of several Russian media outlets as part of the sanctions over Russia's special operation in Ukraine, which was launched on 24 February. Sputnik, RT, and their subsidiaries came under the ban. Simultaneously, Meta*, Twitter, and some other Big Tech giants suspended Sputnik and RT's accounts and content on their platforms across the EU.A Dutch coalition of press- and Internet freedom advocates, which includes the Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ) and civil rights organisation Bits of Freedom, signalled this week that it would challenge the EU's decision. "This was a political decision, without judicial review", argues Rejo Zenger of Bits of Freedom. "The decision to make information inaccessible should not rest with our heads of government but with independent judges".According to Vermaut, Europe must set an example and adhere to the fundamental rights outlined in the Treaty of Lisbon of 2007, which expresses the three fundamental principles of democratic equality, representative democracy, and participatory democracy."There is no way that the EU will begin to prohibit everything that does not comply with their agenda", the activist emphasises, insisting that "the international federation union of journalists should also join this cause, as it is crucial that we all fight for our fundamental basic rights".Press Freedom & Russia's Ukraine OpFreedom of information is becoming something of the past, according to Taylor Hudak. She bemoans the fact that Western governments within Europe are "taking draconian policies to limit the public’s access to information".What's worse, Western news networks are at the same time spreading uncorroborated information, sheer disinformation, and fake news, according to the AcTVism Munich editor."For example, the attempts to depict Ukrainian President [Volodymyr] Zelensky as a hero and the Azov Battalion as freedom fighters, when they have a deep-rooted affiliation with Nazism, is just the latest example of fake news coming from Western media", Hudak highlights.This happens because the EU has become nothing short of the "political branch of NATO," according to her. As a result, a majority of EU member states’ governments have taken up the foreign policy interests of Washington and not their own people by placing sanctions on Russia and censoring the media, she says.Hudak believes that if a majority of Americans and EU citizens knew the truth about Ukraine and how the Ukrainian government has been shelling the region of Donbass for the past eight years, "they would certainly not support military aid to Ukraine nor would they support sanctions on Russia".*Meta is banned in Russia over extremist activities.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20220525/dutch-activists-file-collective-complaint-with-european-court-over-eu-ban-on-rt-sputnik-1095769237.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20220524/us-volunteer-azovstal-surrender-prompted-shift-in-western-public-view-of-russias-ukraine-op-1095745855.html
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RT & Sputnik Ban: EU Turned Into NATO Branch, Limits Public's Access to Information, Activists Say
14:37 GMT 25.05.2022 (Updated: 11:44 GMT 09.02.2023) The Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ), along with several other organisations, has filed a petition with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg seeking to unblock Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik.
"I welcome this initiative and would like to see even more human rights organisations take a strong stand in favour of freedom of information and challenge the EU’s ban on RT and Sputnik", says Taylor Hudak, journalist and editor at AcTVism Munich. "The public is not free and informed if entities like the EU ban news organisations it does not like simply because those organisations provide a different perspective".
In early March, the European Union suspended the broadcasting of several Russian media outlets as part of the sanctions over Russia's special operation in Ukraine, which was launched on 24 February. Sputnik, RT, and their subsidiaries came under the ban. Simultaneously, Meta*, Twitter, and some other Big Tech giants suspended Sputnik and RT's accounts and content on their platforms across the EU.
A Dutch coalition of press- and Internet freedom advocates, which includes the Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ) and civil rights organisation Bits of Freedom,
signalled this week that it would challenge the EU's decision. "This was a political decision, without judicial review", argues Rejo Zenger of Bits of Freedom. "The decision to make information inaccessible should not rest with our heads of government but with independent judges".
"As a member of the European Federation of Journalists, I find it extremely reassuring to learn that the Dutch journalists' union intends to take decisive action against the European undermining of free speech and defend media diversity on an international scale", says Andy Vermaut, a Belgian human rights activist from the International Alliance for the Defence of Rights and Liberties (AIDL). "Indeed, it is inexcusable that we condemn the suppression of freedom of expression everywhere in the world but fail to defend the values that we ourselves promote".
According to Vermaut, Europe must set an example and adhere to the fundamental rights outlined in the Treaty of Lisbon of 2007, which expresses the three fundamental principles of democratic equality, representative democracy, and participatory democracy.
"There is no way that the EU will begin to prohibit everything that does not comply with their agenda", the activist emphasises, insisting that "the international federation union of journalists should also join this cause, as it is crucial that we all fight for our fundamental basic rights".
Press Freedom & Russia's Ukraine Op
Freedom of information is becoming something of the past, according to Taylor Hudak. She bemoans the fact that Western governments within Europe are "taking draconian policies to limit the public’s access to information".
What's worse, Western news networks are at the same time spreading uncorroborated information, sheer disinformation, and fake news, according to the AcTVism Munich editor.
"For example, the attempts to depict Ukrainian President [Volodymyr] Zelensky as a hero and the Azov Battalion as freedom fighters, when they have a deep-rooted affiliation with Nazism, is just the latest example of fake news coming from Western media", Hudak highlights.
This happens because the EU has become nothing short of the "political branch of NATO," according to her. As a result, a majority of EU member states’ governments have taken up the foreign policy interests of Washington and not their own people by placing sanctions on Russia and censoring the media, she says.
"I think the efforts to ban and censor RT and Sputnik were politically motivated decisions to control the narrative and thus control the public", argues Hudak. "When the diversity of information the public has access to becomes more concentrated, the public will be easier to control. I think the EU and NATO-aligned countries, including the US, are fearful of the information that RT and Sputnik provide because these outlets have reported accurately on the special military operation in Ukraine".
Hudak believes that if a majority of Americans and EU citizens knew the truth about Ukraine and how the Ukrainian government has been shelling the region of Donbass for the past eight years, "they would certainly not support military aid to Ukraine nor would they support sanctions on Russia".
*Meta is banned in Russia over extremist activities.
