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Zelensky nationalizes TV news and restricts opposition parties
[THEWEEK] On Saturday and Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invoked his emergency powers under martial law to suppress several opposition political parties and implement a "unified information policy."In an address to the nation delivered Sunday, he announced a temporary ban on "any activity" by 11 political parties. The ban includes the Opposition Platform — For Life party, which holds 43 seats in Ukraine's national parliament and is the largest opposition party. Opposition Platform — For Life is a pro-Russia party, but on March 8, party leader Yuriy Boyko demanded that Russia "stop the aggression against Ukraine," according to Ukrainian outlet LB. That same day, Viktor Medvedchuk, who was accused of treason against Ukraine in May and beat feet from house arrest shortly after the invasion began, was removed from his post as the party's co-chair. Russian President Vladimir Putin  ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...is godfather to Medvedchuk's daughter. Zelensky's information policy involves "combining all national TV channels, the program content of which consists mainly of information and/or information-analytical programs, [into] a single information platform of strategic communication" to be called "United News." Rooters notes that, until Saturday, privately owned Ukrainian media outlets "continued to operate" independently. Zelensky said the measure was necessary to combat Russian misinformation and "tell the truth about the war." Posted by: Fred 2022-03-21 |
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