First, a question: Does anybody know where I can locate a transcript of Basayev’s interview? I haven’t been able to lay my hands on one yet.
ABC is still taking a hammering from the Russian government over its decision to air an interview with Chechen terrorist Shamil Basayev.
The Foreign Ministry, following the lead of the Defense Ministry, has announced that it will not renew the acccreditation of ABC journalists in Russia when their visas expire later this year. Interfax reports:
…"taking into account all the circumstances surrounding the broadcasting of [] an interview with internationally-recognized terrorist Shamil Basayev, the obvious fact of the facilitation of terrorist propaganda and direct calls to perpetrate violent acts against Russian citizens that were broadcast, Russia has made the decision that the accreditation of this TV company’s employers will not be extended upon expiration," the Foreign Ministry said.
The Moscow Times reports that ABC Bureau Chief Tomasz Rolski and 10 other staff will be affected in the coming months. Their report also carries this spot on quote from the Committee to Protect Journalists:
"This action reflects the Kremlin’s growing intolerance of any kind of criticism, especially in regard to its actions in Chechnya," CPJ executive director Ann Cooper said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday. "The Russian Foreign Ministry is clearly trying to intimidate foreign journalists into censoring their news reporting on the war in Chechnya. We call on the ministry to reverse its decision immediately."
Finally, RIA Novosti carries this interview with US analyst Robert Bruce Ware, who clearly does not approve of ABC’s decision to screen the interview:
ABC failed to grasp several important points. For example, Ted Koppel defended the interview on air by noting that he also interviews common criminals. Yet there is an important difference between common criminals and terrorists. Common criminals do not commit their crimes for the purpose of attracting media attention; terrorists do. Terrorists depend upon media coverage, and without media coverage they are powerless. If we are serious about preventing terrorism, then we must begin to accept responsibility for limiting media access for recognized terrorists.
The U.S. government is right in saying that ABC has a constitutional right to interview controversial figures. However, this means neither that the public airwaves are unregulated, nor that anyone can use them to say anything. You and I are American citizens; yet we cannot use American public airwaves to promote criminal activity, let alone terrorism. So why is it that Basayev was able to do so? In the face of an abuse of the American Constitution, such as this case, the U.S. government should, at a minimum, launch an investigation into the legal status of the Basayev interview, and open a public debate into the numerous issues raised by ABC’s action. Moreover, since terrorism cannot succeed without media attention, it may be time to consider legislation that limits media access for recognized terrorists, such as Basayev.
[Emphasis added].
I’m sticking to my original opinion. The interview has shown Basayev up as a common terrorist, and displayed Russia’s greatest enemy to the American public in the same light as America’s greatest enemy, Osama Bin Laden. Russia should be taking advantage of this opportunity to gain sympathy and make common cause with America, not turn this into a major incident. Sure, Russia may be embarrassed that a journalist can find Basayev when their special forces can’t, but if the United States faces the same problems then, let’s face it, Russia is in pretty good company.
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