Putin Vetoes Both Chambers' Amendments to Media, Antiterrorism Laws

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Putin Vetoes Both Chambers' Amendments to Media, Antiterrorism Laws

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has vetoed the amendments adopted by both the parliamentary chambers to the media law concerning non-admission of terrorist propaganda in the press, as well as to the law on combating terrorism.

The Russian president said this at a meeting with heads of the mass media in the Kremlin on Monday night.

The head of state said that he has vetoed these amendments literally before the meeting with the mass media heads. He also said he has undersigned two letters to the speakers of the upper and lower chambers of Russian parliament - Sergei Mironov of the Federation Council and Gennadi Seleznev of the State Duma - in which he reports his decision.

Putin has asked both the speakers to set up a conciliation commission, also the involvement of representatives of the mass media, in order to "work on the wording".

Five days ago the heads of certain Russian media bodies asked the president to veto the amendments to the legislative acts aimed at regulating operation of the mass media, including in case of emergency.

The amendments adopted by the two parliamentary chambers ban the use of the mass media means "for the purpose of committing punishable offences, divulging information containing state or other specially protected secrets".

It is also banned to use the mass media for "the conduct of extremist activities, spreading of information on the technology of making weapons, ammunition, explosive substances and devises, as well as for the broadcasting of programmes spreading pornography, the cult of violence and cruelty".

It is not allowed to spread through the mass media or otherwise information disclosing special techniques and the tactics of conduct of antiterrorist operations.

It is also banned to spread information conducive to propaganda or vindication of extremist activities. The law does not allow "the spread of data which discloses personal information on staffers of special units and members of the operative headquarters for control of an on-going antiterrorist operation", as well as on persons which "render assistance in the conduct of an operation" without their consent.

In their appeal to the head of state, heads of the Russian media community agree that certain acts of journalists and the mass media during the recent act of terrorism in Moscow were wrong, as well as with the need to alter legislation in this field. Meanwhile, the amendments adopted by the State Duma cannot meet these goals, they believe.

Source: Agencies

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