Internet Registration Order Suspended

UKRAINIAN MINISTER SUSPENDS ORDER ON REGISTRATION OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Transport and Communications Minister Yevhen Chervonenko on 26 May suspended for 10 days his instruction of 27 April whereby he ordered all electronic media, including Internet sites, to apply for registration with his ministry, Ukrainian media reported. Chervonenko told journalists that he wants to organize a roundtable in the ministry with all interested sides to discuss the instruction. "Nobody from the [President Viktor] Yushchenko team will force anybody to register," he added. The instruction has provoked a flood of indignant reactions and protests in Ukraine, particularly among Internet users. "This step could damage freedom of expression on the Internet. We will be watching closely to see that this registration procedure does not become obligatory for private websites," the Reporters Without Borders media watchdog said in a recent statement.JM

(from today's RFE/RL Newsline - 27.05.2005)