The leadership of the SPU, "Our Ukraine" and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc made a joint decision to hold festive events on March 9 dedicated to the anniversary of the birth of Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko, the Socialist Party press service reported on Thursday. \n \n"With the latest events, the struggle for freedom of speech is becoming increasingly relevant for the Ukrainian opposition," said People's Deputy Yuriy Lutsenko. \n \n"As in Shevchenko's times, free speech in Ukraine is under attack by the authorities. That is precisely why on March 9 the opposition will march not only with memory of the great Kobzar, but also with protests against the destruction of Radio "Svoboda", "Roks", "Kontynent", the newspaper "Silski Visti" and other mass media," he noted. \n \nThe joint opposition action will begin on March 9 at 13:00 on Mykhailivska Square in the capital. Demonstrators will march along Volodymyrska Street to Taras Shevchenko Park. Near the Shevchenko monument at 14:00 an artistic-political action will begin, which will end with a festive concert. \n \nAlso planned for March 9, 2004 is the journalistic solidarity action "Freedom to the Word!", which will begin at 13:00 on Sofiyska Square in Kyiv. \n \nOn the anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's birth, journalists intend to express protest against the fact that in independent Ukraine the authorities "persecute free speech, as the non-Ukrainian authorities did in the century before last in the Kobzar's times." \n \nThe goal of the action is to draw citizens' attention to obstruction of journalists' free activity, to political and economic pressure on the media, to violation of the constitutional right to freedom of speech and citizens' right to receive information. \n \nJournalists and citizens who care about freedom of speech in Ukraine are invited to participate in the action. \n