The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), based in New York, addressed President Kuchma with an open letter expressing concern about pressure on independent media. \n \nThis is reported by the Institute of Mass Information. \n \n"The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by the recent closure of independent media outlets in Ukraine. We believe that the closure of these media is part of a large-scale campaign aimed at destroying voices that criticize the government and cutting off society's access to independent sources of information on the eve of the presidential elections, which are expected to take place in October," the appeal says. \n \nAccording to CPJ, this campaign began in January when the Shevchenkivskyi District Court ordered the closure of the opposition daily newspaper USilski VistiF allegedly for anti-Semitic publications. \n \n"However, local and international experts suggested, C the Committee notes, C that anti-Semitism was only a pretext for closing USilski VistiF, a newspaper that was read everywhere and that criticized the government and supported the opposition Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU)." \n \n"Soon after the closure of USilski VistiF, C CPJ continues, C the private radio station UDoviraF decided on February 17 to stop broadcasting the news of the Ukrainian service of Radio Free Europe. \n \nThe Committee to Protect Journalists sees the political subtext in this decision in the fact that "the decision was made a month after the appointment of the country's president's associate Serhiy Kychyhin as general producer of radio UDoviraF, although before that for five years UDoviraF had broadcast Radio SvobodaF programs on short waves. \n \nCPJ also includes in this series the disconnection from the air of radio "Kontynent" five days after, on February 27, it added two hours to its usual airtime and began broadcasting Radio SvobodaF programs on 100.9 MHz. \n \n"It is assumed that the reason for such actions is C the expiration in 2001 of the license of radio UKontynentF, C CPJ notes, C but the question arises why the radio was closed only three years later?" \n \nThe fact that UKontynentF's license expired in 2001, but it was taken off the air only recently, together with UDoviraF's decision to refuse to broadcast Radio "Svoboda" programs, suggests, according to CPJ, "that political motives are behind all this." \n \nMoreover, the Committee to Protect Journalists does not rule out that the death of a journalist is also connected to the issue of broadcasting Radio "Svoboda." The appeal says the following about this: "On the same day, March 3, several hours before the police burst into UKontynentF, Heorhiy Chechyk, director of the private TRK UyotaF, died in his own car during a collision with another car in the Pyriatyn area, 344 kilometers east of Kyiv. Chechyk was driving to a meeting with executive directors of the Ukrainian service of Radio "Svoboda" to discuss a project for broadcasting their news releases. In this context, Chechyk's death requires a thorough investigation, the results of which must be made public." \n \nAt the end of the letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists reminds the President of Ukraine that "restricting the opposition's access to the media and limiting the number of sources of information for the Ukrainian audience on the eve of the presidential elections is a violation of freedom of speech and an act of censorship." \n \nThe Committee to Protect Journalists "strongly recommends" that Kuchma do everything possible to allow radio UKontynentF to resume broadcasting both its own programs and Radio "Svoboda" programs. \n