Council of Churches Calls State Leadership To Preserve National Expert Committee on Protection of Social Morality
The heads of the Ukrainian denominations again stress the necessity of preservation and further activity of the National Expert Committee (NEC) on Protection of Social Morality. They call the parliament and the state leadership to prevent passing of the government’s Bill 10447 envisaging the liquidation of the committee.
So say the addresses of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations to Ukraine’s President, V. Yanukovych, the Parliament’s Speaker, V. Lytvyn, leader of the united opposition, A. Yatseniuk, the President’s representative in the Parliament, Y. Miroshnychenko and heads of the factions. So reported the Institute For Religious Freedom (IRF).
The addresses signed by the Chairman of AUCCRO, Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) stress that “NEC on Protection of Social Morality as a body of the public and state control fulfils an important function in the area of protection of children and youth from harmful influence of the wide stream of information and prevents manifestations of xenophobia, propaganda of violence and stirring up national hatred and religious intolerance.”
According to the heads of the denominations, liquidation of the committee will make the law of Ukraine “On Protection of Social Morality” impossible to realize and as the result of its liquidation, expert evaluation of information materials will become paid.
AUCCRO expressed its concern that “in that case, there will be no public control exercised over the activity of media corporations and it will extend far outside the limits of decency and common sense as it will focus only on the thirst for quick enrichment at any expense,”
According to AUCCRO, if the responsibility of expert evaluations in the area of social morality is vested on other state bodies, particularly, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, conditions will be created for censorship, corruption and infringement and restrictions of the freedom of speech in Ukraine.
