On May 3rd, the day after Free Media Online published its “BBG Blamed for Armenian Genocide Denials on Congressionally-Funded Radio Liberty”, one of the most popular online Armenian news sources, “The Armenian Reporter”, distributed the article,
“U.S.-funded Radio Liberty removes Genocide denial report after protests”. Excerpts:

“On April 22, 10 p.m., Moscow time, Russian Service of the Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) aired an extensive report by its Istanbul correspondent, “Why so many historians in Turkey study the issue of Armenian Genocide”. The broadcast presented only Turkish views that deny the notion, scope and character of genocide to Armenian national tragedy… The text of the broadcast was placed in Russian on RFE/RL Internet site. The broadcast itself, despite the incoming protests from listeners and readers, was repeated twice also the next day, April 23 – at 1 a.m. and 3 p.m., Moscow time… Only April 26, under the avalanche of indignant messages from the audience, the transcript of Istanbul feed, together with listeners’ letters, was removed from RFE/RL Internet site. RFE/RL offered no further comment on the controversial report or its decision to pull it.”

Evidently, the lies, to quote Mario Corty, former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Russian Service director, have also “American government officials who are now trying hard to hide their mistakes from the White House, the U.S. Congress and the American public”.

“The Armenian Reporter” makes reference to the Press Release issued April 29th by the Prague-based ICCEE, Information Centre Caucasus and Eastern Europe. ICCEE PR titled “U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty Offends Its Listeners on the Eve of Armenian Genocide Memorial Day” is addressed “To Whom It May Concern: Congress, Administration, Media, Public Organizations”. Summing up the results of the so-called “public diplomacy” performed at U.S. taxpayers’ expense by BBG and RFE/RL bureaucrats (President Jeffrey Gedmin, since March 2007), ICCEE states matter-of-factly:

“The list of publications –in English, Czech, Armenian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian — condemning RFE/RL employment policies developed under the supervision of BBG (Executive Director Jeffrey N. Trimble) is virtually endless. Without any exception, they appeared during the ongoing Trimble’s leadership at BBG and Gedmin’s – at RFE/RL. To mention but a few:

“Radio Liberty Betrays its Ideals”, “Radio Free Europe – Guantanamo in Prague”, “Equality With Precondition. Practice of Free Europe Contradicts Its Ideals”, “U.S. Attorney General is Asked to Investigate Fraud at RFE/RL”, “Doomsday of Radio Liberty. From Double Standards to Double Morals?” “A Sense of Betrayal”, “ Czech Politician Accuses U.S. of Discrimination Against Foreign Journalists”, “On Air in Legal Vacuum”, “Czech MP Writes to U.S. Counterparts Over Work Conditions in RFE/RL”,”New Administration Must Undo RFE/RL Anti-Diplomacy Abroad”, “BBG, RFE/RL: Bring Public Diplomats Instead of Public Bureaucrats”, “Don’t Feed Kremlin’s Public Diplomacy With U.S. Public Hypocrisy”, “Public Disaster Instead of Public Diplomacy”, “Cases of Karapetian and Pelivan as Morality Check for Obama Administration. Radio Free Europe to Face European Court of Human Rights”, “Czech MP Questions Pelivan Case”, “Czech Sovereignty Ends at RFE/RL”, “Free Europe With Its Own Laws in Colonial Czech Republic?”, “From Human Rights Show to Human Rights Court”, “Prague Spring of 2009 Leads to Strasbourg”, ”News Flashes From Radio Free/Radio Liberty. The Face of America Abroad”, “Czech senator angry about Croat’s lawsuit”, etc.”

Highly detrimental to American public image abroad, such publications are simply devastating to the trustworthiness and moral standing of RFE/RL, a costly to U.S. taxpayer tool of American public diplomacy.”

“For how long they’ll be successful?”, American bureaucrats crippling American international broadcasting, inquires ICCEE in its Press Release. In my view, that rhetorical question, definitely, is not to be answered by my friends and many talented former colleagues still working at RFE/RL. It is not addressed to them.

Lev Roitman,
Fm. RFE/RL senior commentator,
retired (2005) after 30 years with the Radios in New York, Munich and Prague