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Aug. 5, 2005

Original Article (English)

David Westin

MOSCOW: Yesterday, the management of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) for the first time reacted to the decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denying accreditation to its employees in Russia. The company’s president, David Westin, said that he didn’t consider the interview that ABC aired with Shamil Basaev as a mistake. Moreover, he expressed hope that Moscow would still change its mind. However, that is unlikely. The scandal is not because the Russian Foreign Ministry is making an example of ABC, but is rather a reflection of the relationship between the Kremlin and White House. In fact, the conflict between the foreign ministry and ABC has become an announcement of a new Cold War between Moscow and Washington.

A TERRORIST STAR-FACTORY

ABC already has a scandalous interview with a famous terrorist in its history. In May 1998, ABC correspondent John Miller met with Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan. The al-Qaeda leader was already on America’s most-wanted terrorists list for organizing acts of terror on American military bases in Saudi Arabia. The interview was shocking: Bin Laden announced that it was necessary to kill Americans and Jews wherever and whenever possible. The reaction to the interview was mixed. However, there were no sanctions in the United States imposed against the TV channel.

Three months after the interview was aired, explosions ripped through American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and bin Laden was immediately accused of being the culprit. Thus he became the world’s terrorist No. 1. In other words, ABC News knew with whom to talk.

When ABC aired the interview with Shamil Basaev on July 28, the reaction was loud and the consequences serious. The Minister of Defense of Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov immediately labeled ABC “persona non grata” and an outcast (see Kommersant from Aug. 1). At the same time, the foreign ministry made the decision not to extend accreditation for the company’s employees working in Moscow. In fact, it means taking accreditation away for an unknown period (see Kommersant from Aug. 2). Moreover, the foreign ministry said that the broadcast company should not be contacted by Russian state organizations and institutions.

The president of ABC news, David Westin, responding to the Moscow action, stated yesterday that, “the mission of a free press is to cover news events — even those involving illegal acts. … We cannot allow any government to deter us from reporting the news fully and accurately.” However, he made a remark that “The Russian people have suffered greatly at the hands of Chechen terrorists. No civilized people can condone the murder of innocent civilians.”

It is true the Russian side recently changed its position – its position has hardened. The fact is that ABC’s Basayev interview was just the most recent in a series of such interviews over recent months. For example, in February Britain’s Channel 4 showed interviewed Basaev and The Times published excerpts from it. The Russian Foreign Ministry protested, but went no further than that. Channel 4 doesn’t have a Moscow correspondent, so there was nobody to deny accreditation to. Neither did the The Times suffer from the publication.

THE FREEZING POINT

The U.S. State Department Tuesday [Aug. 4] expressed its support for ABC. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that the TV company must be permitted to exercise its right to freedom of speech and to broadcast materials as it sees fit.

“I think we believe that ABC as well as all other members of the media should have the opportunity for freedom of expression and have the right to report as they see fit.” “I don't think -- if, in fact, ABC is to somehow be banned from reporting in Russia -- that that would be a positive statement about freedom of expression,” Casey concluded.

It is not surprising that Washington defended ABC. The reason is that the Nightline interview with Basaev occurred at the sensitive time, just as Russian-American relations had reached the maximum freezing point.
Looking back, we can see that relations between Russia and the United States started heading south right after the Beslan events. At the time, President Putin in his famous accusatory speech blamed the deaths of the children and other civilians on those who “want to cut a juicy morsel from us” and those that “as one of the world's major nuclear powers, Russia is still posing a threat to someone, and therefore this threat must be removed.” No country was mentioned by name in this speech, but the hint was clear.

Scenes of Horror at Beslan

Russian rhetoric after Ukraine’s Orange Revolution became even tougher. Around that time, Putin spoke out against the “men in colonial helmets” that are telling others how they should live, and if they disagree, they punish them with “the help of missiles and bombs like they did in Yugoslavia.” At was then abundantly clear which country he was referring to.

On the official level, however, everything remained as it was. George Bush and Vladimir Putin continued to meet, look into each other’s eyes and talk of cooperation. However, statements of Russian officials sounded more and more anti-American. And American Congressmen increased their criticism of Moscow over Yukos, freedom of the press and Chechnya, and demanded Russia’s expulsion from the G8. Even Condoleezza Rice publicly scolded Moscow for a lack of democracy.

The breaking point in bi-lateral relations may have come at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, the last meeting between the Russian and American presidents. It now looks like that this meeting started a new Cold War, as mutual criticism began to rise thereafter.

Radio Liberty Correspondent Andrei Babitsky

SHANGHAI WARNING

As [Radio Liberty correspondent] Andrei Babitsky told Kommersant, the interview was taken on June 23, or two weeks before the G8 Summit. However, ABC didn’t rush to air it. It was broadcast over a month later - on July 28. It’s possible ABC thought showing the Basaev interview right before the Bush-Putin meeting was unwise. For its part, Moscow believes that ABC has pretty close ties with the U.S. establishment and consulted with the authorities about the timing of the broadcast.

It may be that it is the current coolness in Russian-American relations has led Moscow into thinking that U.S. authorities had some influence over the airing of the interview. Over the last month, relations have soured even further. One day before the summit in Gleneagles, another summit was held in the Kazakh capital of – that of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Observers from Iran, Pakistan and India also came to this summit. SOC participants challenged the United States and asked Washington to define the timing of its withdrawal of American troops from bases in Central Asia. That shows that Russia and China, with acquiescence of a majority of the continent, decided to squeeze the U.S. out of the region. However, the U.S. has been able to retain one of its bases, Manas in Kyrgyzia. Despite several statements from officials in Bishkek that the American mission is nearing an end, Donald Rumsfeld paid a visit to Kyrgyzia and persuaded him to permit the Americans to stay. During a TV interview several days earlier, Bakiev admitted that the idea of withdrawal was Moscow’s suggestion.

[The SCO was created in the early 1990s under the pretext of resolving border issues between China and four of the former Soviet Republics – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan.  The five countries admitted a new member – Uzbekistan – and four junior members with observer status – India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan, in 2005.]

Interestingly, this demonstrative unifying link between China and Russia came just two weeks after U.S. Congressional hearings on the growth of China’s military potential. While Washington discusses how to react to the Chinese threat, Moscow plans joint Russian-Chinese maneuvers.

All of these gestures show that relations between Russia and the U.S. are at a very low point. Given the situation, neither side is afraid to risk a worsening, because there is so little left to lose.

And there could be an even bigger scandal centering on Radio Liberty, which is based in Prague, has an office in Moscow and is financed by the U.S. Government. Andrei Babitsky, who conducted the interview with Basaev, works for the station. On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry sought information on the role the radio station may have played in preparing the interview for ABC.

Sources in Washington suggested that if Moscow attempted any type of action against Radio Liberty, tensions would worsen even further. The source doubted comments by the State Department yesterday that “there will be no reciprocal action from the U.S. toward the Russian media. … In case of public action taken by the Kremlin against [Radio] Liberty in Moscow, Washington would most likely act against Russian State media.”

A second Kommersant source confirmed this and said that this would include, “such companies as RIA Novosti, ITAR-TASS or RTR, which are financed by the Russian government.”