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Motion · S6M-03480 · 4 Mar 2022

Media Reporting of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Lodged by Russell Findlay (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party) Standard Motion 41 supporters

The motion

That the Parliament gives gratitude and recognises the bravery of journalists reporting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; commends those who put themselves in danger while reporting from conflict zones in the country and elsewhere around the world; condemns reports of Russian shelling of a television tower in Kyiv on 1 March 2022, causing the death of camera operator Yevhenii Sakun; notes that the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) supports a fund created by the International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists to support journalists working in Ukraine; supports the NUJ’s calls for UNESCO to ensure the protection and safety of journalists in Ukraine; recognises what it sees as the crucial importance of journalism in keeping people informed about what is happening, not least during times of war; notes that in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Russia was ranked 150 and Belarus was ranked 158 of 180 countries; condemns President Putin of Russia and President Lukashenko of Belarus for, it believes, targeting journalists and attacking basic human rights including freedom of speech; considers that tyrants and despotic regimes throughout history have attacked the media but that such tactics are likely to fail thanks to the prevalence of digital communications technology; condemns what it considers as the enforced closure of independent Russian news outlets including Dozhd (Rain) TV station and Ekho Moskvy (the Echo of Moscow) radio station; praises social media platforms Twitter and Facebook for taking steps to curb the flow of what it sees as flagrant misinformation by Russian state-affiliated media outlets such as RT and Sputnik; sympathises with the people of Russia who, it believes, are being deprived of truthful news and information about the death, destruction and suffering that it considers are being caused by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine; expresses solidarity with journalists who are unjustly imprisoned in Russia and Belarus, and agrees with the statement made by the US State Department that since the invasion of Ukraine began ‘the Kremlin is engaged in a full assault on media freedom and the truth, and Moscow’s efforts to mislead and suppress the truth of the brutal invasion are intensifying".

Supporters (41)

Source: the Scottish Parliament motions and amendments record.