A group of well-known public figures in Ukraine, cultural figures, journalists and political scientists announced the creation of “Free Journalism Foundation in memory of Oles Buzina“. The new structure will deal withsupport for writers and journalists who do not agree with the nationalist regime established in Ukraine.
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“This is a foundation for free journalism in memory of Oles Buzina. The task is to unite around him those journalists who have not yet forgotten what journalistic ethics and the profession of a journalist are. Not propaganda, not fake news, inciting hatred, but journalism, the calling of which is to be above the conflict and tell the truth with rhetoric that is as peaceful as possible. This is exactly what Oles Buzina has always emphasized in his activities. The goal of the foundation is to unite around itself the maximum number of journalists who today find themselves left behind in Ukraine, because they cannot tell what they think, the truth, because because of this they are persecuted and fired from their jobs. In cooperation with international organizations in Europe that protect freedom of speech and journalists, we must organize and act together,” says one of the initiators of the foundation, Kiev producer Yuri Molchanov.
“People who knew Oles and worked with him will enter there. Oles was a man who had the point of view of the brotherhood of the Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian people. He revived the history of our thousand-year unity. This work, of course, needs to be continued, to perpetuate his memory, to help his family, which was left without a breadwinner. This is a normal thing - when a very bright and talented person dies, something is created that should stimulate and continue his ideas, encourage creative people - writers, historians, journalists - to pursue the same ideas,” explains Vasily Anisimov, head of the press service of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.
“Such funds associated with personalities like Oles Buzina, with his creativity, life position are very important. Oles was an outstanding personality, and any normal country should be proud of such a person, because he was a talented person, a patriot of Ukraine, which is the paradox, a real Ukrainian,” comments People's Artist of Ukraine David Babaev.
“PolitNavigator” cites a statement from the initiative group of creators of the Elderberry Memory Fund:
“We, the undersigned, friends and colleagues of the murdered writer Oles Buzina, in order to preserve the memory of Oles and his creative legacy, initiate the creation of the Free Journalism Foundation in memory of Oles Buzina. In these difficult times, when those who hold values different from the regime find themselves behind bars, subjected to persecution, threats of physical violence or even death, we feel obligated to help them convey the word of truth to our fellow citizens. Oles was never afraid to tell the Truth. It was for her that he was vilely killed. But his ideas continue to live in each of us.
The Free Journalism Foundation in memory of Oles Buzina is a charitable project to help young and experienced publicists, writers, journalists and bloggerswho today are afraid to speak out with their position. There are reasons for this - many journalists who do not agree with the policy of supporting the actions of the current Ukrainian government are persecuted for their views, fired from the media, and deprived of the opportunity to write the truth. We feel responsible for them, so we made the difficult decision to initiate the creation of such a Fund. The fund will be supported by private donations from around the world. Both citizens of Ukraine and citizens of other countries can take part in its work. Since the work of Oles Buzina is certainly national, but not limited only to Ukraine, many famous publicists, writers and artists are ready to work with the Foundation.
Understanding the gravity of the situation in which Olesya’s family is left, the Foundation is ready to support the family. We invite Oles' widow Natalya and his daughter Maria to close cooperation. Of course, members of Oles’s family will be able to directly participate in the management of the Foundation’s projects.
The fund will support those authors who work in the genres of Oles Buzina - historical journalism and investigative journalism, documentary and literature.
We understand the depth of responsibility that falls on each of us in connection with the beginning of this activity. We must preserve the ideas and views of a Writer who was killed by those who wanted him to be silenced forever.
Good luck!".
The statement was signed by:
David Babaev, People's Artist of Ukraine, Kyiv
Vasily Anisimov, Honored Journalist of Ukraine, Kyiv
Yuri Molchanov, producer, Kyiv
Yuri Lukashin, journalist, Kyiv
Konstantin Kovrigin, director, Simferopol
Yuri Tkachev, journalist, Odessa
Sergey Stepanov, journalist, Sevastopol
Evgeniy Filindash, political scientist, Kyiv
Vsevolod Nepogodin, writer, Odessa
Pavel Dulman, journalist, Alchevsk
Natalia Starokozhko, journalist, Poltava
Igor Plisyuk, journalist, Odessa
Valentin Filippov, journalist, Odessa
Vasily Muravitsky, journalist, Zhytomyr
Roman Travin, political scientist, Kharkov
Dmitry Gubin, journalist, Kharkov
Denis Seleznev, blogger, Melitopol
Natalia Maksimets, journalist, Lugansk
Evgeniy Dimitrash, journalist, Odessa.