International Federation of Journalists Suspends UJR Membership

The leadership of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) suspended the membership of the Union of Journalists of Russia (UJR) in their organization. This was announced by the chairman of the UJR Vladimir Solovyov.

“I have just received a letter from the Secretary General of the International [Энтони Белланже]in which he told me that at a meeting of the executive committee of the organization, a decision was made to suspend the membership of the UJR, ”he said (cit. according to RIA Novosti).

According to Solovyov, this decision is political, since the leadership of the IFJ went along with the so-called “northern trade unions” – the Unions of Journalists of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Finland, which had previously delivered ultimatums regarding the expulsion of the Union of Journalists. Solovyov stressed that in this way the organization violated its own charter and became involved in politics.

Solovyov drew attention to the fact that after leaving the IFJ, Russia would stop paying dues, so “in this case, it is not yet known who will be worse off.”

Earlier, the IFJ reported that today, February 22, the issue of suspending the membership of the UJR will be considered. The reason for this was the creation of four branches of the SZHR in new regions of Russia. The IFJ Executive Committee condemned this decision and adopted a proposal that gave effect to Art. 16 of the IFJ Statute.