Describing the plight of Anna Karapetian, an Armenian journalist, mother of three minors, whose professional career and family life were trampled by the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Ted Lipien (FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog) put a human face on the spreading condemnations of RFE/RL personnel policies and actions in the Czech Republic.

Together with RFE/RL management, Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which “shall make all major policy determinations governing the operations of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Incorporated” (U.S. International Broadcasting Act of 1994), bears direct responsibility for international scandals resulting from the ongoing court cases brought against that American Radio by its discriminated foreign employees.

Another plaintiff suing RFE/RL for violation of her labor, civil, and human rights (national equality), stemming from the lip service paid by RFE/RL to the legislative sovereignty of the Czech Republic, is Snjezana Pelivan, a Croatian citizen. Commenting on the these lawsuits, conservative Czech newspaper Lidove noviny (LN) quoted in Lipien’s article, noted in its editorial “Equality With Precondition. Practice of Free Europe Contradicts Its Ideals” that RFE/RL management “brutally abuses” the “zero protection” status it created for the Radio’s foreign employees. LN wrote:

With such employees, the propagators of democracy deal as a colonial power with rightless aborigines.

BBG in Washington and RFE/RL in Prague rejected newspaper’s requests to explain the situation. Indeed, the most unreasonable (to put it mildly) brand of “public diplomacy”.

Presently, a number of widely read Internet sites in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asia, i.e. in RFE/RL target countries, hosts an article (in Russian) by Prague-based journalist Leonid Panov “Doomsday of Radio Liberty. From Double Standards to Double Morals?”. Characterizing RFE/RL personnel policies, the author calls them “larceny”.

Ironically, it is Barack Obama with his public commitment to improve U.S. image abroad, who on his very first trip to Europe, as the Czech Republic holds the rotating presidency of the Council of European Union, might face embarrassing inquires concerning RFE/RL. And not from the well informed media only. CR President Vaclav Klaus, an outspoken defender of the Czech national dignity and sovereignty, was specifically asked to raise the question of the RFE/RL actions during his forthcoming conversations with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Preventive remedy is simple. RFE/RL should be timely, the sooner the better, ordered by new Washington administration to stop its involvement in ugly foreign lawsuits damaging American reputation. “Ordered” is a proper word here. Nobody should be confused by the so-called “private” status of RFE/RL established by federal law, one hundred percent financed by U.S. Congress, and having on its Board of Directors the Secretary of State ex officio. “Private” is nothing but legalistic gimmick for outside consumption.

Ted Lipien’s suggestion to bring the problem of BBG and RFE/RL mismanagement to the attention of Ernest J. Wilson, the head of Obama Transition Team for international broadcasting and public diplomacy, is of particular practical importance. Earlier this month, calling on Mr. Wilson (copy of the letter “Support RFE/RL by Changing Its Public Image in the Host Country” was mailed to Hillary Clinton), I wrote that RFE/RL, occupying in the heart of Czech capital the parliament of former Communist Czechoslovakia, with American flag presently on its façade,

is not just an American radio stationed in Prague; it is visible America in the Czech Republic.

Sharing Lipien’s approach of putting a human face on seemingly impersonal issues, I wrote to Ernest J. Wilson:

It might be helpful to advise RFE/RL President that it is not imperative for an American official, even if his office is in the former Communist parliament, to imitate Communist rulers in double standards, double thoughts and double talk. He simply should do what he says. Usually, he uses correct words.

Mr. Gedmin:

“No.1, we want to do a better job of connecting to our host country – the Czech Republic.” (Czech Radio-6, June 23, 2007)

He did exactly the opposite. That can be corrected from Washington.

In future, RFE/RL should be prohibited (correct) from provoking similar «public diplomacy» events financed by U.S. public money. Unfortunately, BBG is not a solution to this problem. It is the problem itself.

Lev Roitman

Senior Commentator

Ret. in 2004, after thirty years with RFE/RL in New York, Munich, and Prague