Radio Liberty calls funding cut-off "a massive gift to America's enemies"
Stephen Capus, President and CEO of RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), has stated that the suspension of funding for the network, announced on Saturday, will ultimately benefit the governments of Iran, China, Russia and others.
Source: Capus in a statement, cited by the media, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The statement marks RFE/RL's first response to the funding cancellation announced on Saturday 15 March.
Although the broadcaster's website later confirmed in a separate post the cancellation of the federal grant agreement that funds RFE/RL's global activities, Capus did not refer to this cancellation as a fait accompli in his public comment.
Instead, he said that the US Global Media Agency's cancellation of the grant agreement "would be a massive gift to America's enemies".
He noted that stopping the broadcasting of this media outlet, founded in 1949, has been the dream of dictators in different parts of the world all along.
"The Iranian Ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE/RL after 75 years. Handing our adversaries a win would make them stronger and America weaker," the statement said.
Capus also emphasised that RFE/RL enjoys the support of the US Congress.
"We've benefitted from strong bipartisan support throughout RFE/RL's storied history. Without us, the nearly 50 million people in closed societies who depend on us for accurate news and information each week won't have access to the truth about America and the world," he added.
Background:
- On Saturday evening, reports indicated that Trump had cancelled funding for the entire Radio Liberty network.
- Prior to this, media reports indicated that Voice of America was facing significant challenges, with journalists being suspended, effectively leading to the broadcaster’s shutdown.
- This week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of USAID programmes would be curtailed following a six-week review.
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