Baltic States – CIS, Legislation, Markets and Companies, Telecomunications

The Monitoring Center will monitor the content of PBK broadcasts in Latvia as well as in Lithuania and Estonia, the Electronic Mass Media Council informs.

As reported, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission had demanded that PBK retract the "offensive and untrue interpretation" of the January 1991 events in Lithuania, which the television channel aired on October 4. The commission also wanted the channel to apologize to the Lithuanian people for offending their national pride and the faith Lithuanians have in their historical fight for freedom.

On January 13, 1991, in an attempt to overthrow the new Lithuanian government, Soviet special forced moved into downtown Vilnius to capture the TV tower and clashed with crowds of government supporters, killing at least 14 and injuring 600 civilians.

Meanwhile, the mentioned broadcast by PBK maintained that there were no casualties that could be blamed on Soviet troops, and that the "whole affair is just a provocation made up by the Lithuanian authorities."

PBK issued an apology on October 12 for airing the offensive feature story about Lithuanian history.