[box type=”note”]Bivol is publishing the interview with the leading Swiss journalist, exclusively given for our media. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Obrecht speaks from the perspective of a competent western journalist and analyst on issues related to Bulgaria, the transition to democracy in the former Socialist bloc and the processes that determine the social-political situation in Europe. [\/box]<\/p>\n
Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Obrecht Hodler, freelance journalist and former President of Reporters\u00a0Without Borders Switzerland.\u00a0Having a degree in history from the University of Geneva, it is at the\u00a0Journal de Gen\u00e8ve where Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Obrecht Hodler started her career as a professional\u00a0journalism before joining Television Suisse Romande (RTS). Between 1991 and\u00a01996, she was a correspondent in Russia for the RTS and Le Nouveau Quotidien\u00a0(The New Daily). From 1999 to 2001, she led a multi-ethnic radio in Kosovo\u00a0funded by the Swiss government on behalf of the UN and later the EBU (European\u00a0Broadcasting Union) . She is the author of an\u00a0investigative book on Russia\u00a0(published in 2006) and several\u00a0television documentaries,\u00a0the latest being dedicated to Anna\u00a0Politkovskaya,\u00a0the Russian journalist murdered in 2006.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n B. \u00a0Mrs Obrecht, you are a journalist from Switzerland, who has worked many years in\u00a0Russia. What processes do you think are\u00a0going on in this part of Europe?<\/p>\n – Most of these countries still battle with the legacy of communism a quarter of a century later. \u00a0Maybe we were all a bit too optimistic after the fall of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.\u00a0It will obviously take a few generations to create democratic structures,\u00a0good governance and the rule of law. I experienced the final years of communism in Russia,\u00a0when nobody believed in it, nothing worked and everybody cheated in some way or other\u00a0to survive. It was basically a criminal or at least a lawless system. When it crumbled there\u00a0were even less rules or laws, and no civic experience. A gigantic real life monopoly started and\u00a0lots of people got rich overnight. Unfortunately, many Russians thought that the chaos was due to democracy…\u00a0What former communist countries need is a sense of responsibility among the ruling elites. How to achieve this?\u00a0The civil society has to put constant pressure on the leadership in order to create a system of\u00a0accountability and transparency. But again: don’t expect miracles, this will take time<\/p>\n B. \u00a0 You have met the legendary Anna Politkovskaya. Do you believe\u00a0her soul is in peace now, in the afterlife?<\/p>\n – I think she would be very sad to see what has happened to Russia since her death.\u00a0All the principles she has ever fought for are trampled even more today. But her name\u00a0will be cherished in the History of Russia, not Putin’s.<\/p>\n B. \u00a0 How does the Western world interpret the deteriorating\u00a0democracy in some Eastern European countries? For example, do the\u00a0developments in Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia,\u00a0Russia give you reason to worry?<\/p>\n – As you know, the developments in these countries and especially in Russia are extremely\u00a0worrying and good relations have become difficult in some cases, especially Moscow. As to the EU members\u00a0you mention, I find it hard to believe that subsidies are paid as if everything were normal in these\u00a0countries. This is a concern which Bulgarians, Hungarians etc. have to voice themselves,\u00a0for example by informing the European commission and\/or European media how EU money\u00a0is spent or how democracy is stifled. The Western public gets to know very little of the\u00a0information published in these countries.<\/p>\n B. \u00a0 How do the interests of Putin\u00b9s\u00a0oligarchic neo-Bolshevik model\u00a0meet with some far-right and far-left political\u00a0movements in Europe, such as the National Front (Le Pen) in France\u00a0and the Greek SYRIZA party?<\/p>\n – Putin seizes every opportunity to show Western countries that he can harm them too.\u00a0He is a great tactician and he uses all the means available to trick his enemies. So, supporting\u00a0the far right or the far left in Europe is s great way to pay back the sanctions. But in the long run,\u00a0this will not work. Even Russian economists say that this is suicidal. Russia cannot survive on its own.\u00a0It must remain connected to the developed world and this means that it must play by the rules.<\/p>\n B. \u00a0 Bulgaria dropped 70 places \u00a0in the RSF\u00b9s latest freedom of speech\u00a0index. Indicators of democracy have deteriorated dramatically. This\u00a0happened after the country became a fully-fledged member of NATO\u00a0and the EU\u00a0in 2007. How do you interpret this paradox?<\/p>\n – Since Switzerland is not a member of the EU, it is difficult for me to make a statement here.\u00a0But one does get the impression that control mechanisms on the use of EU funds\u00a0are not sufficient. There are lots of stories going around on how\u00a0these funds actually fuel corruption and strengthen the oligarchic system.<\/p>\n B. \u00a0Do you think that the Western press and public care about the\u00a0problems of Eastern European societies, such as Bulgaria, that have been\u00a0suffering a huge historical upheaval between World War II until today?<\/p>\n – As I said before, the problem starts with the language… the Western public is flooded with mainstream information\u00a0on all media canals available. But very little background information is published on smaller countries\u00a0and few people are really interested. “Too much information kills information” as we say in French.\u00a0I myself, in spite of being a journalist and spending a lot of time gathering information every day, do not know\u00a0much about Bulgaria. I admit that I am especially interested in news about Russia and since I speak the language,\u00a0there is a great number of possible sources. Regrettably, news consumption is\u00a0extremely limited in today’s society. Information fights a losing battle against infotainment – almost everywhere in the world.<\/p>\n B. \u00a0 The European political elites today legitimize on the international\u00a0scene the former communist nomenklatura, which is transforming national\u00a0wealth into its private property and is keeping countries like Bulgaria\u00a0and Russia in its neo-feudal possession. Why?<\/p>\n – For lots of different reasons. How do you deal with a Prime Minister who is a member of the\u00a0former nomenklatura and is known to be corrupt? Can you ignore him, scold him publicly?\u00a0As to the transfer of money to Western countries, greed is probably a major factor. Take London:\u00a0its most valuable areas are sold out to oligarchs from all over the world. Prices are skyrocketing and local\u00a0people cannot afford to live there anymore. I don’t know what the government could do – if it wanted to – to stop this.\u00a0The problem with democracy is that it is basically an open system, based on confidence and honesty…\u00a0As to the Swiss banking system, our laws have been reformed and it is difficult to deposit stolen money.\u00a0After Yanukovich fled from Ukraine, the business assets of his son were blocked immediately in Geneva.\u00a0Should we have prohibited his entry into the country from the beginning? Not manageable in an open system\u00a0with thousands of firms registered in all sorts of names… The Swiss Justice system tries to get hold of money\u00a0laundering schemes whenever possible. But you can whitewash money in 24 hours by sending it around\u00a0the globe whereas it takes years to track and prove illegal deals. The press investigates as much as possible but as\u00a0the HSBC Swiss Leaks have shown, in general only whistleblowers can provide the hard facts…<\/p>\n B. \u00a0If the crisis in Ukraine had not happened and Putin had not shown his\u00a0true nature, there would hardly be a reaction against his dictatorship by\u00a0the West. Is it necessary to shed blood and go to extremes to understand\u00a0the criminal nature of these post-communist regimes ?<\/p>\n – Western countries, even if they know what is going on in Russia, obviously try to have normal relations\u00a0and actually need Russia sometimes (ex: US bases for the invasion of Afghanistan).\u00a0And don’t forget the dependence on Russian gas in Europe… it will take time to change the energy supplies system.\u00a0I think that the idea always was to include Russia in the community of democratic nations in order\u00a0to promote change. At some stage, Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe for Human Rights violations and then admitted again.\u00a0Basically, I think that this approach is OK. But it has backfired in the context of Ukraine.\u00a0And it came as a good surprise that sanctions could be enforced among 26 nations with different interest towards Russia.\u00a0One big problem also is the fact that American politics, especially with G.W. Bush, have been extremely\u00a0damaging. It is difficult to criticise a dictatorship when a so-called democracy ignores international law\u00a0by invading countries and lying in front of the General Assembly of the UN…<\/p>\n B.\u00a0 \u00a0What are your impressions of Bulgaria? You have visited the\u00a0country and are interacting with Bulgarian journalists. What do they look\u00a0like from “the height of the Swiss Alps”?<\/p>\n – I have only been to Sofia… but I know that Bulgaria is a beautiful country. I found my Bulgarian colleagues\u00a0very well informed about their country and the world. But they are obviously fighting an uphill battle in an\u00a0oligarchic media system. When we had our first workshop in Sofia last November, journalists united in a movement\u00a0to defend “free speech”. Great! You have to work together and fight for freedom of information without which\u00a0there can be no democracy. Associations like Reporters Without Borders, although they are not rich, support\u00a0these efforts and relay information they receive from countries like Bulgaria.<\/p>\n B. \u00a0 Free Bulgarian media, if any today, must be able to swim in\u00a0sulfuric acid. RSF is a great moral support for them in terms of the\u00a0invasion of the political and societal system by the mafia.\u00a0However, the voice of RSF and of disappearing independent Bulgarian media is\u00a0fading within the European Commission. Is there a lack of interest to save democracy in a country like Bulgaria?<\/p>\n – Journalists cannot change the world, nor can RSF. It is a constant, daily endeavour to make your voice heard,\u00a0to get the truth out, to have it published and to make it known on the higher political echelons in Brussels.\u00a0Progress in this field is very hard to measure, very slow and sometimes discouraging. We have visited the UN in Geneva\u00a0with your group of journalists and these sessions on freedom of information\u00a0showed really well how difficult and sometimes even boring it can be to move forward and to achieve a goal.\u00a0Nevertheless, NGO’s are an essential pillar of democracy as they voice and push forward the needs of society.<\/p>\n B. \u00a0 The world and Europe are too small a space to be negligent of\u00a0what is happening behind the fence in our own yard. Could you outline\u00a0the challenges facing the Swiss society? What are the internal problems it\u00a0has to tackle it in the next ten years?<\/p>\n – Switzerland has just made a very painful experience of direct democracy. On Feb 9, a minute majority approved\u00a0a limitation of immigration which goes against the free movement of population in Europe (to which we are tied\u00a0through bilateral agreements with the EU). Our nationalistic right wing People’s party tries to undermine some of the\u00a0principles of our State and would like to “go back to the roots”, i.e a strong and proud (medieval) country standing on its own,\u00a0without international law, without ties to the EU, without immigrants etc. They will not succeed but it is\u00a0a big political challenge for the years to come. Then we have the problem of our currency which is too highly rated and\u00a0creates real problems for our export industry and tourism. But as you have seen, on the whole the system functions really well\u00a0and some Swiss citizens don’t even realise how lucky they are!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [box type=”note”]Bivol is publishing the interview with the leading Swiss journalist, exclusively given for our media. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Obrecht speaks from the perspective of a competent western journalist and analyst on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16852,"featured_media":26884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_crdt_document":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","kia_subtitle":"Interview of Bivol with leading Swiss journalist from RSF Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Obrecht","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5548,5806],"tags":[7504],"class_list":["post-26892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews-en","category-leading-en","tag-b-files-felling-en"],"yoast_head":"\n