United Russia does not support ban on ethnicity references in media reports
MOSCOW. July 27 (Interfax) - The United Russia leadership disagrees with the initiative of Shamsail Saraliyev, a United Russia Duma deputy, to introduce legislative restrictions on mentioning ethnicity in the mass media.
"Naturally, if developments related to various offenses are in question, such mention [of ethnicity] is appropriate only if the offenses are directly related to the ethnic issue," deputy secretary of the party's general council Alexei Chesnakov told Interfax on Friday.
"Otherwise it may provoke unmotivated outbursts of ethnic discord," he said.
Chesnakov believes that referencing the ethnicity of participants in other events in media publications "is more of an issue of the culture of society and the media which can hardly be regulated by law."
"The question of Russian citizenship, not ethnicity is the vital matter," he said.
Earlier, Saraliyev suggested renouncing ethnicity references in the mass media because, in his opinion, such mention provokes ethnic conflicts and promotes wrong stereotypes.
"Every day one can come across media reports saying that two Chechens killed a Russian, or an Armenian attacked a Russian. Why should ethnicity be emphasized? It only irritates people and provokes ethnic conflicts. There are no bad ethnic groups," he said to Izvestia on Friday.
He said that corresponding amendments to the law on the mass media may be tabled to the State Duma in autumn.
Quoting public debates on his proposal in the North Caucasian federal district conducted with the help of social networks and television, Saraliyev said that 82% of the population in the North Caucasus supports his idea.