Rafael Saakov
2.8K posts
@RafSaakov
Voice of America Russian Service, Anchor, International Broadcaster
VOA Russian told the stories Putin didn’t want heard — from political prisoners to human rights in the U.S. Silencing it hands the narrative to the Kremlin. #SaveVOA #PressFreedom
“Voice of America is an American treasure belonging to the whole nation and something that we could take great pride in”, says Mark Pomar, former VOA’s USSR Division and Russian Service Chief
I represent thousands of Armenian Americans in Fresno. At today’s press freedom hearing, I asked Kari Lake about cuts to the Voice of America’s Armenian Service. She didn’t even know Armenians speak Armenian. You can’t make this up, folks!
🧵As the U.S. Agency for Global Media continues to withhold congressionally appropriated funds, authoritarians continue to jail their journalists. That dictators feel it necessary to jail @RFERL, @RadioFreeAsia and @VOANews reporters speaks volumes about their value.
On June 5th, VOA journalists began receiving termination emails after Kari Lake sent notice to Congress outlining a Reduction in Force plan that would terminate around 800 employees. At the end of May, around 500 contractor colleagues were fired. Under Lake’s plan, USAGM will reduce VOA, a global media agency with a staff of 1300, to just 17 journalists and technicians. Patsy Widakuswara, VOA White House Bureau Chief and lead plaintiff in the Widakuswara v Lake lawsuit, calls the plan “absurd.” @pwidakuswara
Great video coverage by @RafSaakov and his @VOANews @GolosAmeriki crew, about the @McCainInstitute's first Washington Forum last week. Includes interviews with @TheBushCenter's David Kramer, @PowerVertical, & @EvelynNFarkas. You can catch clips of panels with @StateSPEHA, @SiaNamazi, @DCTwining, @IAmAmnaNawaz, @DeputySecState, and yours truly. "How to stop the war in Ukraine and what should US policy towards Russia be under the new Trump administration? The participants of the first Washington forum of the McCain Institute, which was also attended by Biden administration officials, sought answers to these questions the day before."
Кара-Мурза: освобождение политзаключенных, переговоры на условиях Украины, децентрализация России. Откровенный разговор с российским оппозиционным политиком Владимиром Кара-Мурзой в студии «Голоса Америки». youtube.com/watch?v=Y_ob1e…
