HELSINKI, Oct 7 (AFP) - Ukraine's foreign minister insisted Thursday that the country's press was not being muzzled ahead of a presidential election at the end of the month.
"Anyone who reads Ukrainian newspapers can judge for themselves. That's the most important thing," Kostyantyn Gryschenko said during a visit to Helsinki.
"Today, the Ukrainian people have the ability to decide for themselves who is the best candidate."
"What is important for society in general is the ability to provide for alternative news to be aired as a platform accessible to the population, to the electorate, and that does exist in Ukraine," he told a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich and liberal opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko are seen as the frontrunners in the vote to replace President Leonid Kuchma, who has to step down after 10 years in office.
Yanukovich, who is Kuchma's designated successor, is trailing Yushchenko in opinion polls.
A recent survey in Ukraine showed most people are highly skeptical that the October 31 election will be free and fair, with nearly two-thirds saying they believed the results would be falsified.
Several countries and organizations have voiced their concern over the campaign, which has been marred by incidents such as an opposition television station being taken off the air, violence against activists and senior officials intimidating voters and journalists.
Jennifer Windsor, director of the US-based media watchdog Freedom House, said in a recent report that Ukraine's news media "suffer under an elaborate system of control that keeps opposition political groups and other critics off the airwaves and out of print."
"The situation has only worsened as election day approaches," she said, noting how several non-state controlled radio stations have been shut down to remove alternative voices and political debate from the airwaves.
During his visit to Finland, Gryschenko met Finnish President Tarja Halonen and signed an agreement on the promotion and protection of investments between the two countries.