WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2020) US Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack's must renew visas for Voice of America (VOA) journalists who may face threats in their home countries, House Foreign Affairs Chair Eliot Engel said on Friday.
"Michael Pack's failure to seek visa extensions for these journalists means that they must leave the country, some of them going home to nations where governments regularly silence and harass journalists," Engel said. "It's clear that the agency is just trying to run out the clock until these journalists are forced to leave."
Engel said although Pack has ignored congressional queries, "he still has time to act to resolve this situation. Engel also said he would have "much to answer for," when he testifies before the Foreign Affairs Committee on September 24.
Since taking over the agency in February, Pack has forced out much of senior executive staff of US funded broadcasters, including leaders of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in a widely reported housecleaning.
Earlier this month, a spokesman for the agency told the New York Times that the decision to stop renewing visas - a move that could affect up to 100 journalists - is intended to improve management and protect US national security.
