09/12/2014: KOSOVO – SEEMO ALARMED AT GROWING NUMBER OF THREATS AND ATTACKS TOWARDS JOURNALISTS IN KOSOVO

Vienna, 09/12/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was alarmed to learn that Zekirja Shabani, editor of daily Tribuna and chairman of Kosovo Association of Journalists (KAJ) was physically attacked.

Shabani recently announced that he will be suing the newspaper Tribuna for breach of contract and salary debt, after which the owner of the paper, attacked him physically at the workplace and insulted him. The attack was reported to the police.

“SEEMO and its members stand behind Shabani and express their full support for media workers in Kosovo” Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated. “It is of utter importance that the authorities in Kosovo react immediately to this attack, and punish the perpetrator accordingly. They must set the correct example so that cases like this one do not occur again. Media freedom is fragile, and especially so in Kosovo. Lately there has been a series of threats and attacks that are telling us journalists aren’t safe” he added.

Vienna, 08/12/2014

he South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed its concerned over the latest occurrences in Croatia.

Dujomir Marasovic, the MP of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) stated during a Parliament session that once the new government is elected, which he believes he will be a part of, the first thing on the agenda will be to „wipe clean“ the current staff and authorities of Croatian Radio and TV – HRT, the national public broadcaster.

He was immediately criticised by members of other parties and the Parliament President for his outburst of animosity. The Croatian Journalists’ Association called it a classical and primitive political threat, and stated that they will work hard to inform both the Croatian and European public about the hate speech terminology used amongst the country’s politicians.

„SEEMO supports the Croatian Journalists Association, the public broadcaster HRT and all those who could be affected by such foul language and dangerous discourse, coming from a political representative. “ SEEMO Secreaty General Oliver Vujovic has said.

Vienna, 05/12/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East and Central Europe, stated its concern with recent media freedom developments in Bosnia.

On 15 November 2014 Bosnian news portal Klix.ba published a conversation made by Zeljka Cvijanovic, the current Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, about allegedly bribing members of the National Assembly. On 1 December the editor in chief and the owner of the portal were called for questioning. The reason was said to be the criminal offense they committed of publishing a secretly recorded phone call. The possible sentence for this crime is up to a year in incarceration.

On 3 December editor Jasmin Hadziahmetovic and owner Dario Simic went from Sarajevo to Banja Luka to attend the questioning. They were pressured to reveal their sources and expose how they acquired the tape in question.

“Freedom to publish information of public interest and free speech, without fear of censorship or pressure are key for the journalistic profession” SEEMO Secretary General, Oliver Vujovic has said.

Vienna, 04/12/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned after learning the details of recent creation of a government body, whose purpose will be to control media outlets and information in Ukraine.

On 2 December 2014 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a proposal for the creation of a separate body, named the Ministry of Information Policy. It’s supposed main aim will be to confront propaganda coming from Russian media. The heads of authority chosen for this new institution are said to be close with President Petro Poroshenko.

“SEEMO members were disturbed to hear about the latest developments in Ukraine. This imposes a serious threat for media freedom and freedom of speech in the country” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said.

Vienna, 02/12/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was alarmed to learn about the recent developments in Serbia, regarding threats and pressures made towards journalists and their media outlets.

Correspondent of the national public broadcaster RTS from the city of Nis, Dragana Sotirovski, has been the target of threats and hate speech by the management of the Sokobanja hospital since November 2013, due to the series of reports about illegal activities conducted by the hospital’s establishment that she has been investigating. Sotirovski was labelled as „persona non grata“ in the hospital premises, and has received threats.

SEEMO was also appalled to hear about the behavior of the president of the Municipality of Grocka towards the informative portal „Nasa Grocka“ and its editor in chief, Zeljko Matorcevic. The president of the Municipality allegedly told Matorcevic that he is prohibited from attending the sessions of the local Parliament, and that he would be fined in case of disobedience.

„Threats, pressure, attacks and censorship cannot be a behavior towards journalists”, said Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO secretary general.

Vienna, 30/11/2014

Rights of media workers and journalists have been at an all-time low, while propaganda and tabloidization of the media seem to be spreading more each day, the latest semi-annual OSCE report on media freedom development concludes.

Media safety and the protection of journalists have been seriously deteriorating, and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) has followed closely all occurrences of media violation. The number of verbal and physical attacks on journalists has been on a rise, and SEEMO is extending its full support to OSCE and other organisations that protect human rights and media freedom.

“The South East Europe region has experienced a growing number of media freedom violations in various countries, which SEEMO has protested against. We call on authorities of these countries to work on existing issues, solve cases and protect journalists and their profession. This is of utmost importance both for human rights, media freedom, as well as democracy” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated.

Vienna, 27/11/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned to learn about the recent country-wide media ban developments in Turkey. On Wednesday, the Turkish media regulator issued a ban on the coverage of a parliamentary commission probing corruption allegations against four ex-ministers: former Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdogan Bayraktar, Interior Minister Muammer Guler, and former Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis.

The Supreme Board of Radio and Television in Turkey has forbidden any reports on the progress of the court case to be published until it is finished on December 27th, a move the opposition says is shielding corruption.

Penalties will be imposed on media outlets that disobey this order, and some opposition papers have already stated that they will not respect this restriction. The decision is justified by the statement that by allowing journalists to report on the case, confidentiality and individual rights will be violated.

Vienna, 13/11/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was alarmed to find out that Romanian journalist Stefan Mako experienced alleged harassment by state officers. The journalist was taken into custody after filming Romanian police officers while they were arresting another person. He was told to stop filming, but since he continued to, he was arrested and taken in for questioning by the police.

The journalist was threatened and beaten several times during his detainment, and the video material was erased from his phone before he was released.

“It is very disturbing to hear that a journalist simply doing his job can be treated so harshly and for no reason. I call on Romanian authorities to investigate the case as soon as possible” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovc said about the incident.

Vienna, 12/11/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was concerned to learn that the Croatian Minister of Health Sinisa Varga allegedly made discriminating accusations against some Croatian journalists.

While making a guest appearance on a TV channel N1 show, Minister Varga was asked to comment on claims regarding his conflict of interest, mentioned in several articles and investigative stories.

He not only disregarded the statements, but also added that there are „enough indicators“ to safely say that a group of journalists are motivated to write critically because of bribes they receive.

SEEMO strongly condemns this type of pressure made on the media, and is reminding political representatives and authorities to be cautious in their choice of words. „Statements like these cause harm to the society and the media scene, they endanger journalists, and they put a tremendous amount of self-censorship pressure upon them.“ SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said.

Vienna, 07/11/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East and Central Europe, is expressing its deep concern regarding the case of the Macedonian journalist Tomislav Kezarovski.

Kezarovski was first detained in May 2013, regarding investigative articles he wrote five years earlier for the magazine Reporter 92. Two articles were published in November- December 2008. Being accused of revealing the identity of a protected witness, he was sentenced in November 2013 to 4,5 years in prison. He is currently held under house arrest.

The court ignored the fact that Kezarovski disclosed only the name, but not the surname of the protected witness, with which the exact identity could not be revealed. Additional, the journalist had an obligation to inform the public that the police had a false protected witness in a murder case. The witness admitted that he was blackmailed by the police in order to become a protected witness.

On 24 October 2014 the Appeal Court in Skopje had a session regarding Kezarovski case, but so far did not conclude weather the appeal will be accepted or not so.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated that the organisation and its members are giving their full support to Kezarovski and other journalists in similar situations all over the region. „The treatment and trial against Tomislav Kezarovski have been a source of deep concerns to us for some time now. It is necessary that journalists and media outlets become safe from these types of pressures and attempts at censorship.

The verdict that Kezarovski is facing is a serious threat to media freedom, free expression and basic human rights. I call on Macedonian authorities and institutions to drop all charges against this journalist, and prove that they are really working on creating a democratic atmosphere for professional, independent and investigative journalism.“ Vujovic added.