10/02/2013: SEE – SEEMO ALARMED AT GROWING NUMBER OF PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS IN SOUTH EAST EUROPE

Vienna, 10/02/2013

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is alarmed at the number of press freedom violations in South East Europe in recent months. Additionally, SEEMO is worried that some media are not respecting basic professional standards, and are thus endangering colleagues from other media.

Milorad Dodik, president of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, verbally attacked, in a phone call and using coarse language, Vlado Trsic, director of the BN TV channel from Bijljina. It is not the first time that Dodik’s behavior has been unbecoming of a politician – he has reacted similarly in the past when unhappy with media reports.

On 14 January, 2013, Etelva Skonja, a famous investigative journalist from the daily Kosova Sot from Pristina, met Zef Prendrecaj, a member of the Judicial Council of Kosovo, at his office for an interview. During the conversation Prendrecaj called security who took Skonja to the police station. She spent more than three hours there, and half an hour after she was released she received a phone call from a policeman ordering her to return to the police station. She went with a lawyer, and they were informed that she had to remain under arrest after a call from the prosecutor. She was detained for further six hours.

The editor-in-chief of Kosova Sot, Margarita Kadriu, contacted the district prosecutor and thanks to his help Skonja was released the same day.

Skonja was arrested after she recorded the interview with Prendrecaj in his office during an official appointment. As the newspaper learned, off the record, the idea behind the arrest was to scare Skonja, who was investigating the work of several judges.

On 5 February 2013, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov attacked journalists at an informal press meeting with the words “I can give instructions to the secret services to launch similar cases for all of you journalists, without exception”, as the news agency BGNES reported. This was the reaction of the prime minister after the webpage Bivol.bg published details about his alleged activities in the 1990s. According to Bivol the police used Borisov as an informant with the code name of “Buddha” while he was chief of a security company.

“Political representatives and persons working for public and state institutions must be open to communication with journalists, without using any form of pressure against them, said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “Arresting journalists who are doing their job, but also the making, by politicians, of verbal threats against journalists is not acceptable and a clear attack on press freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of reporting.”

SEEMO is also worried about the fact that one daily newspaper in the Republic of Macedonia / Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has asked its readers to name which journalists they think are gay. Given how often members of the LGBT community are attacked in this part of the world, including physical attacks, it was a clear step of putting the life of the named journalists in danger.

In Serbia, in recent weeks, there have been clear public verbal attacks on staff members of the public radio and TV company in Vojvodina (Radio televizija Vojvodine – RTV) and members of the Independent Journalists Association of Vojvodina (Nezavisno drustvo novinara Vojvodine – NDNV) by one magazine and several internet portals, using, in the attacks, the ethnic background of these persons. It was a clear form of discrimination and hate speech, endangering the journalists targeted.

“Media must work responsibly and not endanger journalists by using hate speech or by presenting them as members of a specific ethnic or other minority group,” said Vujovic. “We should not forget that as a result of hate speech in media there have been physical attacks against – but also murders of – journalists in the past.”

Vienna, 04/02/2013

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), supports the establishment and work of the Commission to investigate the murders of journalists Radislava Dada Vujasinovic, Slavko Curuvija and Milan Pantic in Serbia.

The decision to establish the Commission came into force on 2 February, 2013. The goal of the Commission is to determine the agenda and time frame for fact-gathering and ascertaining other circumstances related to the investigations into the murder of the journalists, thus establishing cooperation with the bodies authorised to lead investigations. Based on the gathered information and circumstances related to the ongoing investigations, the commission will prepare a review of the current course of the investigations, including preparing its opinion on the effective ways of leading the investigations that could result in further progress, and offering concrete measures to be taken in that respect.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said: “SEEMO supports the work of the Commission established with the aim of resolving the murders of the journalists Radislava Dada Vujasinovic, Slavko Curuvija and Milan Pantic. It is notable that the Commission’s establishment was initiated by journalists, and that they successfully exerted pressure on the Government of the Republic of Serbia to make this initiative offical. Up till now, there have been several initiatives and investigations, but never has such a strong front been formed by the united forces of journalists and representatives of the authorised institutions. The advantage of a Commission established in such a manner lies in its diverse character. Due to their personal relations with the journalists in question, journalist-members of the Commission, will most certainly make the work of the Commission more effective, which will, in turn, contribute to its achieving expected results. We call on international institutions and experts to contribute their experience and professional practice to the work of the Commission which – due to the way in which it was established and due to its constitution and mandate – represents novelty on the international level”.

“We expect to get impartial information on what were the major obstacles in the investigations, and who is responsible for them, and that the final outcome of the Commission’s work will be the solving of these murders, including revealing the perpatrators and those who gave the orders, as well as convictions in criminal trials – which will bring relief to everyone, especially to the families of the victims”.

“It is of the utmost importance that the Commission works without any pressure to come up with the results as soon as possible, as the most important thing is to achieve its aim, a process supported by the broad mandate of the Commission. It would be very significant to make the best of the investigations conducted so far, in a process resulting in the identification of the perpetrators, as this would be the best way to dispel suspicions concerning its establishment, its members and the motives involved – all of which should be completely separated from everyday political influences seeking to maintain the status quo”.

SEEMO will offer all its existing resources in order to support the Commission and its activities.

Vienna, 1 February 2013

The South East Europe Media Organisation is shocked to learn that journalist Didem Tuncay was injured by today’s suicide bombing at the US embassy in Ankara, Turkey. She was waiting for a visa application for USA when she suffered a head wound. Currently Tuncay is at Ankara’s Numune Hospital . Tuncay was a former reporter for the NTV channel

Vienna, 27 January 2013

The South East Europe Media Organisation is alarmed about the information that several journalists were arrested during a protest in Baku on 26 January:

Vienna, 23/01/2013

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), appeals to Dragan Djilas, mayor of the city of Belgrade and president of the Democratic Party in Serbia, to drop his 120 billion Dinar (1,05 billion EUR) lawsuit against Serbian daily Kurir and its editor-in-chief, Sasa Milovanovic.

“I hope that Djilas started this case like a joke, and not as a serious court case,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “I hope this especially after the statement he gave to the news agency Tanjug, as quoted by B92.” Djilas told Tanjug “the request for compensation is for the same amount that Kurir wrote was in my possession. All the lawsuits I have filed are for the amounts which Kurir had charged me. The amount is, of course, ludicrous, just like the ludicrous claims that Kurir publishes about me”.

Djilas brought the court case against Kurir and its editor-in-chief at the Higher Court in Belgrade on 26 December 2012 over alleged “mental suffering due to damage to personal honor and reputation”. At the same time Djilas is asking the court to forbid the daily from reporting negatively on him.

Vujovic said: “If Djilas thinks that the daily published wrong information, he has of course the right to protect himself. But there are other ways of doing so that do not involve a 1, 05 billion EUR lawsuit. Asking for such an amount of money has nothing to do with the protection of personal rights, honour and reputation, but is a clear step towards closing the paper and a clear attack on press freedom.” He added: “Djilas, as leader of the Democratic Party (DS), the one pro-European party in Serbia, in asking for such an amount of money for protecting his rights, gives a wrong example to other politicians in Serbia and Europe. Djilas should use other avenues of complaint and also respect international recommendations about the maximum amount of compensation to be awarded in a case.”

As Kurir informed SEEMO, the court case by Djilas is connected to an article published in Kurir’s issue of 27 November 2012 in which the paper quoted a statement made by Petar Petkovic, a member of the Serbian parliament, during a press conference of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS). Petkovic, in his statement, claimed that since 2004 Djilas had become one of the wealthiest Serbs thanks to his marketing business, giving some financial amounts as examples.

Djilas should know that as a public figure he must be prepared to tolerate and bear critical comments.

At the same time SEEMO is alarmed at the death threats the owner of Kurir, Aleksandar Rodic, received. According to the daily, threats arrived at Kurir’s offices stating that the owner of the newspaper would go the same way as the owner of the Nacionalweekly in Croatia, Ivo Pukanic, who was killed in 2008. The owner received the threat in a letter signed with “Atentator” (Assassin) sent from a post office in Belgrade. In addition, the newspaper received threats that the building that houses Kurir’s offices would be blown up.

“I am asking the police and the Serbian authorities to investigate these threats against the owner of Kurir and to inform the public as soon as possible about the results of the investigation”, Vujovic added.

Vienna, 23/01/2013

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is shocked at the detention of Croatian journalist Jasna Babic, sued by a businessman for libel.

Jasna Babic has been held in Zagreb’s Remetinec prison since 22 January 2013, and could spend a maximum of 30 days there, if the court deems this necessary to ensure she appears at a trial – the date of which has yet to be set. The court defended its decision saying she had already failed to appear at 16 previous hearings and described her imprisonment as „disciplinary detention”.

“I am asking the Croatian authorities to immediately release Jasna Babic”, said Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General. “I hope this will happen today and that Babic will again be free. To use detention as disciplinary instrument in a libel case is not acceptable. Babic, a famous investigative journalist, was arrested and treated like a criminal.”

VIENNA, 23 January 2013

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned over the latest wave of arrests of journalists in Turkey.

According to information before SEEMO, 11 journalists were detained in recent police raids that took place different parts of Turkey against alleged members of the forbiden Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front.

Five were freed after being ordered to pay a bail of 10,000 TRY and report to the police weekly. Six journalists are still in detention.

Vienna, 14/01/2013

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is alarmed at reports of bombs being placed outside the homes of a number of journalists in Athens, Greece, on 11 January 2013.

Small homemade bombs, made with the use of gas canisters, exploded in the early morning hours on 11 January 2013 in front of the homes of five Greek journalists in the Athens districts of Lycavittos, Aghia Paraskevi, Alimos, Maroussi and Penteli. According to the Greek authorities, among the journalists targeted were Antonis Liaros, George Oikonomeas, Antonis Skyllakos, Petros Karsiotis and Chris Konstas. In each case, the explosion damaged the entrance of the building. No one was injured. In the case of Oikonomeas the attack was in front of his former residence.

The anarchist group “Lovers of Lawlessness” said the attacks were to protest coverage of the country’s financial crisis seen as sympathetic to the government,

“This is an attempt to openly terrorise the media, a vital part of our democracy,” said Simos Kedikoglou, the Greek government’s spokesman. He noted the attacks came a day after protesters barged into a radio station. Two days after this statement, on 13 January, the home of the spokesman’s brother was targeted when a group of unknown perpetrators broke a window of the residence of George Kedikoglou in Athens and threw in a molotov cocktail, starting a small fire.

“This is a new, worrying escalation of violence against media and journalists in Greece. SEEMO is alarmed at the number of violent cases and different forms of pressure directed at journalists in Greece over the past 12 months”, said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic.

According to SEEMO there were 38 cases of press freedom violations or attacks on journalists in Greece in 2012. SEEMO calls on the authorities in Athens to urgently investigate the attacks, and to find the perpetrators and any masterminds.

VIENNA, 14 January 2013

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned over the use of force against journalists by police during a demonstration in Baku on 12 January this year.

Several journalists were prevented by state officials from doing their job. Journalists were reporting about a protest connected to the deaths of young Azerbaijani army conscripts.