20/03/2003: SERBIA – MEDIA RESTRICTIONS IN SERBIA

Vienna, 20/03/2003

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), are concerned about developments in Serbia, where a state of emergency has been declared following the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic on 12 March 2003.

On 17 March 2003, the Official Gazette (Sluzbeni glasnik Republike Srbije) published an Order on the prevention of “public information, distribution of press and other information about the reasons for declaring the state of emergency and the implementation of measures during the state of emergency”.

According to the information before SEEMO, editors are asked to report only on official announcements from government agencies, representatives of political parties or press conferences, and should refrain from reporting on the reactions of those arrested in the wake of the prime minister’s assassination. Media outlets violating the order could be fined between 50,000 and 500,000 dinars, while the responsible persons could be fined between 10,000 and 100,000 dinars.

Under the state of emergency, the Ministry of Culture is authorised to prohibit the printing, distribution and publication of information, and can also temporarily stop broadcasts and news agency reports.

SEEMO understands the difficult period that Serbia’s young democracy faces after the assassination of Zoran Djindjic and know that everything is being done to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime. However, we also believe that it is important to choose instruments that will not hinder democratic developments in Serbia. The new rules, with their restrictions on the media, pose a serious threat to press freedom and are open to abuse by the authorities.

In the opinion of SEEMO, it is important not to restrict the free flow of information during this time of crisis. “Effective investigative reporting, which is essential to any democratic society, is not possible in Serbia under the current circumstances,” Johann Fritz, Director of IPI, said. “IPI notes that the distribution of several newspapers has already been prohibited. We sincerely hope that the state of emergency will be lifted soon and that the media will be allowed to publish information it deems important to the Serbian public.”

Vienna, 05/03/2003

Mr. Slavoljub Matic
President, Municipal Assembly of Pozarevac
Fax: + 381 12 222 521

Cc: Ms. Natasa Micic
Acting President of Serbia and
President of the Parliament of Serbia
Fax: + 381 11 682 850

Republic of Serbia
Dear Mr. President,

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply concerned about two events that recently took place in the city of Pozarevac in Serbia: the physical attack on Mile Veljkovic, local correspondent for Beta news agency and the daily newspapers Danas and Blic, and the pressures applied on journalists at Radio Boom 93.

According to SEEMO sources, Mile Veljkovic, when attending the constituent session of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Pozarevac Branch on 8 February 2003, was reportedly assaulted by Bojan Stamatovic of the DSS, who pulled Veljkovic by his ear, removed his glasses and mobile phone and slapped him in the face in plain view of 200 DSS members. Veljkovic said the media were prevented from attending the session by the chief DSS representative Srba Stojanovic. When Veljkovic objected, he was physically assaulted.

SEEMO also condemns the pressures applied on journalists, editors and the director of the Pozarevac-based Radio Boom 93 by Slavoljub Matic, President of the Municipal Assembly of Pozarevac and Member of the Parliament of Serbia for the DSS. According to information before SEEMO, Matic has been putting pressure on Radio Boom 93, demanding that the radio station changes its editorial policy. He has told editors and journalists at Radio Boom 93 not to broadcast statements of members and officials of certain parties and NGOs. Recently, Matic also made telephone calls to the director of Radio Boom 93 and verbally attacked him for reporting about the pressure applied on the station.

SEEMO would like to remind you that in every democratic society it is vital that journalists are allowed to work without obstruction. We therefore urge you to ensure that journalists and media outlets in Pozarevac are not harassed and that freedom of expression and press freedom are upheld.

Sincerely,

Oliver Vujovic,

SEEMO Secretary General

Vienna, 04/03/2003

To:

Stipe Mesic
President of Croatia

Ivica Racan
Prime Minister of  Croatia

Sime Lucin
Minister of Internal Affairs of Croatia

Your Excellency,

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply concerned about the attack on Ninoslav Pavic, co-owner and president of the Managing Board of Europapress Holding (EPH), the biggest independent newspaper publisher in Croatia.

According to information before SEEMO, a bomb underneath Pavic’s car exploded in front of his house in Zagreb at 4 a.m. (local time) on 1 March

2003. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the attack.

SEEMO believes that the aim of the attack was to intimidate and silence journalists working for EPH, especially journalists for the weekly Globus

and daily Jutarnji list, who have published numerous articles about organised crime and corruption in Croatia. In the past, journalists for

Globus and Jutarnji list, as well as other media in Croatia, have been harassed, intimidated and threatened because of their investigative

reporting. During recent months, the number of these threats has increased significantly. The bomb that exploded under the car of Pavic is the

culmination of these events, and the authorities have done little to investigate these cases.

SEEMO strongly condemns the attack on Pavic, as well as the other cases of intimidation against journalists in Croatia, and calls upon the authorities

to carry out an immediate and thorough investigation and to bring to justice those responsible. Furthermore, we ask you to do everything in your power to ensure that journalists working in Croatia are able to safely carry out their profession.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Vujovic
SEEMO Secretary General

Vienna, 27 November 2002

The South East Europe Media Organisation condemns the today shut down of a newspaper in Belarus.

Authorities in Minsk have shut down the independent newspaper Mestnoe vremya , claiming the paper had not legally registered its office.

Vienna, 1 November 2002

The Vienna South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is following developments connected to media freedom in Russia with concern.

Media coverage of the conflict in Chechnya (Чечня́) is for a longer period heavily controlled by state officials. State authorities must approve the movements of most journalists allowed in Chechen Republic and Russian military oversees their activities.

During the crisis connected a terrorist act when a group of Chechen rebels seized a Moscow theatre, where some 700 people were attending a performance of the musical “Nord-Ost”, Russia’s officials temporarily closed the private Moscow television station Moskoviya for allegedly promoting terrorism and forced the independent Moscow-based Ekho Moskvy radio to remove from its Web a a telephone interview with a hostage-taker.

The Russian Assembly approved today on 1 November 2002 a series of new restrictions on the press

According to new regulations, as state officials say, media should not be allowed to give out information that would hinder counterterrorist operations, threaten lives, or function as terrorists – propaganda.
The amendments to the media law would block the media from distributing information that would hinder counterterrorist operations or reveal tactics used in such operations or information about people involved in them. Additional publication or broadcasting of propaganda or justification of extremist activity will be forbiden. State officials would decide what is a propaganda, extremist activity or counterterrorist operation.

Also today on 1 November Russian police searched the premises of the Moscow weekly newspaper, Versiya, connected to information published in an article by the newspaper on 27 May this year.

Vienna, 30 October 2002

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns the authorities in Tajikistan after nine journalists were arrested on 28 October. Officers from the military commissariat in Khujand forced their way into the building of the SM-1 and TRK-Asia TV stations.

Six journalists were later released, but three journalists, Akram Azizov, 21; Nasim Rahimov, 20; and Yusuf Yunusov, 21, were reportedly taken to the Khujand military base. All nine journalists participated in a journalism workshop organized by the U.S.-based organisation Internews.

Vienna, 30 October 2002

The Vienna South East Europe Media Organisation is asking a transparent and fast investigation connected to the case of Sergei Duvanov. Duvanov is editor in chief of the news bulletin Human rights in Kazakhstan and in the world, published by the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (KIBHRL). Duvanov, writes also for opposition web sites.

Duvanov was arrested at his house and accused of raping a 14-year-old girl. The arrest occurred one day before he was going to visit the United States to speak about the human rights situation in his country.

On 28 August 2002 Duvanov was attacked near his home. On 9 July 2002, the General Prosecutor’s Office charged him with “infringing the honour and dignity of the Kazakhstan president”

Vienna, 16 September 2002

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) has expressed a concern about the sentencing of the Belarusian journalist, Viktor Ivashkevich, for allegedly insulting the country’s president.

Ivashkevich, the Editor-in-chief of the Belarusian independent newspaper, Rabochy, was sentenced today to two years of “restricted freedom”. He has been accused of insulting the Belarusian president during last year’s presidential election campaign.

Vienna, 2 September 2002

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns a violent attack on journalist Sergei Duvanov, who was severely beaten by masked assailants near his home on 28 August 2002. Duvanov was hospitalized with serious wounds and injuries.

Duvanov is editor in chief of the news bulletin Human rights in Kazakhstan and in the world, published by the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (KIBHRL)

Vienna, 14/08/2002

To:

Adrian Nastase
Prime Minister of Romania
Bucharest, Romania

Your Excellency,

According to the information before SEEMO, Iosif Bebe Costinas, an investigative reporter for the daily “Timisoara”, has been missing since 7 June. On 22 June, the authorities were informed about the disappearance of Costinas. The police launched an extensive search, but their efforts have so far been unsuccessful.

Costinas has published articles on sensitive subjects, including unsolved killings during the December 1989 anti-communist revolt in Romania and the continued presence in high positions of officers of the former “Securitate” secret police. Furthermore, Costinas was writing a book about illegal business activities in Timisoara.

SEEMO and IPI are also concerned about the intimidation of a journalist who wrote critical reports about members of the ruling Social Democratic Party in Romania. Silvia Vrinceanu Nichita, correspondent for the opposition daily newspaper “Evenimentul zilei”, became a target of intimidation after she published articles alleging possible corruption among members of the Social Democratic Party’s local leaders in the town of Focsani (see IFEX alert of 12 August 2002). In an apparent attempt to smear her reputation, the private television station, OTV, broadcast an almost eight-year old video recording showing Vrinceanu, scantily dressed, as she was dancing and singing during a private New Year’s party.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Vujovic
SEEMO Secretary General