05/03/2012: ALBANIA – SEEMO WELCOMES DEFAMATION LAW REFORMS IN ALBANIA

Vienna, 05/03/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), welcomes amendments to the defamation law in Albania. Two sets of reforms, both to the civil and penal code, were voted in on Feb. 17 and Mar. 1, 2012.

The penal code amendments included the full repeal of four offenses that granted special protection to national and foreign government officials. Imprisonment as well as the involvement of the public prosecutor in defamation cases was abolished. However, insult and deliberate publication of defamatory information was maintained as a misdemeanour to be prosecuted privately and subject to a fine.

As for civil code reforms, they provide guidance to judges, and include changes seeking to limit financial fines to proportionate levels that do not jeopardise the financial survival of media outlets.

SEEMO applauds the efforts of the Tirana-based Albanian Media Institute and the Open Society Justice Initiative – which have been advocating for these reforms.

“I welcome the legal reforms approved by the Albanian parliament,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “With these changes, Albania is constructing the legal framework for creating a truly democratic society. However, I also urge the lawmakers to consider repealing criminal libel altogether.”

Vienna, 06/03/2012

Economic difficulties and political pressure are the main challenges faced by the media in the Republic of Macedonia/Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, according to experts who have recently analysed the situation for a webpage specialised in monitoring media developments in the country, www.macedoniapressfreedom.org , run by the Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute, and partners.

“The inflammatory language of the top government officials against journalists, the lack of tolerance towards criticism, the use of government advertisement in public and pro-government media ( Macedonia is indisputable champion in this aspect), the record number of trials against journalists, are all worrisome,” wrote Remzi Lani, Executive Director of the Albanian Media Institute.

According to Saso Ordanoski, Director for Media and Public Affairs of the VEVE Group, “The government has pushed the agenda and moved the issues from the problem of freedom of speech into a problem of freedom after speech…It means that problems are not only an issue of (wrong) media policy, but also of very serious structural deficiencies: how the market and industry function, and the transparency of the Government’s media policy.”

Dejan Donev, assistant professor at the Institute for Journalism, Media and Communications in Skopje, focuses on how the “precarious economic situation rendered journalists vulnerable to economic offers and corrupt practices.”

Tamara Causidis, president of the Independent Trade Union of Journalist and Media Workers, explains the economic woes: “In a situation of high unemployment in the country, the number of journalists on the labour market is much higher than what is needed. The media owners are using this situation to decrease the journalist’s labour price, to misuse the journalists and set unfair employment/working conditions. Many colleagues in the media are working illegally, without paid vacation days, overtime hours, sick leave and insurance… Very often Macedonian journalists report about abuses of workers’ rights in other areas of the society, while they cannot achieve the same rights for themselves.”

However, there are some positive developments. Dragan Sekulovski, Project Coordinator at the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), wrote about the organisation’s Action Plan: “This is an open document for further suggestions. Basically, it is a 17-page document where… representatives from the media community identified three main chapters where changes must take place. These chapters are: legislation, quality of journalism and ethical and professional standards.”

Full texts written by these and other experts, in addition to the latest news updates on media developments, SEEMO mission report and other useful links, have been recently included in the SEEMO-run webpage on media developments in the Republic of Macedonia/Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: www.macedoniapressfreedom.org

Vienna, 07/03/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), marked International Women’s Day by calling on media organisations in South, East and Central Europe to increase the participation of women in top-level management positions, guarantee salary equality, improve reporting on gender-related issues, avoid stereotyping and respect ethical standards when reporting on women, in particular as victims of violence.

Although some recent studies indicate that in Eastern European countries women are close to parity with men in terms of overall numbers in the newsrooms, enjoy moderate to excellent participation in all occupational levels, and even exceed the numbers of men at some news-reporting levels, top managerial positions are still reserved for men. Furthermore, differences between countries are significant: in some, women occupy numerous top managerial jobs, in others they occupy no such positions.

Although women are well represented in newsrooms, that representation has not been reflected in the coverage of gender-related issues, gender violence, respect for female victims of violence or forced prostitution (whose names and photos are often published), serious reflections on gender equality, elimination of gender-offensive language, or stereotyping of women, to name a few examples. In addition, young women journalists are often used in media to attract viewers due to their looks rather than skills.

“SEEMO has been very active in reflecting on both the participation as well as the portrayal of women in media,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “We have had several conferences dedicated to this topic and we plan to organise more. I call on media outlets to respect gender equality on all levels, but I also urge media owners and managers to engage in continuous training for journalists on gender-related topics. Dealing with gender issues and especially gender violence should not be a topic covered in a tabloid manner. It calls for serious research, reporting and debates. Media and civil society are essential in tackling this and other gender-sensitive problems. Both female and male journalists should be trained.”

Vienna, 07/03/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), condemns alleged attempts by the authorities of the municipality of Becej, 110 kilometres north of Belgrade, to prevent Nened Jovovic, a journalist with the regional public broadcaster Radio Televizija Vojvodine (RTV), from attending a municipal meeting. City councillors were discussing local security issues.

“I call on the Becej authorities to allow all journalists to attend their meetings,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “What is discussed there is of public interest, and banning the public broadcaster from covering the event violates press freedom.”

Vienna, 08/03/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), strongly condemns the brutal physical attack on Olivera Lakic, an investigative reporter with the Podgorica-based daily Vijesti. When she opened the door of her apartment building, at 9:30 PM on Mar. 7, 2012, a man approached Lakic and hit her several times in the head. The journalist was hospitalised. Her life is not in danger. The perpetrator escaped.

This was not the first time that Lakic had been threatened. In February 2011, she reported on illegal labelling of tobacco products. Both she and her family received threats. Two men are currently on trial for threatening her.

While SEEMO applauds the fact that the director of the Montenegrin police, Bozidar Vuksanovic, has taken a personal interest in the case, and arrived on the scene of the attack, the organisation recalls that this is not the first attack against Vijesti. Most previous cases remain unsolved.

As SEEMO wrote in July and August 2011, four clearly marked cars belonging to Vijesti were set ablaze, in three separate attacks. The perpetrators have not been found.

On Sep. 24, 2010, Zeljko Ivanovic, one of Vijesti’s founders, and several other journalists, received death threats by mail.

On Aug. 5, 2009, Mihailo Jovovic, editor of Vijesti, and Boris Pejovic, a photojournalist, were physically attacked by the mayor of Podgorica and his son while documenting their alleged illegal parking in town. The mayor’s son used his gun to threaten the journalist. Jovovic was treated in hospital for a head injury.

On Sep. 1, 2007, Zeljko Ivanovic was physically attacked by several assailants near a restaurant, where the newspaper was celebrating its 10th anniversary. Ivanovic was injured and received medical treatment. Although the perpetrators of this attack were found, the masterminds remain at large.

Despite the prompt condemnations of the previous attacks, Montenegrin authorities have not been effective in creating an environment in which journalists can work free from pressure.

“Considering the frequency of attacks against Vijesti journalists and property, I am led to believe that this daily is a direct target,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “I call on the authorities to find the person who beat Olivera Lakic as well as all those responsible for the previous attacks. Montenegro aspires to join the European Union. In a democracy, journalists should not be beaten or threatened, and any perpetrators should be found and prosecuted.

Vienna, 12/03/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), observes increasing pressure on local media in Serbia. On March 9, 2012, the president of the city council in Zagubica, (170 kilometers southeast of Belgrade) reportedly decided that the local TV broadcaster As should not film a municipal gathering and allegedly expelled the crew by hitting the camera, as a video appears to show. Asked why the reporters were not allowed to film, he apparently replied: “Because I say so,” according to the same video.

In a separate incident, a day earlier, a city councilor in Sremska Mitrovica (76 kilometers northwest of Belgrade), allegedly verbally insulted a local journalist who asked if it was true that she was resigning. “Why do you care?” the councilor, who is in charge of education, culture and sport, reportedly replied. She then proceeded to criticize the local TV station, Sremska Televizija.

On March 7, 2012, SEEMO reported another incident: the authorities of the municipality of Becej (110 kilometres north of Belgrade), allegedly prevented Nened Jovovic, a journalist with the regional public broadcaster Radio Televizija Vojvodine (RTV), from attending a municipal meeting. City councillors were discussing local security issues.

These alleged incidents represent only a fraction of the pressures on reporters. Many reporters do not report what they must go through on a daily basis.

The recurring incidents and pressure on local media coincide with an electoral campaign for parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 6, 2012.

“I observe mounting pressure on local media in Serbia,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “I am led to believe that local politicians are not aware of the role of media, or of the right to information. I call on Serbia’s authorities to protect reporters from the arbitrary behavior of local politicians, and organise training for politicians and civil servants on public information and the role of media in society.”

Vienna, 12/03/2012

Turkish investigative journalist and International Press Institute (IPI) World Press Freedom Hero Nedim Şener was released from prison today pending trial, after spending more than a year behind bars on charges of aiding a terrorist group.

An Istanbul court late this afternoon ordered the release of Şener and three others in the so-called Oda TV trial: investigative journalist Ahmet Şık, Sait Çakır and Coskun Musluk. Details of the court’s order and its reasoning were not immediately available.

IPI Press Freedom Adviser for Europe & North America Steven M. Ellis, who was present with members of IPI’s Turkish National Committee outside Silivri Prison when Şener emerged, said Şener told an assembled crowd: “When they took me to prison, I said, for [slain Turkish journalist] Hrant Dink, for justice.”

The four are accused of involvement with a news website, Oda TV, that authorities allege acted as the media wing for the alleged “Ergenekon” conspiracy, in which ultra-nationalists and elements of the Turkish security services are said to have plotted to use terrorism to bring down the government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

“I am beyond delighted to hear that Nedim has been released from prison along with Ahmet Şık and two others. IPI continues to support him and all of the journalists confined in Turkish prisons for doing their job. We will not rest until all journalists jailed in Turkey for practicing journalism are released,” said IPI Executive Director Alison Bethel McKenzie.

“While this latest development is great news, we continue to call on the government to drop all charges against Mr. Şener and to free the journalists who remain in jail,” added Bethel-McKenzie.

Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE’s Representative on Freedom of the Media, joined IPI in celebrating the release of Şener and his co-defendants. “I am very happy that the journalists are free. This is a long-awaited moment not only for them, their families and their loved ones, but for all of us who have been following their trial in and outside of Turkey,” said Mijatović.

Nedim Şener: Timeline of Events

June 2010 – Nedim Şener receives IPI World Press Freedom Hero Award.

3 March 2011 – Detained by police during raid on his home.

6 March 2011 – Turkish court orders Şener’s arrest on charges of aiding an alleged terrorist group.

26 October 2011 – Şener sends IPI letter from prison: “The prosecution’s only charge against me is journalism.”

8 November 2011 – Sener spends his 250th day in prison.

22 November 2011 – First court date; judge orders him and co-defendants back to pre-trial detention

26 November 2011 – IPI World Press Freedom Hero Raymond Louw writes open letter to Turkey’s president to express “horror and shock” at Şener’s arrest and to appeal for his release.

26 December 2011 – Second court date; court reads official indictment against Şener.

3 March 2012 – One-year anniversary of Şener’s detention.

12 March 2012 – Şener released from prison.

Vienna, 14/03/2012

“I strongly condemn pressure on reporters in Bulgaria and urge the authorities of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to respect media freedom,” said Oliver Vujovic, Secretary General of the Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI).

On 13 March 2012, Metropolitan Kalinik of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church tried to silence a reporter by threatening her. Eliana Dimitrova, a reporter with the public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT), approached several Orthodox bishops, gathered for a Synod meeting, and asked a question related to recently uncovered files that allegedly reveal collaboration between religious leaders and former security services during the socialist regime in Bulgaria.

Metropolitan Kalinik approached the journalist, according to a BNT video posted on the broadcaster’s website, in order to silence her. He wanted to “shut her mouth,” according to his own words, registered on the video.

“I am surprised that a religious representative behaves in this way. I do hope that the church authorities will take actions against Metropolitan Kalnik and condemn his behavior,” said Oliver Vujovic.

Vienna, 20/03/2012

“Although many in the West present Turkey as a role-model for the ‘Arab Spring’ countries, Ankara’s freedom of the press record gets worse and worse each day,” writes Emre Kizilkaya, foreign news editor at the Turkish dailyHürriyet, in his recent analysis for a web portal specialised in monitoring media developments in Turkey,www.turkeypressfreedom.org, run by the Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), in cooperation with the Slovenia-based International Media Center (IMC).

“The Freedom for Journalists Platform, an umbrella group representing 94 national and local journalist associations in Turkey, emphasizes that Ankara presents one of the worst press freedom pictures in Europe,” writes Kizilkaya.

According to a recent report by news website Bianet.org, issued on 19 March 2012, 104 journalists remain detained in Turkish prisons after Istanbul’s 16th High Criminal Court released journalists Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sık, and Oda TV writers Coskun Musluk and Sait Cakır on 12 March 2012. Their trial is pending.

“I welcome the release of the four journalists,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic, who also noted that many other journalists remained in prison.

SEEMO Board Member Radomir Licina, Senior Editor of the Belgrade-based Danas daily, writes: “Being a journalist is a rather insecure and challenging job in many parts of the world today, but Turkey undoubtedly leads the way in Europe in this respect, together with Russia and Belarus. Depressing figures prove that Turkey is one of the most unfriendly and most difficult environments for the work of local journalists.

“Our colleagues in Turkey are waging a very important battle for freedom of expression in this country which aspires to join the family of European democracies in the European Union. The response, and a show of solidarity of colleagues worldwide, have not been satisfactory so far…. It is necessary that all the media organisations rally to help our colleagues and their media by way of setting up a committee of reputable journalists and editors with a clear objective to pursue every possible legal avenue to amend the laws and practices in Turkey, and thus set free innocent journalists, make their persecution cease and enable normal online communication,” states Veran Matic, President of the Board of Directors, RTV B92, Belgrade, Serbia.

Book author, journalist and ombudsman for Hürriyet, Faruk Bildirici, reflects on Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s possible motives behind the pressure on journalists: “The media did not help him become the prime minister. On the contrary, he got political power despite the media of that time. He has never forgotten that and never hesitated to express that openly.”

Other contributors underline that Ankara aspires to join the European Union but fails to meet the expected democratic standards.

“The EU cannot accept this behaviour from Turkey. Imprisoned journalists have to be released or tried before court. Imprisoned journalists have a right to a fair trial. If Turkey wants to become a member of the European Union, the Turkish government has to respect press freedom and the EU has to be firm in regard to this issue,” according to Janne Virkkunen
Editor-in-Chief of Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat, and former Chairman of the International Press Institute (IPI).

On the other hand, Turkey fails as role model for the Arab world: “Young democratic Egyptians, Syrians and Iranians would like to admire Turkey for its achievements. But can they any longer? A country, a government that fiddles with press freedom can never truly and convincingly be a model, cannot be a respected negotiator, and cannot be a widely accepted go-between. And, of course, cannot be a member of the EU,” states Fredy Gsteiger, Diplomatic Correspondent of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, and a former IPI Board Member.

Just as concerned with Turkey’s failure to act as a role model is Agron Bajrami, editor-in-chief, of the Kosovo daily, Koha Ditore:“…negative trends in Hungary and Turkey give a very bad example to all other EU aspiring countries of South East Europe, by providing our local authorities, throughout our region, with justification for limiting and infringing on free speech and freedom of the media.”

It is important to keep supporting the efforts of Turkish journalists, according to SEEMO Board President Boris Bergant, former Deputy Director of Radio Television Slovenia (RTS), Ljubljana, Slovenia, and former Deputy President of the European Broadcasting Union: “We wish to support the process of democratisation in Turkey, as well as the European perspective, by closely monitoring the area of media freedom.”

Full texts written by these experts appear on the SEEMO-run website: www.turkeypressfreedom.org. In addition, this specialised webpage includes news updates and monthly reports on media developments, SEEMO and IPI statements on press freedom in Turkey, documents on media and human rights, links to specialised Turkish and international sources, various special reports, as well as exclusive statements by Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.

Vienna, 21/03/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), condemns the latest pressure against the reporters of the “Justice in Kosovo” TV program.

On 6 March 2012, the mayor of Prizren, a town 60 kilometers away from Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, allegedly threatened the TV crew of the program “Justice in Kosovo.” He reportedly said that he would break their camera if they did not leave the restaurant where the reporters tried to obtain an official declaration from the mayor.

“Justice in Kosovo” is transmitted on Kosovo public broadcaster Radio Television Kosovo (RTK) and deals with corruption, among other legal topics.

SEEMO has learned that the program team had long sought to interview the mayor, regarding the allegations about irregular financing of political parties and the apparent misuse of public tenders in the Municipality of Prizren. The mayor refused to meet the reporters. When they found him in a local restaurant and tried to record his views on camera, the mayor allegedly threatened the journalist, while his chief of protocol grabbed the reporter by the arm and tried to push him out of the restaurant.

“I urge Kosovo political authorities, especially on the local level, to abstain from pressuring media,” said SEEMO secretary general Oliver Vujovic.

The public has the right to know what their representatives are doing.”