17/02/2011: SERBIA – SEEMO EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER THREATS TO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF B92 AND PRODUCERS OF THE PROGRAM ‘INSAJDER’

Vienna, 17/02/2011

The South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned over continued threats to journalists involved in the production of the investigative program “Insajder”, produced by the Belgrade-based broadcaster B92.

The latest threats occurred in the Serbian city of Lazarevac, after the broadcast of the third part of an “Insajder” series dealing with alleged irregularities in the public enterprise Kolubara. Over the past three weeks, posters offensive to B92 have appeared after each broadcast on Monday evenings.

On 15 February 2011, the posters were substituted with obituaries announcing the imminent “death” of B92, due to a “prolonged and serious anti-Serbian illness”. The names of the B92 editor-in-chief Veran Matic and of the entire “Insajder” team appear below the text. Some posters have been stuck to walls next to a police station. So far, no perpetrators have been found. B92 legal representatives believe that the obituaries may be a warning to potential witnesses willing to testify about financial irregularities at Kolubara.

SEEMO recalls that “Insajder” producer Brankica Stankovic was assigned police protection, due to death threats, after broadcasting a series on corruption in football.

SEEMO Secretary-General Oliver Vujovic said: “We call on the authorities to find the perpetrators and to ensure that freedom of expression is respected, as guaranteed by the Constitution”.

Vienna, 18/02/2011

The South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned over the new security regulations approved by the municipal authorities in the Serbian town of Kula, which impede free access to information, as guaranteed by the national laws.

On 16 February 2011, private security forces evicted journalists from the Kula municipality building because they lacked proper accreditation to cover the municipal meetings. SEEMO learned from Dragan Jovanovic, journalist with TV Kula, and one of the evicted journalists, that private security used excessive force to remove journalists from the premises. Jovanovic explained that new security regulations make it very difficult to obtain an official accreditation and cover the information on municipal meetings. It is not clear, he claims, who has to issue what certificate, who applies for the accreditation (journalists, media outlets or media owners) and who approves them. Thus, most journalists lack new accreditations.

SEEMO urges Kula authorities to allow free access to information and reconsider new regulations which impede transparency.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic called on the Kula authorities: “to allow free access to information and thus ensure transparency”.

Vienna, 19/02/2011

The European Union’s Telecoms Chief said on Monday that Hungary’s new media law may violate EU laws on press freedom and broadcasting.

European Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes told the European Parliament in a speech that she had contacted Hungarian authorities “to raise specific points on which the media law does not appear at first sight to be satisfactory,” Reuters reported.

Kroes said she was concerned the law could apply to media companies established outside of Hungary, contravening EU regulations providing that broadcasters are only subject to rules in their country of origin. She also said that efforts to require broadcasters to present news in a “balanced” manner were not sufficiently clear.

The move came as civil society organizations in Slovakia, including journalists and human rights groups, scheduled a protest against the law for today at 16:00 in front of the Hungarian Embassy in Bratislava to show support for “all democratically-minded citizens of Hungary.”

Citizens’ Initiative UM! Bratislava called on rally participants to shine flashlights into the window of the Hungarian embassy to symbolically “repel clouds” over Hungarian democracy and bring light to “the current eclipse of press freedom.”

International Press Institute Vice Chairman Pavol Múdry — who is also a board member of the SITA-Slovak News Agency and the IPI Slovak National Committee — said: “We have to show our solidarity to the Hungarian media because such proceedings are not a good development in an EU country.”

The protest in Slovakia follows demonstrations against the law on Friday by thousands of people in Budapest and Vienna.

The legislation, which entered into effect on 1 January as Hungary took over the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, has been heavily criticized by top EU politicians, the OSCE, journalists and a host of press freedom and freedom of expression groups.

Eleven Austrian newspapers on Thursday published an International Press Institute insert calling on the Hungarian government to withdraw the legislation, and warning that it constituted a fundamental threat to press freedom.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “We reiterate that, as was made apparent in the declaration in 11 Austrian newspapers, we urge the Hungarian government to take note of the concerns over this legislation and we ask it to ensure that press freedom is preserved.”

The legislation would allow radio and television stations to be fined up to 730,000 Euros ($975,000) for going against “public interest, public morals and order”, or for broadcasting “partial information”, with insufficient clarification on what constitutes an infringement of the law, according to local media sources. It would also allow journalists to be forced to give up confidential sources in cases involving vaguely-defined ‘national security’.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — who was able to push the legislation through Parliament with the support of his Fidesz party, which controls two thirds of the body’s seats — has rejected criticism of the law, arguing that it is modeled on existing laws in other EU countries. But he has also said that he would be willing to amend the law if EU legal experts found shortcomings.

Hungary’s application of media regulations to broadcasters has come under sharp scrutiny since the new law was introduced in Parliament last year.

Authorities in December initiated proceedings against Tilos Radio for causing harm to minors by playing two songs by American rapper Ice-T containing explicit lyrics during the station’s 1730h program, but announced last week that they were dropping the investigation.

Proceedings initiated against RTL Klub television last year over a crime report in October about a man who killed his brother and then chopped up the body remain pending.

Vienna, 21/02/2011

The International Press Institute (IPI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemned Belarusian authorities’ detention of Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut and called for his immediate release.

Poczobut, a reporter for Poland’s major daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, was sentenced to 15 days in prison last Friday for allegedly participating in an unsanctioned protest rally on 19 December in Minsk following the disputed re-election of Alexander Lukashenko.

Police arrested Poczobut as he was covering the rally, but freed him the next day. He was later charged with participating in the rally and sentenced to pay a 400 Euro fine. Prosecutors appealed the verdict, and Poczobut was also sentenced last week to imprisonment.

According to Piotr Stasinksi, Gazeta Wyborcza deputy editor-in-chief and a member of IPI’s Executive Board, Poczobut is an activist with the Association of Poles in Belarus, an organization regularly persecuted by Belarusian authorities. Poczobut has been a frequent target of government-inspired harassment in Belarus, Stasinski said, and authorities repealed Poczobut’s press accreditation in 2009.

Stasinksi also said that Poczobut was stopped last month by the Belarusian security services, which are still called the KGB, in Grodno, where Poczobut lives, and brought in for questioning. Poczobut was held for nearly three hours, Stasinski added, and repeatedly hit and threatened with an eight-year prison sentence if he ever turned up again at an opposition rally.

“We strongly insist that the Belarusian authorities release our correspondent, who was performing his reporter’s duties during the opposition rally,” Stasinski commented. “If he is not released, it will mean that the Belarusian authorities persecute the freedom of the press.”

IPI Press & Communications Manager Anthony Mills said: “It is absolutely vital that journalists be free to do their job – which includes covering demonstrations – without fear of arrest and imprisonment.”

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.

****For further information, please contact:

Mirjana Tomic
SEEMO Press Freedom Manager
South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
E-mail: info@seemo.org
Web: www.seemo.org

Vienna, 22/02/2011

The Vienna-based South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned that recent judicial and political pressure on private broadcaster, A1 TV, in theRepublic of Macedonia – Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, may have been spurred by the broadcaster’s critical reporting and could therefore constitute a violation of media freedom.

Television A1 TV and newspapers Vreme, Shpic and Koha e Re, all belonging to Velija Ramkovski, have been the subject of a judicial and police investigation since the arrest of Ramkovski and his 15 associates in December 2010. Earlier, on 25 November 2010, the police blocked the journalists from entering the A1 TV premises, without an explanation as to why it was forbidden to enter or leave the building. Financial police and members of the Public Revenue Office raided the building in which the media outlets are located, as well as other companies allegedly connected to Ramkovski.

On 28 January 2011, the bank accounts of 11 legal subjects located at the same address, including the TV station and the three newspapers, were blocked. They were later unblocked by court order on 8 February 2011.

A1 TV is known for its critical reporting and has been publicly labelled unpatriotic by Government representatives, according toA1TV sources. In addition, the Government appears to have reduced its advertising expenditure on the channel and advised others to follow its example.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said: “SEEMO supports all official efforts to combat corruption and tax evasion, and favours transparency regarding media ownership. However, Skopje authorities must also guarantee freedom of expression and allow media access to all political players.” Vujovic added that criminal investigation “should not prevent journalists from doing their job.”

Vienna, 28/02/2011

An IPI / SEEMO delegation met in Bratislava with Slovak Minister of Culture Daniel Krajcer, who said his government was proposing legislation that would change the “right to reply” currently present in Slovak law. The right allows politicians to comment on everything that is reported about them, even if the report is factually accurate.

Krajcer told the group that the proposed legislation would accord the right only where a report is “inaccurate, incomplete or distorts the truth,” and would place the burden of proof on the party seeking to invoke the right. Public officials could not invoke the right unless a report is unrelated to performance of official duties, he said, and the right would only allow for a response or a correction, rather than both, as allowed under the current law.

The Slovak government’s move accords with a pledge by Prime Minister Iveta Radicova last September during an address at IPI’s 60th anniversary World Congress in Bratislava.

Radicova, who succeeded former Prime Minister Robert Fico in July 2010, promised to reverse the right to reply rule and other elements of the 2008 law which critics have said Fico pushed through in order to muzzle the media. Radičová in her address also criticized harsh sanctions in the law which she said led to self-censorship among journalists, and she took issue with the law’s strong regulation of the media.

IPI Vice Chairman, SEEMO Board Member and Slovakian IPI Board Member Pavol Mudry, who was part of the delegation that met with Krajcer and took part in discussions that led to the proposed legislation, said: “We welcome the attitude of the minister of culture in speaking with and listening to media representatives, and in making his decision based on their input.”

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.

Vienna, 01/03/2011

The South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned over proposed amendments limiting the currently unrestricted public access to the Business Registry of Bulgaria’s Registry Agency. The amendments are expected to be approved by the Bulgarian Parliament during the coming days. This change could seriously curtail investigative reporting on the process of privatisation and company takeovers.

There are two types of business databases, according to Aleksander Kashumov, head of the legal team at Bulgaria’s Access to Information Program. One contains general company data and the second stores contracts, protocols, shareholders’ decisions, etc. While the former will remain open to the public, the latter will be restricted if the amendment proposed by the ruling party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, passes in Parliament. The amendment foresees that only legal practitioners will have access to the database of company cases. It is not clear, however, if other individuals, including journalists, will have any access, said Kashumov to SEEMO.

The proponents of the amendment argue that the restricted access to companies’ case data would be a safeguard against fraud. Currently, all companies in Bulgaria are required to re-register by 31 December 2011.

SEEMO recalls that unrestricted public access to company cases databases has been an essential journalistic tool in uncovering corruption and irregularities. SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic calls on the deputies to seriously consider if the current law should be changed. Vujovic said: “Restricted access to the Registry Agency’s databases will seriously affect journalists’ access to information of public interest.”

Vienna, 02/03/2011

The South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), condemns the gun attack and death threat against Turkish-Cypriot journalist Sener Levent, editor of the newspaper Afirka.

On 25 February 2011, unknown attackers opened fire at Afrika’s office door. Levent and other journalists were working inside but nobody was wounded. One bullet hit the wall and the other lodged in the door. The attackers also left a note warning that next time the shots would target the journalist, rather than just his office door.

Afrika, formerly known as Avrupa, is no stranger to threats and law suits. Due to its critical reporting, the paper has been sued on numerous occasions and is involved in the highest number of legal cases in the territory controlled by the Turkish-Cypriot authorities. The combined prison sentences for the criminal law suits – if they had all resulted in convictions – would have run to close to 2,000 years. In recent years, SEEMO has reacted on numerous occasions and asked the authorities to respect media freedom. However, threats and pressures against Levent continue.

Outraged by the most recent acts of aggression against the newspaper, Turkish-Cypriot politicians visited Afrika to express solidarity and condemn the attack.

SEEMO calls on the authorities in Lefkosa to find and prosecute the perpetrators.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic strongly condemned the attack and said: “I expect the Turkish-Cypriot authorities to find the perpetrators and thereby show their true commitment to freedom of the press.”

Vienna, 03/03/2011

The South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South and East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned about reports that the media has been prevented from reporting on public events in Chisinau, Moldova.

According to information received from the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), on 29 January 2011 the journalist Oleg Brega was prevented from entering the National Theatre in Chisinau where an event was being held on the occasion of the Prosecutors’ National Day. On the same day, a hotel hosting a meeting of the Democratic Party of Moldova prevented all media from entering.

On 31 January 2011, news crews from the newspapers Adevarul Moldova, Jurnalul TV and StireaZilei.md were prevented from attending a briefing by the Prime Vice-President of Parliament on the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture and Industry.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said: “When journalists are prevented from exercising their function without any clear explanation, an unhealthy atmosphere of governmental pressure is created. This could and should have been avoided.”

Vujovic continued: “SEEMO urges the Moldovan authorities to allow journalists to work freely and condemns any restriction on the work and free movement of journalists.”

Vienna, 04/03/2011

The South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), deplores the overreaction of Christopher Dell, US Ambassador in Pristina, to the publication of photos with text messages apparently showing his involvement in the election of Kosovo president Behgjet Pacolli. The photos showed text-messages exchanged between Pacolli and his advisor Esad Puskar, seated next to the US ambassador in a parliamentary session during which the vote for president occurred on 22 February 2011.

According to the photos, Ambassador Dell advised Esad Puskar on how to proceed in order to obtain the required votes for Pacolli. During the first two rounds, Pacolli did not obtain a majority. Had he not won during the third round, new parliamentary elections would have been necessary.

Three Kosovo media outlets – Express, Koha Ditore and Koha Vision TV – published the Smartphone screen with clearly readable incoming and outgoing messages.

Ambassador Dell called the media behaviour “inexcusable”. In an open letter addressed to the Independent Media Commission (IMC), published on 23 February 2011, he stated: “The behaviour may also have been illegal, as Kosovo’s Criminal Code forbids the unauthorized interception of personal conversations and statements.” Further, he wrote: “I trust that the IMC will exercise its responsibility in enforcing its Code of Conduct.”

Article 170 of the Criminal Code stipulates that anyone publishing wire-tapped conversations or messages not specifically addressed to them is liable to one year in prison. In this case, however, there was not tapping involved: journalists were seated on a balcony above the diplomats and took pictures.

In reference to the alleged violations of privacy, it should be underlined that the media published photos taken in a public place. Everyone knew, including the ambassador, that journalists were seated in the gallery overlooking the seats reserved for diplomats and other guests. Thus, phone text messages or anything written on paper could easily be photographed using modern photo equipment.

SEEMO would like to remind the ambassador that over the past several years there have been high-profile international cases in which journalists, using modern equipment, took pictures or recorded videos in public places, catching international politicians off guard. There were no official complaints: the persons involved knew that their public blunder was due to negligence. When in a public place, public figures must be aware that journalists and cameras could be around. In the recent Kosovo case, the people involved in the message exchange were not cautious enough, and journalists profited from the situation.

Ambassador Dell also underlined that some of the media involved in publishing the text messages had been recipients of US government aid. The statement did not specify if this aid could be revoked.

Due to the prominent US role in Kosovo, the declarations of US diplomats are widely discussed and debated, and have a strong influence on the local political scene. SEEMO is concerned that the US ambassador’s reference to a possible alleged criminal act could have negative effects on media freedom and increase political pressure on media outlets. SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said: “If the ambassador is unhappy with media reporting, he could have presented his point of view directly to media representatives.”