Newsroom
Increased reports to FreeMedia Help Line in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SARAJEVO 24 October 2000
SARAJEVO, 24 October 2000 -Twenty-seven new cases of perceived violations of media freedom have been reported to the OSCE FreeMedia Help Line during the past two months. This brings the total number of reported cases in the preceding year to 128.
"We - all of us - have made great progress in creating more media freedom in BiH this year than in any other year since the war ended. Yet the political pressures on media outlets are strong and persistent.," said Regan McCarthy, Director of Media Affairs. "We want to send a clear message to all political parties that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable in democratic societies and especially in the pre-election period. The OSCE will use its resources to protect free media and its authority to sanction those who try to suppress it."
As was seen during the April 2000 election campaign, there has been a sharp increase in the frequency of reported cases during the November general election campaign period. Most disturbing, of these 27 new cases, 13 (48%) were allegedly committed by government or public officials. Two cases involved misapplication of imprisonment as a penalty for defamation, in direct violation of the High Representative's Decision of July 1999. The remainder were committed by a range of perpetrators, including unknown persons, known individuals not affiliated with any organization or political party, and employees of media outlets themselves.
Nine of the incidents occurred in the Republika Srpska and 18 in the Federation of BiH.
In addition to tracking reported cases, the OSCE intervenes when requested.
In 18 of the 27 reported incidents, OSCE undertook appropriate actions to ensure that the incidents received an effective response. This included monitoring of court proceedings against journalists, assistance obtaining police action, mediation among involved parties, referral to the Ombudsmen or other competent bodies for additional action and/or case review prior to independent legal action. In several cases involving political party officials, the OSCE issued letters to party leaders and/or press statements regarding the behaviour of party members. In seven of the 27 cases, the FreeMedia Help Line was asked not to intervene, and two cases were dismissed for lack of supporting data.
The OSCE Mission to BiH encourages all journalists who have been threatened, intimidated, harassed or have in any way experienced interference in the performance of their duties to contact the Mission directly at its Help Line numbers: 033-292-228 or 033-292-305 or via fax at 033-667-988.
Alternatively, journalists can send an email to: [email protected] or file a report thorough our website at http://www.oscebih.org.
FreeMedia recognizes the need for confidentiality for journalists under threat. No identifying details of incidents will be released if the journalist requests confidentiality.
"We - all of us - have made great progress in creating more media freedom in BiH this year than in any other year since the war ended. Yet the political pressures on media outlets are strong and persistent.," said Regan McCarthy, Director of Media Affairs. "We want to send a clear message to all political parties that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable in democratic societies and especially in the pre-election period. The OSCE will use its resources to protect free media and its authority to sanction those who try to suppress it."
As was seen during the April 2000 election campaign, there has been a sharp increase in the frequency of reported cases during the November general election campaign period. Most disturbing, of these 27 new cases, 13 (48%) were allegedly committed by government or public officials. Two cases involved misapplication of imprisonment as a penalty for defamation, in direct violation of the High Representative's Decision of July 1999. The remainder were committed by a range of perpetrators, including unknown persons, known individuals not affiliated with any organization or political party, and employees of media outlets themselves.
Nine of the incidents occurred in the Republika Srpska and 18 in the Federation of BiH.
In addition to tracking reported cases, the OSCE intervenes when requested.
In 18 of the 27 reported incidents, OSCE undertook appropriate actions to ensure that the incidents received an effective response. This included monitoring of court proceedings against journalists, assistance obtaining police action, mediation among involved parties, referral to the Ombudsmen or other competent bodies for additional action and/or case review prior to independent legal action. In several cases involving political party officials, the OSCE issued letters to party leaders and/or press statements regarding the behaviour of party members. In seven of the 27 cases, the FreeMedia Help Line was asked not to intervene, and two cases were dismissed for lack of supporting data.
The OSCE Mission to BiH encourages all journalists who have been threatened, intimidated, harassed or have in any way experienced interference in the performance of their duties to contact the Mission directly at its Help Line numbers: 033-292-228 or 033-292-305 or via fax at 033-667-988.
Alternatively, journalists can send an email to: [email protected] or file a report thorough our website at http://www.oscebih.org.
FreeMedia recognizes the need for confidentiality for journalists under threat. No identifying details of incidents will be released if the journalist requests confidentiality.