OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media meets independent editors from Yugoslavia

VIENNA, 23 October 1998 - Freimut Duve, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, has invited editors from the Yugoslav independent media to a meeting in Budapest to show his support for their cause. Many journalists in Yugoslavia continue to exercise their professional duties in defiance of government harassment and censorship. The independent media, despite being badly bruised by several closures by the Belgrade government, still report on the developments in the country especially in conflict-ridden Kosovo.

Freimut Duve believes that these journalists should be supported by the world public and by the international organisations that thrive to protect freedom of expression. The Representative on Freedom of the Media has been actively following developments in Yugoslavia and on many occasions has voiced his concern and anger at the authorities that are clamping down on the independent media.

In the current climate of co-operation between the OCSE and the Yugoslav government with the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission being deployed on the ground, Freimut Duve once again urges Belgrade to lift all restrictions on the media and to allow journalists, local and foreign, to cover the situation in Kosovo without interference from the authorities.

Freedom of the media is essential to any peace process, and Kosovo is no exception. That is why the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission will closely follow media developments and the coverage the Mission receives in Yugoslavia.

Freimut Duve looks forward to the meeting with the editors and to their insights into the current situation in Yugoslavia.