New chairman of Independent Media Commission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

VIENNA/SARAJEVO, 16 September 1998 - The following statement was made by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Mr. Freimut Duve:

I accepted the position of Chairman of the Independent Media Commission in Bosnia-Herzogovina after a long period of thought and discussions with a cross-section of media and political officials. A key element in my agreeing to undertake this responsibility was that this position in no way be incompatible with my primary responsibility to the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as its first Representative on Freedom of the Media. I was concerned that some saw the IMC as a potential censoring body which would run counter to my responsibility at the OSCE to promote free and independent media; in short, to discourage government censorship of the media, wherever it occurs.

I now conclude that indeed is there no incompatibility between the two positions, but rather they are complementary, or could be if we all fulfill our responsibilities. And I, for one, am determined to do precisely that. My acceptance of this position grows out of a deep sense of respect I have for the potential of the Bosnian media, and the outstanding service of High Representative Westendorf who has paved the way for the Bosnian media to be capable of performing at the same level of other international and western media.

I see the IMC functioning along the lines of other regulatory bodies in Western Europe and in the United States. The commission will include Bosnian professionals from the media and from the legal community, and, after an interim period - and I stress that I view this entire enterprise as transitional - the commission will eventually operate without international representatives. My goal, our goal in this enterprise, is to make possible the evolution of a media in Bosnia which will play a valuable role in the promotion of an open and pluralistic society. I have confidence that this day is not far off. If I did not believe deeply in the potential of the Bosnian media, I would not have accepted this position.

Yes, there are clauses forbidding incitement to violence; these are not dissimilar to those applying in Western countries, and all of us familiar with the death, destruction and heartbreak of the past several years in this country, will understand the necessity to control incitement to violence. It is a responsibility I and the commission take seriously, and I can assure you that any restrictions will only be applied judiciously and with great thought. I know, from personal experience, what harm to democracy a controlled media can lead to; but I also know from that same personal experience the devastating potential for hate, death and destruction that words, used for mean-spirited and violent ends, can bring about. In the best of all possible worlds there would perhaps be no reason for any restrictions; but we live here in a real world, with practical limits, at least for the time being.

We have a great deal of work to do. I would hope that in the near future this country will be able to take its rightful place among the open and pluralistic democracies of the world. I would hope, too, that when that day comes, and it will be sooner rather than later, the freedom of expression and responsible media which this commission seeks to promote will have played a valuable role in this transition.