Visit of OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media rejected by Yugoslavia

VIENNA, 10 September 1998 - In two recent letters to the Yugoslav Foreign Minister dated 18 August and 28 August, Freimut Duve, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, expressed his desire to visit Belgrade in the context of Yugoslav authorities' recent restrictions on the ability of journalists to practice their profession freely. He announced his intention to visit Belgrade and was refused.

In his written communication of 4 September, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Vienna informed Mr. Duve that "at this moment there are no real possibilities for the realization of your visit to the FRY, taking into account that the FRY links acceptance of the OSCE mechanisms with the normalization of its status in that organization."

This needs no elaboration. There is no reason to doubt that this rejection reflects official Yugoslav government policy. Ambassadors traditionally speak and write on behalf of their Governments.