SEEMO prosvjeduje zbog napada na direktora novina u Crnoj Gori

03.09.2007.

SEEMO PROTEST MONTENEGRO

 

H.E.

Filip Vujanovic

President of Montenegro

By Fax: +381 81 245 849

 

H.E.

Zeljko Sturanovic

Prime Minister of Montenegro

By Fax: +381 81 242 329

 

H.E.

Jusuf Kalamperovic

Minister of Internal Affairs of Montengro

By Fax: +381 81 246 526

 

 

Vienna, 3 September 2007

Your Excellencies,

 

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is alarmed at the recent attack on a director of a newspaper in Montenegro.

 

According to information before SEEMO, on 1 September 2007, during the early morning, Zeljko Ivanovic, founder and director of the daily Vijesti from Podgorica, was beaten by three unknown assailants near a restaurant, where the newspaper had celebrated its 10 anniversary.

 

SEEMO is deeply concerned about the attack. We ask Your Excellencies to ensure an immediate investigation into this case, to take all necessary legal steps to find the perpetrators, and to protect the life of Ivanovic.

 

We would also like to remind Your Excellencies that Dusko Jovanovic, director of the daily Dan was killed on the night of 27 May 2004 in front of the newspaper’s editorial office in Podgorica. The murderer or murderers of Jovanovic remain free. Last year, on 24 October 2006, Jevrem Brkovic, a leading novelist in Montenegro, was attacked by masked assailants, while his driver Srdjan Vojicic was shot dead, close to the place where Ivanovic was recently attacked.

 

We thank you for your attention.

 

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Vujovic

SEEMO Secretary General

 

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PRESS RELEASE SLOVENIA

Vienna, 31 August 2007

IPI and SEEMO Express Concern about Slovenian Media Environment, Calls for Independent Inquiry to Examine Whether Government Seeks Influence over Media

The International Press Institute (IPI), and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), are becoming increasingly concerned about possible political pressure on the Slovenian media.

One of the allegations is that the Slovenian government is indirectly influencing the media through its exploitation of business relationships with companies that have financial holdings in a range of media organisations.

Commenting on the issue, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz said, "I am deeply concerned about the Slovenian media environment at present. Business relationships and share holdings should never be used by the government as leverage to induce independent media organisations to publish favourable news stories."

"The exercise of editorial independence is fundamental to the credibility of a media organisation and for governments to seek ways of undermining this principle is deplorable in a country that is a member of the European Union."

"I would call on the Slovenian government to hold an independent inquiry into these recent events and to set up new systems ensuring that the media are always held at arm's length from the executive branch of government. If this principle has been breached in Slovenia, it is of serious concern not only for the media, but also for the public who rely on their information," added Fritz.

"SEEMO is aware of such pressures in other countries in the region, but, if found to be true, these events in Slovenia are particularly damaging because of Slovenia's presidency of the European Union in 2008. Countries who assume the presidency of the EU must lead by example, and I am concerned that it will send a mixed message to other countries about how to influence media coverage," said SEEMO Secretary-General Oliver Vujovic.

According to information provided to IPI and SEEMO, there have been a number of instances of political pressure on journalists who have written articles critical of the current centre-right government and its president Janas Janza.
 
In early summer, there were news reports that at Slovenia's most influential newspaper Delo a number of respected journalists were leaving. Those leaving included journalist Barbara Surk, who specialises in Middle Easter issues. Surk has claimed that she was forced to leave after she was offered a low salary.

Another journalist was Matija Grah, Delo's Vienna correspondent, who claimed that his reporting on the heated debate over bilingual street signs in Kaernten (Carinthia), Austria, a region containing a Slovenian minority, led to his removal after complaints from the Slovenian government. Delo's Zagreb correspondent, Rok Kajzer, also found himself in difficulties with the newspaper after a story concerning a disputed border area with Croatia.

Aside from Delo, there have also been problems at the daily Vecer newspaper. At the end of May, some members of the Slovenian Writer's Association expressed their own concerns about these events in a letter titled, "Against Intimidation and Punishment."

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SEEMO is a regional network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe.

 

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SEEMO - IPI, Spiegelgasse 2/29, 1010 Vienna, Austria, Tel (SEEMO+HELP LINE): +43 1 513 39 40, Tel (SEEMO): +43 1 512 90 11 11, Fax: +43 1 512 90 15, E-mail: info@seemo.org, Web: http://www.seemo.org

 

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