**Updates IFEX alerts of 31 March 2000** (IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ press release: IFJ Urges UN to Show Restraint on Emergency Press Law in Kosovo THE INTENTIONS of the international community to impose legal controls on the press in Kosovo were criticised by the International Federation of Journalists, on April 26th. The […]
**Updates IFEX alerts of 31 March 2000**
(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ press release:
IFJ Urges UN to Show Restraint on Emergency Press Law in Kosovo
THE INTENTIONS of the international community to impose legal controls on the press in Kosovo were criticised by the International Federation of Journalists, on April 26th. The IFJ indicated caution and prudence at the time; “Kosovo?s journalists are already trying to put a system of self-regulation in place. This plan cuts the ground beneath their feet,” said Aidan White, General Secretary of the IFJ. The journalists? association is in the process of establishing its own Board to monitor press behaviour.
Plans for the emergency press law were accelerated upon the closure of the DITA newspaper. DITA was temporarily closed on 3 June for eight days following the death of Petar Topoljski, a Serbian translator for the UN. His disappearance and subsequent death came one week after DITA published an article accusing him of paramilitary activities against Kosovar Albanians.
The IFJ considers the closure to be both counter-productive and a gross abuse of the UN Mission?s powers, which threatens the freedom of all media in Kosovo. It sets a precedent for any future administration in Kosovo to interfere in the media. In addition, it sends a dangerous signal to other governments who look to the UN to demonstrate international norms and standards regarding the media.
“We strongly urge the UN to resist imposing an emergency press law on Kosovo media. Press laws only work when they are part of the general law, providing a legal framework of checks and balances that ensure media operate according to norms that apply to all sections of society”, said Christopher Warren, President of the IFJ. “Any press law should meet universal international standards of freedom of expression and define clearly the limits to those freedoms. It is also essential that the media professionals in Kosovo are fully consulted in the drafting of the law.”
While the IFJ understands the difficult nature of the current media scene in Kosovo, “the UN must show vision and leadership to produce long-term, comprehensive and self-sustaining solutions to the region based on fundamental values of human rights and freedom of expression”, Warren said.
The IFJ represents more than 450,000 journalists in 100 countries, including journalists in Kosovo.