(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ letter to NATO Secretary General Javier Solana seeking clarification regarding NATO’s position on targeting Serbian media: **Updates previous IFEX alert of 9 April 1999** April 9, 1999 Javier Solana Secretary General NATO Brussels, Belgium VIA FACSIMILE April 9, 1999 Dear Secretary General Solana: The Committee to Protect Journalists […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ letter to NATO Secretary General Javier
Solana seeking clarification regarding NATO’s position on targeting Serbian
media:
**Updates previous IFEX alert of 9 April 1999**
April 9, 1999
Javier Solana
Secretary General
NATO
Brussels, Belgium
VIA FACSIMILE
April 9, 1999
Dear Secretary General Solana:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non partisan, non governmental
organization dedicated to the defense of press freedom worldwide, is seeking
clarification regarding NATO’s position on targeting Serbian television and
radio.
At the NATO briefing yesterday afternoon, British Air Commodore David Wilby
described Serbian radio and television as an instrument of propaganda and a
“legitimate target.” Later you noted that only television transmitters
connected with military installations would be targeted.
We urge you to clarify NATO’s policy regarding the targeting of Serbian
television and radio. We specifically request that you make public how NATO
would distinguish between “journalists,” whom Gen. Jean-Pierre Kelche
asserted would not be targeted, and “propagandists,” who now apparently have
been threatened with air strikes.
Finally, we are concerned that a military strike against Serbian television
and radio installations could jeopardize the safety of western journalists
working in Yugoslavia, who could face reprisals. The strikes could also
impede their ability of western journalists to transmit their reports to the
rest of the world.
Thank you for your consideration. We await your response.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Recommended Action
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Javier Solana
Secretary General
NATO
Brussels, Belgium
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