(WAN/IFEX) – In a 24 May 2002 letter to Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed their serious concern at the injuring of a journalist, two police officers and a translator by Minister of Internal Affairs Ljube Boskovski. According to reports, on 15 May, while on a tactical exercise with […]
(WAN/IFEX) – In a 24 May 2002 letter to Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed their serious concern at the injuring of a journalist, two police officers and a translator by Minister of Internal Affairs Ljube Boskovski.
According to reports, on 15 May, while on a tactical exercise with the Macedonian special police force in the village of Leunovo, Boskovski fired an automatic grenade launcher that injured four people. Boskovski subsequently ignored media calls for his resignation and denied responsibility for any wrongdoing, placing the blame on the police, who organised the exercise, and those injured, for failing to take adequate safety precautions.
WAN and the World Editors Forum are particularly concerned that since the incident, senior police officers have suggested that they will “teach” editors how to run their newspapers and in future may select which journalists will be permitted to follow police activities.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the prime minister:
– recalling that neither the state nor the police have any right to interfere in newspaper’s editorial matters, nor select which journalists may carry out their profession
– recalling that all Macedonian citizens have a fundamental right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international agreements, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the Declaration states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers”
– calling on him to ensure that Boskovski is held properly accountable for his actions and that the Macedonian media are permitted to carry out their activities free from police and state interference
Appeals To
The Right Honourable Ljubco Georgievski
Prime Minister of Macedonia
Email: emb.macedonia.ottawa@sympatico.caPlease copy appeals to WAN.
