(IFJ/IFEX) – In a 9 March 1998 press release, IFJ condemned the Serbian authorities for the attacks they have made on independent media who have been covering the actions of police in Kosovo. “They have learned nothing from the lunacy of censorship and propaganda during the Bosnia war,” says IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. “Attacks […]
(IFJ/IFEX) – In a 9 March 1998 press release, IFJ condemned the Serbian
authorities for the attacks they have made on independent media who have
been covering the actions of police in Kosovo. “They have learned nothing
from the lunacy of censorship and propaganda during the Bosnia war,” says
IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. “Attacks on media only create
ignorance, fear and intolerance. This encourages more violence — not
less.”
According to the IFJ, the Serbian authorities have threatened to punish
independent media who have been reporting the police actions against
alleged members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). “They are
threatening action against [newspapers] ‘Nasa Borba’, ‘Demokratija’,
‘Danas’, ‘Blic’ and ‘Daily Telegraf’, and they are moving against
independent broadcasters too,” said the IFJ. “We urge our colleagues to
defy attempts to silence them.”
“Not only has the prosecutor called for action, but he has been supported
by the State television. It is shocking that we are witnessing the type
of media attacks which took place at the beginning of the war in Bosnia,
including propaganda which stoked up hatred within the population. If the
voices of the independent media are silenced, the conflict could spread.”
The IFJ says that Serbian claims that media coverage of state actions in
Kosova will assist terrorism are “plainly ludicrous…. International
standards on freedom of expression, including in relation to alleged
terrorism, cannot be ignored. The charge of terrorism is commonly used
window-dressing when the authorities want to stop information […] which
might undermine government support [from getting] to the public,” states
White.
The IFJ represents more than 450,000 journalists in 96 countries, and has
member organisations in Serbia and Kosovo.
