PUBLIC
STATEMENT
THE CASES OF ASSAULTS AGAINST
JOURNALISTS
QUADRUPLED IN NUMBER
For three years already, the Helsinki
Committee for Human Rights in BiH has been
analysing the position of media and of
journalists in the territory of the entire BiH
regarding the realisation, i.e. violation of
human rights – freedom of expression, freedom
of media and position of journalists in them.
The basic statement, on the basis of
semi-annual analysis, is that the position of
media and media workers is still difficult.
Physical assaults, different forms of threats
and pressures exerted by the governmental
authorities and individuals, difficult material
position, incomplete legal regulations in this
field as well as division within the journalist
profession are the characteristics of the
environment in which freedom of expression and
freedom of media exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina
today.
The threats against journalists and media
houses were doubled in number in March as
compared to autumn and summer 1999, while in May
and June it was quadrupled! Of course, we can say
that this is partly due to the fact that the
journalists encouraged themselves to speak out on
all the things that are happening to them –
this being not the case before.
It is inadmissible that the majority of
perpetrators of assaults against the journalists
and media houses are still out of reach of
justice and law, even in the cases when the names
of perpetrators are known. It is rarely that the
police has shown interest in preventive acting in
cases of threats and assaults against media and
journalists. We can single out one positive
example in this sense – Minister of the Police
of the Canton of Sarajevo, Ismet Dahic, in
February, met the journalists and representatives
of the Helsinki Committee twice trying to jointly
find efficient methods for protection of freedom
of information.
Difficult position of media and media workers
is a consequence of a bad organisation of
journalists themselves. The media picture in BiH
is split by existence of five journalists’
associations, organised mainly on the basis of
national principle being advocated for,
unfortunately, by a number of individual
journalists who do not recognise joint interests
and objectives.
Self-regulation of media and media workers is
far from being up to the interests of freedom of
public word and interests of democratic
principles. The matter concerning the
establishment of the Press Council may be the
best illustration of such split and utterly bad
state. The Press Council should promote
journalist ethics, professional standards and
defend freedom of media. However, after full
eight months of negotiating the establishment of
the Council among five journalists’
associations, the issue has been returned to its
beginning in June since national principle was
set up as the leading one for its establishment.
Again, the national, entity and even narrow
individual interests prevailed among the divided
representatives of the associations.
The major part of the local media,
particularly radio stations, still depend on the
budget resources and therefore accept classical
censorship or make auto-censorship. A great
number of the BH journalists is not materially or
socially insured. The trade union branch
inadequately discuss the issue.
The Helsinki Committee is concerned with
unjustified and inadmissible slow transformation
and reconstruction of RTV BiH which should, among
else, result in establishment of the Public
Broadcasting Service (PBS). No one of the
segments of this important job has been done in
set up terms and in the way foreseen by the
Decision brought by the High Representative in
July 1999.
The Helsinki Committee welcomes publishing of
the Law on Freedom of Information on the state
and entity levels. We deem that it is a
contribution to democratisation of BH and further
promotion of freedom of public word. The future
law does not relate to media only, but to every
citizen who has the right to be informed on the
work of the organ the activity of which directly
affects his economic, social, cultural or any
other position in the society. In future, the
Helsinki Committee shall continue advocating for
the affirmation of fundamental principles upon
which the mentioned law is based and insisting on
adoption of the Law in the parliamentary
procedure.
Sarajevo, 26 July 2000
No: 24A-07/2000
Srdjan Dizdarevic
President of Helsinki Committee
for Human Rights in BH
▲
To the top
