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OSZE-Medienbeobachtung für Kosovo und Serbien gefordert
Offener Brief an das Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten EDA
CALL FOR OSCE MEDIA VERIFIERS AS PART OF KVM - by ANEM
An das Eidgenössische Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten EDA
PA 1, ehem. Sonderstab Jugoslawien
PA 1, OSZE-Dienst
PA 3, Dienst für Friedensfragen, Hr. V. Christen, Fr. T. Schrempft
PA 4, Humanitäre Hilfe und Flüchtlingspolitik / Menschenrechtspolitik, Fr. T. Fumasoli
DEZA / AZO, Zusammenarbeit mit Zentral- und Osteuropa
Zürich, 9. November 1998
OSZE-Medienbeobachtung für Kosovo und Serbien gefordert
Offener Brief an das Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten EDA
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren
Die Medienhilfe Ex-Jugoslawien ruft den Bund auf, im Rahmen seiner Bemühungen um eine
politische Lösung des Kosovo-Konfliktes spezielle Aufmerksamkeit der Entwicklung der
Mediensituation zu schenken. In Zusammenarbeit mit unseren Partnerorganisationen vor Ort
unterstützen wir den Aufruf des Netzwerks unabhängiger elektronischer Medien ANEM, im
Rahmen der Beobachtermission ein spezielles Team zur Überwachung der Medienfreiheit
einzurichten. Medienfreiheit und professioneller Journalismus sind die
Grundlage für eine Verständigung der Menschen und der politischen Kräfte über das
weitere Vorgehen vor Ort.
Die Medienhilfe Ex-Jugoslawien bietet dem Bund seine Mitarbeit an, um den Beitrag der
Schweiz in diesem wichtigen zivilen Bereich der friedenspolitischen Massnahmen kompetent
und rasch realisieren zu können. Wir erlauben uns, Ihnen im Anhang den Aufruf
zuzustellen, wie er von ANEM mit unserer vollen Unterstützung verfasst wurde.
Mit bestem Dank und freundlichen Grüssen
Roland Brunner, Medienhilfe Ex-Jugoslawien
CALL FOR OSCE MEDIA VERIFIERS AS PART OF KVM
In light of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Kosovo
Verification Mission, and the mandate of the OSCE to monitor free and fair elections in
Kosovo as an integral part of that Mission, the Association for Independent Electronic
Media (ANEM), calls on the OSCE, and other international organisations and their member
states, to consider urgently establishing an international team of media verifiers.
ANEM stresses that the free circulation of independent information both within Kosovo and
throughout wider Serbia and Montenegro is crucial to the successful implementation of the
OSCE’s KVM, and a peaceful resolution to the Kosovo crisis.
In particular, ANEM believes that the dissemination of accurate information to the wider
public in Serbia and Montenegro about the KVM is key to its successful implementation.
ANEM therefore suggests that the OSCE consider broadcasting programming about the KVM on
ANEM’s TV and Radio Networks of 50 stations in Serbia and Montenegro, as a first and
important step to informing the Yugoslav publics about the KVM.
ANEM further underlines that current government attempts to muzzle dissent and destroy all
forces of democracy in Serbia and Montenegro, most specifically under the guise of the new
Law on Public Information, constitute a serious threat to the successful implementation of
the OSCE’s KVM.
ANEM believes that the creation of a team of OSCE media monitors, coupled the
dissemination of accurate information about the OSCE’s KVM through the TV and Radio
Networks, would simultaneously greatly strengthen the independent media’s defence of
free speech, and aid the successful implementation of the OSCE’s KVM.
Media verifiers should:
1. Oversee the status of the independent media in FR Yugoslavia, and keep record of the
hate speech and make their reports on these things public with recommendations to the OSCE
mission on how to influence the sanctioning of the hate speech and the dissemination of
untruths through media. The possibility of setting up an international body or institution
that would, similar to the Hague tribunal, make reports and recommendations
of concrete measures for the governments that abuse or monopolise media to spread hatred
and war propaganda in the whole region of the former Yugoslavia should be considered.
2. Publically condemn acts of repression against journalists, and bring such acts to the
attention of the international community and competent bodies. In particular this relates
to the kidnap or illegal detention of any journalists, for example the Kosovo Liberation
Army’s recent detention of 2 Tanjug journalists.
3. Observe repression of the authorities in Serbia and Montenegro and at the Federal level
against the media, and press for the removal of that repression through international
organisations. What needs to be specified is not only what the monitors should observe,
but also the legal framework,
the starting point. It will not suffice only to say that something runs counter to the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the European Institute for the Media, for instance,
should specify what are the basic rules of the game in this domain, and the Yugoslav
Federal and Republic governments should be pressed to accept these as a framework for the
work of the media verifiers.
4. Work in tandem with the institutions engaged in the media field: the Independent
Association of the Journalists of Serbia, the Association of Independent Electronic Media
in FR Yugoslavia, the Independent Association of Journalists of Montenegro, FREE 2000, and
especially the European Institute for the Media in Dusseldorf.
5. The lineup of the monitoring mission should be appointed by the Committee to Protect
Journalists, the Reporters sans frontiers, the International Federation of Journalists,
Human Rights Watch, Article 19 and others. The IFJ should relocate it Balkans centre to
Belgrade, as its centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia does not make much sense in the current
situation. Heed should be taken that one single organisation should not be let run the
whole task.
6. The mission should make it clear that the conclusions, reports, and discussions on the
media verification mission will be presented to all media.
7. Pressure should be exerted to allow RTV Koha, RTV 21 and Radio Kontakt (the last one
was banned) to start broadcasts. If adequately supported, they will from that point
develop radio and television programs that would closely cooperate with the ANEM networks.
8. Special programs on the mission should be disseminated through the ANEM Radio Network
(33 stations in Serbia and Montenegro) and the ANEM TV Network (17 television stations in
FRY). This should be stressed so that the idea that was put forward to Mr Dienstbier,
which was incorrectly reinterpreted as an initiative for an OSCE TV channel, would be
turned into a constructive support of an existing Network, rather than a creation of a new
TV OBN that was a failed project in Bosnia. Any imposition of media initiatives from
outside is out of the question as it is impossible to implement and would furthermore
undermine existing efforts.
9. Very important: state media should be obliged to broadcast and otherwise publish the
conclusions and reports by this commission.
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