Media freedom deteriorates in some OSCE States, says OSCE media watchdog

VIENNA, 2 May 2003 - The general state of the media in OSCE participating States and the safety of journalists working in hostile environments will be two themes on which the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve, will focus during his last year as the OSCE media watchdog.

Freedom of the media continued to deteriorate in the OSCE region in the past year and several journalists were killed or injured in reporting on the war in Iraq, he said in a statement marking World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.

"On World Press Freedom Day, while paying tribute to those who over the years defended this fundamental human right, we must also acknowledge that media freedom, as well as certain other human rights, in many of our member states have been rolled back," said Freimut Duve, whose term of office ends in December.

"We have seen journalists killed, newspapers shut down, media professionals arrested and some ending up serving prison terms for libel and other alleged "crimes." In one OSCE participating State, Turkmenistan, freedom of the media does not exist per se. This is a sad situation for an organization that claims to unite declared democracies."

The OSCE Media Representative has raised dozens of cases of harassment of journalists in the participating States, both to the east and west of Vienna, where his Office is based.

He has also voiced concern regarding several issues related to media reporting from the war in Iraq, including the continued problem of the safety of journalists and the need for a more detailed debate among professionals on the relationship between the media and the military in times of conflict; balancing objective reporting and the patriotism of journalists when reporting on their country going to war.

"The work of the media in Iraq, some of it absolutely brilliant, will set a standard that many will follow during future conflicts," Freimut Duve said. "That is why I see a need to discuss openly all the positive and negative aspects of how journalists reported from this war. This may help us to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future."