OSCE Mission to Skopje supports Parliamentary television with equipment donation

SKOPJE, 6 June 2007 - The OSCE Mission to Skopje today handed over audio and visual production equipment worth about 140,000 euros to the Parliament for use by the Parliamentary Channel.

The new equipment will allow the channel, which is broadcast on public television, to produce programmes to add to its current schedule of live broadcasts of plenary sessions.

"This equipment will help the channel attract a larger audience and become a source of information for citizens interested in following the work of their elected leaders," said Ambassador Natalya Drozd, Deputy Head of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje. "It will help the channel strengthen its role as a transparency tool."

The U.S. Ambassador, Gillian Milovanovic, added: "In both developed and emerging democracies, transparency is a tool for holding officials accountable and fighting corruption. When government meetings or sessions of parliament are open to the press and the public, there are fewer opportunities for those in power to abuse the system."

The donation was made possible by contributions from the U.S. Department of State, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

The Parliamentary Channel is overseen by a council that comprises parliamentarians from ruling and opposition parties.