The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), strongly condemns the attempted murder of Ivo Pukanic, co-owner and director of Nacional, a weekly news magazine from Croatia.
According to information before SEEMO, shortly before midnight on 9 April 2008, an unidentified assailant carrying a gun with a silencer approached Pukanic on the street in front of his apartment. The assailant first threatened to kill Pukanic, and then shot at him from a distance of several meters. When the first shot was fired, Pukanic ducked and the bullet narrowly missed his head. The assailant again pulled the trigger, but his weapon jammed up. He ultimately fled the scene without hitting Pukanic.
Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General, stated that, “it is essential that the attacker is discovered. Pukanic is a well-known media owner, and his weekly Nacional has long played an important role in Croatia. We welcome the fact that Pukanic and his daughter received a 24-hour police escort for their protection.”
SEEMO is very alarmed about this attack, and urges the Croatian authorities to do everything in their power to find those responsible, and to bring them to justice.
11 April 2008
SEEMO alarmed at attacks against journalists in Serbia The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is alarmed about the recent wave of violent attacks on journalists in Serbia.
According to information before SEEMO, journalists reporting on the protest “Kosovo je Srbija”, held on 21 February 2008 as a reaction to Kosovo’s proclamation of independence, were subjected to serious physical attacks. A photojournalist from Holland’s NRC Handelsblad, Dirk-Jan Visser, sustained broken ribs, while two Russian journalists from Russia Today, an English-language TV station, also suffered physical injuries. In addition, the crew of Radio Televizija Srbije (RTS) was attacked during a separate protest.
In the meantime, Serbian radio and television station B92 has received written threats ever since Kosovo’s declaration of independence, including a montage video, posted on YouTube, which juxtaposed images of guns firing with footage of B92 anchors. On 20 February, B92 received a bomb threat by e-mail, forcing the staff’s evacuation. The following day, protesters surrounded the B92 building at 6pm, trapping the staff inside until well after midnight. Thankfully, police officers managed to prevent attacks on the building.
Moreover, according to information before SEEMO, on 25 February 2008, Milica Ivanovic, a journalist for Beta news agency and the newspaper Blic, was attacked while reporting on the unrest at the Mutivoda crossing between Serbia and Kosovo. When the journalist asked for protection from police officers standing nearby, her request was refused. According to reports, a B92 cameraman who was also present avoided harm by removing the station’s logo from his camera after hearing members of the crowd asking about the B92 crew.
SEEMO strongly condemns these repeated and targeted attacks on journalists in Serbia, as well as the failure of the police force to adequately protect them. Journalists must never become targets, regardless of their reporting style or their background. Furthermore, any attacks must carry consequences and be fully investigated.
We urge Your Excellency to do everything in your power to provide a secure environment for journalists, and to remind all involved of the importance of the media’s freedom to report on current events, which ensures the Serbian people’s right to information, and is a crucial element in a free democracy.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Oliver Vujovic SEEMO Secretary General
SEEMO strongly condemns the attack against Goran Gavrilov
The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), strongly condemns the attempted murder of Goran Gavrilov, General Manager of the Stip-based Channel 77, a private radio station network with national coverage in Macedonia.
According to information before SEEMO, Gavrilov was attacked by two armed persons in the night between 25 and 26 January in front of his home in Stip, eastern Macedonia. The masked assailants shot at him, but missed, and then violently beat him with metal rods.
Gavrilov was severely injured and received medical treatment in the Stip hospital.
His wife, Emilija Gavrilova, believes that this attack was linked to Gavrilov’ s work with regard to media regulations and reforms during the last 16 years and may present a direct threat to Channel 77’s effort in developing media democracy in the region.
Commenting on the incident, SEEMO Secretary General, Oliver Vujovic, said “SEEMO strongly condemns the brutal attack on Gavrilov and stresses that a full investigation should be conducted by the Macedonian authorities. Every threat against a journalist in Macedonia is a threat against the fundamental principle of freedom of expression in this country. We will continue to follow this case and we hope that the police will solve it as soon as possible.”
