28. 07. 2008

TO JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATIONS AND MEDIA ORGANISATIONS - SIGNATORIES OF THE 'STATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROTECTION OF WORK AND LIFE OF MEDIA PROFESSIONAL' DECLARATION

Belgrade, 28.7.2008. (NUNS) - The 48 hours deadline set by the editors-in-chief, Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) and other associations of media professionals for the Police to identify and arrest all the assailants on reporters, cameramen and photographers from B92, FoNet, RTS and other media has passed after the last week's demonstrations of the Hague indictees supporters.

Police has arrested two assailants who were taken into one month custody for further investigation, but the main assailant, the footage of which was broadcast by almost all the television stations and most of the daily newspapers, is still at large.

We would like to remind the general public of the "State Responsibility for Protection of Work and Life of Media Professionals" Declaration conclusion that was adopted in the Saturday's meeting in NUNS premises, which said that media would be forced to reduce the scope of their reporting from public gatherings and to primarily discontinue providing video footage, unless all the assailants were identified, taken into custody and punished according to the existing Criminal Code within the following 48 hours.

We demand that you take the aforementioned conclusion into effect, precisely due to a high-level risk gathering that Serbian Radical Party intends to organize tomorrow, in order to make it clear that we shall not give up our request that state institutions must take all the necessary measures to provide conditions for unobstructed work of media organizations and reporters, and protect the lives of media professionals.

We also suggest that the Decision on Programme Reduction, accompanied with an explanation, be broadcast or published in your respective media.

Secretariat of the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia

In Belgrade, on July 28, 2008