[CivilSoc] Croatian Editor Would-be Target of Assassination Effort--SEEMO

[Civil Society International]

From: seemo
To: seemo@freemedia.at
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 5:46 AM
Subject: SEEMO PROTEST TO H.E. STIPE MESIC AND TO H.E. MILO DJUKANOVIC
SEEMO PROTEST TO H.E. STIPE MESIC AND TO H.E. MILO DJUKANOVIC
H.E. Stipe Mesic
Zagreb
President of Croatia
Fax: + 385 1 45 65 159
H.E. Milo Djukanovic
Podgorica
President of Montenegro
FRY
Fax: + 381 81 245 849
Vienna, 31 October 2001
Your Excellencies,
The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of
editors, media executives and leading journalists in South Eastern Europe,
and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply
concerned for the safety of Ivo Pukanic, director of the leading Croatian
news magazine, Nacional.
According to information before SEEMO, two groups close to the state secret
service in Montenegro are preparing Pukanic's assassination. The threat is
the result of several investigative reports published in Nacional about the
connection between Montenegrin officials and cigarette smugglers in the
Balkans. SEEMO has also been informed that there was an attempt to bribe
Nacional into halting the investigation of the so-called "Balkan tobacco
mafia".
In addition, according to SEEMO's sources, Vladislav Asanin, the former
editor-in-chief of the Montenegrin daily, Dan, is being charged with libel
by the Montenegrin president after his newspaper reprinted articles first
published in Nacional about the cigarette smugglers.
Asanin's trial is due to take place on 2 November 2001 in Podgorica. It is
the second trial against Asanin since Dan started reprinting articles from
Nacional. In the first trial, on 3 September 2001, Asanin was given a
five-month suspended sentence for criminal defamation. SEEMO notes that,
prior to May 2001, Dan had reprinted some 60 articles from various foreign
media about the link between the Balkan tobacco mafia and Montenegrin
officials and that there had been no reaction from the officials in
Podgorica before Dan began reprinting articles from Nacional.
SEEMO therefore urges Your Excellencies to do everything in your powers to
ensure the safety of Ivo Pukanic and all other journalists working in your
countries. We further urge Your Excellency, the President of Montenegro, to
authorise an immediate and thorough investigation into the alleged plans to
assassinate Ivo Pukanic and to bring those responsible to justice. Finally,
SEEMO urges the authorities in Montenegro to stop their harassment of
journalists working for Dan and to recognise that journalists have an
essential role to play in any democratic society.
Yours sincerely,
Oliver Vujovic
Secretary General
CC.
H.E. Sime Lucin, Minister of Internal Affairs, Croatia. Fax: +385 1 6122 771
H.E. Andrija Jovicevic, Minister of Internal Affairs, Montenegro. Fax: +381
81 246 779
H.E. Vesna Perovic, President of the Parlament, Montenegro. Fax: + 381 81
242 641
H.E. Zoran Zivkovic, Minister of Internal Affairs, FR Yugoslavia. Fax: +381
11 636 314
SEEMO is a regional network of editors, media executives and leading
journalists from newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, internet, new media and
news agencies in the South Eastern European Region. The network draws on a
membership from the following countries: Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia,
FR Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo/Kosova), Greece, Macedonia
(FYROM), Moldova and Romania.
Contact: SEEMO, Spiegelgasse 2 / 29, 1010 Vienna (AUSTRIA), Tel: (+ 43 1)
513 39 40, Fax: (+43 1) 512 90 15, www.seemo.at