Dunja Mijatović Delivers Her First Report to the OSCE Permanent Council
In the introduction part of the report Dunja Mijatovic emphasized the current situation in Kyrgyzstan which is now the focus of many OSCE structures.
"Restoring stability in this participating State is a priority and I hope it will be achieved soon. My mandate urges me to view Kyrgyzstan from a long-term perspective. I believe that the events of the past months, as tragic and painful as they were, have provided a unique opportunity to improve, among other things, the media-freedom situation. The new Government has signalled that it is ready to engage in improving the working conditions for journalists and the media," she stressed.
"I look forward to continuing a dialogue with the Kyrgyz authorities to further improve the media-freedom situation. Freedom of the media is a key component to guaranteeing stability and peace and my Office will continue our involvement in order to assist Kyrgyzstan in all matters of importance," the OSCE representative pointed out.
In addition at the very beginning of the report Dunja Mijatovic expressed sorrow over the murder of journalist Socratis Giolias and pointed out that she urged the authorities of Greece to carry out a rapid and thorough investigation into this crime.
In the introduction part the OSCE representatives commends Armenia for decriminalizing defamation.
Dunja Mijatovic also singled out the countries she had been invited to. In response to the invitations by the governments she is planning to visit Albania, Belarus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine in the near future.
With regard to Georgia the report by Dunja Mijatovic reads as follows: "On 15 March, I publicly called upon Georgia's broadcasters to abide by ethical standards of journalism and cautioned them against spreading false information that may impact media freedom and security. My first intervention as Representative was prompted by a hoax report aired by Imedi TV stating that President Mikheil Saakashvili had been assassinated and that Russian troops were advancing toward Tbilisi. This report, which carried no clear warning that it was fictitious, spread panic among the Georgian public. While condemning Imedi TV's irresponsible approach, I commended Georgia's National Communications Commission for swiftly reacting to the controversial television report. I also offered to assist Georgia in enhancing and strengthening its self-regulation mechanisms.
On 16 April, while in Tbilisi on the occasion of a media-freedom conference, I met Davit Bakradze, the Speaker of Parliament, Dimitri Shashkin, Minister of Education and Science, David Jalagania, Deputy Foreign Minister, Akaki Minashvili, Chairman of Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Parliament, Irakli Chikovani, Chair of the Georgian National Communications Commission, and representatives of the media community of Georgia.
During my meetings, I welcomed the positive steps that Georgia has already undertaken, especially regarding decriminalization of defamation and the financing of the Public Service Broadcaster, but I also expressed my hope that the reform process will continue. I encouraged the Head of the National Communications Commission to consider issuing new broadcast licenses with national coverage even before the digital switchover in 2015. I was pleased to learn that Georgia is currently drafting legislation regarding transparency of media ownership.
I have taken note of the fact that Parliament on 2 July voted to write off the debts of all national and regional television stations. I hope this measure will be implemented for the benefit of all broadcasters, regardless of their political affiliations, thus contributing to enhanced media pluralism.
I was pleased to hear that, following my suggestion, the Georgian National Communications Commission already has lodged an application to become a member of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities. For more information on EPRA see http://www.epra.org."
At the very end of the report the OSCE media representative informed the Permanent Council that her Office will organize the 7th Annual South Caucasus Media Conference on 11-12 November in Tbilisi, Georgia. This year's conference will discuss international standards and national developments in the area of access to information and Internet. It will feature topics which include legal developments related to access to information, Internet and the free flow of information and general media developments in the region.
The full version of the repot is available at http://www.osce.org/documents/pr/2010/07/45552_en.pdf.
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