COUNCIL CONSEIL OF EUROPE DE L'EUROPE Committee of Ministers Comite des Ministres
Records
CM/Dei/Act(2004)901 (Confidential) 18 November 2004
901st meeting (in camera), 21 October 2004
Summary Records Addendum to CM/Dei/Dec(2004)901
CONTENTS1
Page
1. General questions
1.1 Adoption of the Agenda and Order of Business (Chairman's proposals) ...... 2
2. Political questions ...... 2
2.1 Freedom of expression and information ...... 2
(i) Exchange of views with the General Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly on the media and with the Chairperson of the Steering Committee on the Mass Media ...... 2
(ii) Issues raised in document CM/Monitor(2004)7 ...... 3
(iii) Posible follow-up action ...... 4
2.2 Thematic monitoring: choice of new themes ...... 4
2.3 Relations with the Parliamentary Assembly ...... 5
3. Any other business ...... 5
Appendices ...... 6
1 The Decisions of the 901 st meeting of the Deputies are set out in document CM/Dei/Dec(2004)901, distributed on 25 October 2004, which also contains the agenda of the meeting. CM/Dei/Act(2004)901 2
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1. General questions
1.1. Adoption of the Agenda and Order of Business (Chairman's proposals)
1. The agenda and order of business were adopted, as they appear in documents CM/Dei/OJ(2004)901 and CM/Dei/OT(2004)901.
2. Political questions
2.1. Freedom of expression and information
(i) Exchange of views with the General Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly on the media and with the Chairperson of the Steering Committee on the Mass Media (CDMM)
2. The Portuguese Ambassador. acting as Chair of the meeting, welcomed Mr. Paschal Mooney, General Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly on the Media (Committee on Culture, Science and Education), and Ms Alessandra Paradisi, Chairperson of the CDMM, who agreed to take part in this in camera monitoring meeting. The exchange of views between the Ministers' Deputies and both invitees focused on two particular aspects: interaction between institutions and issues raised in the context of the Parliamentary Assembly and the CDMM work on freedom of the media.
- Interaction between institutions
3. The Assembly General Rapporteur explained that freedom of expression and information remains a key area of interest for the Parliamentary Assembly in the context of the work carried out by both its Monitoring Committee and its Committee on Culture, Science and Education. He further stated that the Rapporteur's role mainly consisted of helping member states to find adequate solutions in a spirit of dialogue. He considered that, in parallel, the Committee of Ministers remains the primary actor in this field as it is still the only organ capable to mobilise all the necessary resources and expertise to carry out an in depth and regular review of the state of freedom of expression and information in member states. He remarked that, unlike the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe does not have at its disposal a permanent and specialised body dealing with freedom of the media. He therefore indicated that it is vital that the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly develop new ways of interaction. As illustrated by this exchange of views, the participation of representatives of one organ in the work of the other is an element of interaction. In this context, he indicated that he would ask the Assembly Committee on Culture, Science and Education to decide on a date when a representative of the Ministers' Deputies could be invited to a Committee meeting. Another aspect of interaction is circulation of information. On the latter issue, the General Rapporteur reminded the Deputies that the Parliamentary Assembly called upon the Committee of Ministers to transmit the results of its monitoring of freedom of expression. In this particular context, he deplored that only Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine reacted positively to the Assembly's appeal. Relevant documentation could be regularly transmitted to the Assembly (see also, in this connection, Appendix 8). The Representatives of Ireland and the Netherlands particularly supported the idea of better communication and co-ordination between both organs, including transmission of documents from one to the other. At the same time, the Representatives of Bulgaria, Turkey and Italy explained that the Committee of Ministers' thematic monitoring procedure is intimately linked to the principle of confidentiality.
4. For her part, the Chairperson of the CDMM underlined the unique standard-setting role of the CDMM, under the Committee of Ministers' authority, in the field of freedom of expression and information. She recalled, for instance, the adoption of several recommendations by the executive organ in relation to broadcasting. The adoption, by the Deputies, of a Declaration on freedom of political debate in the media earlier this year, taking into account the results of their monitoring, is another concrete example. She remarked that the Committee of Ministers monitoring on this theme plays an essential role in re-adjusting CDMM work and in the follow-up given by member states to the relevant recommendations as adopted by the Committee of Ministers. Particular emphasis should be therefore placed on contacts and communications between the executive organ and the CDMM. In this context, the Chairwoman of the CDMM recalled that the 7th European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy will be organised in Kiev from 10 to 12 March 2005 (hereafter the Kiev Conference). In reply to the Representative of Belgium, the 3 CM/Dei/Act(2004)901
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Chairperson of the CDMM indicated that the OSCE and the CDMM co-operate in a way which respects each institution's specificity. In early November 2004, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Mr Miklos Haraszti, will take part in the 62nd CDMM meeting.
- Issues raised in the context of the Parliamentary Assembly and CDMM work
5. In their respective sphere of work, the Parliamentary Assembly and the CDMM have identified a number of issues which merit further consideration. The Assembly General Rapporteur indicated that there is a need for continued monitoring of the following questions: difficulties encountered in the field of broadcasting (regulation and public service institutions), legal issues (defamation, access to information and protection of journalistic sources) and violence against journalists. Likewise, he further explained that an increased attention should be paid to a number of issues: media and terrorism, media concentration, media and the market, media and advertising, media and spin as well as the role of the media in a democratic society. The Chairperson of the CDMM emphasised that a draft Action Plan has been prepared in view of the forthcoming Kiev Conference. It mainly focuses on three sub-themes: freedom of expression and information in times of crisis; cultural and media diversity in times of globalisation; human rights and regulation of the media and new communication services in the information society. In reply to the Representative of the Netherlands, the Chairperson of the CDMM pointed out that the Ministers' Deputies, through their current monitoring exercise on freedom of expression and information, have the opportunity to contribute to the Kiev Conference and its outcome.
6. The Representatives of the Czech Republic, Romania and Switzerland placed particular emphasis on the journalists' responsibilities and ethics, notably through appropriate education and regulation. The Assembly General Rapporteur and the Chairperson of the CDMM favoured the setting-up of strong self regulation mechanisms, which secure the effective implementation by journalists of their own code of ethics. In this context, as pinpointed by the Representative of Portugal, both the Assembly General Rapporteur and the Chairperson of the CDMM agreed that terrorism creates many challenges in terms of freedom of information, as illustrated by recent hostage-takings in Iraq and in the Russian Federation (Beslan). The Assembly General Rapporteur thought it was particularly advisable that awareness-raising measures be taken in this regard. The Chairperson of the CDMM recalled that her Committee was preparing a Declaration on freedom of expression and information in the context of the fight against terrorism for adoption by the Committee of Ministers. In this connection, the Representative of France recalled that Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as interpreted by the Strasbourg Court, also imposes legal obligations to protect freedom of expression and information in the media.
7. As concerns legal restrictions to journalists' activities, the Representative of Switzerland indicated that particular attention should also be paid to the independence of the judiciary in member states as judges will in fine strike a balance between freedom of expression and information and restrictions imposed by the authorities.
8. In reply to the Representative of Ireland, the Assembly General Rapporteur and the Chairperson of the CDMM underlined that a strong and independent public service broadcasting undeniably constitute an element of social cohesion. The Chairperson of the CDMM further indicated that monitoring of media pluralism was a key issue in this context.
(ii) Issues raised in document CM!Monitor(2004)7
9. The Representative of Ireland considered that the Secretariat Report should be updated if the Ministers' Deputies decide to declassify it.
10. The Representatives of Armenia, Croatia, Georgia, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine provided additional information on action taken by their respective authorities (for more details, see appendices; see also documents CM/Monitor(2004)6 and addenda thereto). CM/Dei/Act(2004)901 4
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11. The Representatives of Armenia and Cyprus expressed their respective concern over Article 305 of the newly adopted Criminal Code in Turkey as well as its explanatory memorandum. They referred to Council of Europe expert recommendations in this regard. The Representative of Turkey highlighted that his country's Court of Cassation had demonstrated its capacity to uphold the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. He was confident that judges would interpret the Article in question in the light of the Strasbourg Court's case-law, with no need to refer to the explanatory memorandum. He added that the new Criminal Code will enter into force in April 2005 (for more details, see appendices).
12. The Representative of France commented on the following issues: the extensive use of defamation provisions in Albania and the state of current reforms; the decreasing independence of the media and new forms of pressure over the media in Georgia; the Ukrainian government continued practice of providing the media with editorial instructions ("temniki") and problems met by Ukraine in the implementation of media laws, notably in the context of the forthcoming elections. In reaction, the Representative of Georgia drew the attention of the Ministers' Deputies on the fact that the support of the Georgian media to the Government is entirely linked to the general trust of the population (and the media) to the new authorities during the 'rose revolution' and post-revolution era. However, critical media still exists. The fact that certain channels were closed is connected to criminal activities only.
(iii) Possible follow-up action
13. The Representative of the Secretary General, Director in the Directorate General of Human Rights, remarked that the Ministers' Deputies have at their disposal excellent mechanisms for follow-up action: mention should be made of CDMM expertise (public service broadcasting, media concentration, defamation and decriminalisation as well as access to official documents). She also mentioned another essentiel tool, the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH), which was instructed to look into binding rules to ensure better access to information. In this connection, like the Representative of France, she recalled that the European Court of Human Rights rendered 193 judgments with respect to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights so far. She added that the Committee of Ministers continues to supervise the execution of the Court's judgements in this respect.
14. The Acting Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies indicated that it seems natural, as a first step, to close consideration of the theme of freedom of expression and information under the old thematic monitoring procedure. At the same time, possible follow~up action already emerged from the discussions. A number of issues, such as decriminalisation of defamation, media concentration and independence of public service broadcasting may merit priority treatment in the work carried out by CDMM, notably in view of the forthcoming Kiev Conference, and the CDDH on-going work on access to information. The Ministers' Deputies should also continue to seek ways to improve co-ordination and communication with the Parliamentary Assembly.
15. While agreeing with the Chairman's proposals, the Representative of Ireland considered that the Committee of Ministers has developed expertise in monitoring freedom of expression and information and should revert back to this issue in the future. In this connection, the Representative of France proposed that the Ministers' Deputies invite the Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on this subject, notably, in reply to the Representatives of Italy and Spain, in the light of the new modalities of the Committee of Ministers' thematic monitoring procedure. The Representative of Luxembourg supported this proposal and further indicated that adequate means, in terms of human resources in particular, should be allocated to the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in order to enable it to adequately carry out this task. The idea was also supported by the Representatives of Andorra and Portugal. The Acting Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies indicated that this proposal would be reflected in his summing-up of discussions. 5 C M/Dei/Act(2004 )90 1
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2.2. Thematic monitoring: choice of new themes (document CM/Monitor(2004)8)
16. The Representative of Denmark recalled some key principles of the new thematic monitoring procedure (action-oriented, no duplication of work and subsidiarity in particular).
17. With this in mind, the Representative of France presented the proposal made by his authorities (enforced disappearances and extra-judicial executions), indicating that this proposal concerns the gravest violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and corresponds to the Council of Europe core values: no death penalty and respect for the rule of law. When describing the proposal put forward by his authorities, the Representative of Sweden made particular reference to the Parliamentary Assembly's work on this issue, which highlighted the need for further progress in Council of Europe member states. The Representative of Ukraine indicated that his authorities favoured their first proposal among those put forward earlier (rights of labour migrants, their legal status and integration into the society of recipient countries). He added that this issue was topical following the European Union enlargement this year. The Representative of the United Kingdom highlighted that the proposal put forward by his authorities refers to Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and was not covered in previous monitoring exercises. On behalf of the Secretary General, the Director of his Private Office and of Strategic Planning indicated that the "fight against terrorism: strengthening legal action and safeguarding fundamental values" constitutes the Secretary General's primary proposal. This proposal would permit to examine the measures taken at national level, notably to implement the 2002 Guidelines on human rights and the fight against terrorism, and would be complementary to CODEXTER activities.
18. After various delegations expressed themselves on their preferences, the Acting Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies noted that proposals made by the United Kingdom and France appeared to benefit from stronger support from delegations. Two other proposals, that of Sweden and the Secretary General's one on terrorism, also obtained a certain amount of support. However, as no consensus could be found during the meeting, it was decided to resume consideration of this item at a forthcoming meeting of the Ministers' Deputies in November 2004.
2.3. Relations with the Parliamentary Assembly
19. Item not discussed by the Deputies.
3. Any other business
20. Item not discussed by the Deputies C M/DellAct(2004 )90 1 6
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APPENDICES
Page
1. Statement by Mrs Alessandra Paradisi at the Committee of Ministers' in camera meeting on compliance with commitments accepted by member States of the Council of Europe relating to the theme freedom of expression and information (in French only) ...... 7
2. Information provided by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Mr M. Haraszti, on the media situation in certain member States of the Council of Europe [CM/Monitor(2004)9] (in English only) ...... 13
3. Speech delivered by the Prime Minister of Albania, Mr Fatos Nano, during the Parliamentary debate on media (5 July 2004) (in English only) ...... 19
4. Official comments by the Russian authorities concerning the part of the report of the Representative of the OSCE on freedom of the media (OSCE-FOM) relating to Russia (in French only) ...... 28
5. Comments by the Cypriot authorities on the new Turkish Penal Code (in English only) ...... 30
6. Intervention of the Turkish representative with respect to the new Turkish Penal Code (in English only) ...... 32
7. Additional Information with respect to freedom of expression and information submitted by:
Armenia (in French only) ...... 35
Albania (in English only) ...... 37
Slovenia (in English only) ...... 41
8. Text of letter from Parliamentary Assembly General Rapporteur on the Media, Mr P. Mooney, sent to Mr P. Castilho, Acting Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies, dated 28 October 2004 (in English only) ...... 43 Intervention de Madame Alessandra Paradisi a I' occasion de la reunion a huis clos des Delegues des Ministres sur le respect de leurs engagements par les Etats membres dans le domaine de la liberte d'expression et d'information
(Strasbourg, 21 octobre 2004)
Merci M. le President,
Permettez-moi, a titre preliminaire, d' adresser mes remerciements aux Delegues des
Ministres pour m' avoir invitee a participer a cette reunion en rna qualite de Presidente du
CDM.t\1, le Comite directeur sur les moyens de communication de masse.
Comme vous le savez, le CDMN.l est !'instance intergouvemementale qui, sous votre autorite, est responsable des questions concernant !a liberte d'expression et d'information et les medias. A ce titre, le CDN1M a eu !'occasion a de multiples reprises de vous soumettre pour adoption differents textes juridiques visant a definir des standards que les gouvernements des Etats membres devraient mettre en ceuvre pour assurer le respect de cette liberte essentielle dans une societe democratique.
Je citerai, pour l'exemple, les Recommandations que vous avez adoptees respectivement en 1996 et en 2000 sur l'independance du service public de radiodiffusion et des autorites de regulation des medias electroniques, qui sont devenues depuis lors des instruments de reference unanimement reconnus au niveau international et frequemment mentionnes dans les Etats membres lorsque des debats viennent a se developper sur ces questions.
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Un autre exemple plus recent est celui de la Declaration sur la liberte du discours
politique dans les medias, que vous avez adoptee en fevrier de cette annee apres que le
CDMM ait mene des longs et, je dois le dire, difficiles travaux sur ce sujet, pour faire
suite aux conclusions de vas precedentes reunions de monitoring sur la liberte
d' expression.
Le dernier exemple que je citerai concerne la problematique du terrorisrne, qui je le sais
retient beaucoup votre attention actuellement. Sur cette question complexe et sensible, le
CDM.\1 est en train de preparer un projet de Declaration sur la liberte d'expression et
d'information dans le contexte de la lutte contre le terrorisme, dont l'objectif est de
preciser de maniere tres concrete les droits qui devraient etre garantis pour permettre aux
medias d'informer le public sur le sujet du terrorisme sans pour autant !mire au combat
legitime des democraties contre ce dernier. J'espere vivement que le CDMM pourra
prochainement approuver ce texte pour vous le transmettre ensuite pour adoption.
Bien evidemment, une question irnportante est celle du suivi donne concretement a taus
ces textes par les Etats membres. De ce point de vue, 1'action du Co mite des Ministres est
irrempla<;able.
De notre part, le CDMM est plus que jamais a votre disposition pour donner les suites
que vous jugerez appropriees aux conclusions de votre procedure de monitoring. Le moment est d'autant plus approprie du point de vue du calendrier que le CDMM est en train d'organiser la prochaine Conference des Ministres europeens en charge des medias, qu'il est prevu de tenir a Kiev, en Ukraine, au mois de mars prochain sur le theme:
« integration et diversites : les nouvelles frontieres de la politique europeenne des media».
Nous esperons que la Conference des Ministres de Kiev contribuera a la reflexion des chefs d'Etats et de gouvernements qui, lors du Sommet de juin 2005, seront appeles a recentrer !'action du Conseil de l'Europe, a la lumiere des derniers changements internationaux. De ce point de vue, i1 me semble que les textes en preparation pour le
Sammet ne peuvent faire l'impasse sur la question de la liberte d'expression et d'information en tant que droit fondamental dans ce nouvel environnement.
Permettez-moi a ce propos, apres 10 ans d' experience au sein de ce comlte et a la fin de man mandat de Presidente du CDMM, de vous faire part de reflexions generales plus personnelles.
La question principale au fond du debat, et aussi au centre des preoccupations du
CDMM, est la meme: quel est aujourd'hui le role du Conseil de !'Europe? Quelle est sa valeur ajoutee par rapport a d'autres instances internationales qui ont des pouvoirs normatifs contraignants? Est-ce que sa fonction d'orientation est encore actuelle?
On pourrait repondre tout simplement que le Conseil est la seule institution qui reunit 46 pays de 1'Europe. Mais ce ne sont pas les chiffres qui battent au coeur du Conseil de l'Europe. IO
Pendant 55 ans, le Conseil de !'Europe, traversant la guerre froide entre l'Est et 1' Ouest, s'est revele un espace de dialogue reussi, eta developpe une expertise unique au monde dans le domaine des droits de l'homme qui, aujourd'hui plus que jamais, offre une reponse aux nouvelles situations de crises, en particulier entre le Nord et le Sud.
Aucun processus de cooperation economique entre des systemes si differents ne pourra
avoir de succes sans une comprehension mutuelle axee sur des valeurs fondamentales
partagees. Ni l'UE, ni l'OMC ne pourront reussir, par les biais des seuls inten~ts
economiques,. a etablir un equilibre de stabilite et de paix tant entre leurs membres
qu' entre leurs membres et ceux qui ne 1e sont pas.
Le but du Conseil de !'Europe de n~aliser une union plus etroite entre 'ses membres ne
pourra se faire sans prendre en compte ce qui se passe autour de lui. Les priorites qu' on
peut fixer autour d'une table (a Strasbourg, comme a Bruxelles ou a Washington) peuvent
se reveler illusoires et inapplicables. On ne peut pas demander a la Terre de ne pas tourner, a la population mondiale de ne pas grandir, aux gens de ne pas se deplacer, a la mondialisation de s, arreter.
La participation progressive des pays non membres (notamment des pays de la
Mediterranee), meme si elle est modulaire, aux travaux futurs du Conseil de !'Europe pourrait representer une nouvelle etape pour le Conseil de 1' Europe.
Nous pouvons choisir de subir ces changements ou d' essayer de Ies accompagner en evitant des fractures irreductibles et des confrontations incessantes (guerres, terrorisme). I)
Dans ce contexte la communication devient un element cle, un facteur important de
succes ou d' echec: liberte d' information, pluralite des voix, independance des medias,
fiabilite de sources, acces a !'information et a tous les media (vieux et nouveaux),
education du public, equilibre des droits et des devoirs des differents acteurs de la societe,
respect des minorites et protection des couches sociales defavorisees, etc.
Le travail normatif du CDMM presente une valeur unique dans la mesure ou il permet de
poser des normes communes (meme si elles sent le plus souvent non contraignantes) a
1' ensemble des Etats membres, pour le progres de la democratie et des droits de l'homme
en Europe, alors qu'aucune autre instance intemationale n'effectue un travail similaire.
J'en prendrai pour preuve le fait qu'au sein de !'Union Europeenne, il est fait de plus en
plus reference aux instruments du Conseil de !'Europe concernant la liberte d'expression
et des medias.
Les projets de textes politiques que le CDMM est en train de preparer pour la Conference
de Kiev et qu'il devrait parachever a sa prochaine reunion debut novembre, re±H:tent
toutes ces considerations et pourraient s' enrichir des conclusions auxquelles vous
parviendrez a l'issue de cette reunion, par exemple si vous estimiez que la defmition de
standards europeens communs serait opportune sur tel ou tel sujet.
Je pense en particulier au projet de Plan d'Action qui doit etre adopte par la Conference ministerielle en vue de definir les priorites de l'action future du CDMM et qui sera centre auteur de 3 questions, a savoir (i) la liberte d'expression et d'information en temps de crise, (ii) le pluralisme et la diversite des medias a l'heure de la mondialisation et (iii) enfrn la liberte de la communication dans le cadre de la Societe de 1'Information.
Sans vouloir anticiper vos debats, je souhaiterais juste mentionner quelques questions liees au theme de votre reunion qui pourraient faire !'objet d'un suivi dans le cadre des travaux futurs du CDi\1M. La premiere est celle de l'equilibre a assurer entre la liberte d' expression et d' information et les exigences de securite en temps de crise, y compris a travers la formation des journalistes. La seconde est celle du maintien du pluralisme face au developpement des concentrations des medias. La troisieme est celle de
1' independance du service public de radiodiffusion.
En rna qualite de Presidente de ce Comite, je ne manquerai pas d'inforiner celui-ci des eventuelles demandes que vous pourriez lui adresser a l'issue de cette reunion.
Merci Monsieur le President. 13
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Representative on Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti
Vienna, 14 October 2004
H.E. Terry Davis Secretary General Of the Council of Europe
Dear Mr. Davis,
Further to my and my staff discussions with Andrew Drzemczewski, Head of the Monitoring Department, and taking into account his request madejust recently at the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, you might consider it useful to be provided with supplementary information about concerns I have with the media situation in some member States of the Council of Europe. For that purpose I have forwarded to Mr. Drzemczewski the relevant excerpts from my reports to the OSCE Permanent Council after my appointment in March 2004.
I am pleased to co-operate with the Council of Europe on this subject, and my Office will be happy to provide any help or advice that might be required. I look forward to talking to you in detail about our future work during my first official visit to Strasbourg on 4-5 November 2004.
Yours sincerely,
Miklos Haraszti Armenia (From Report to the PC Under Current Issues of 1 April 2004)
After two years, the case of the two independent TV stations in Armenia, A 1+ and Noyan Tapan, is still not resolved. They lost their broadcasting frequencies in 2002 and have not been able to resume their operations.
My Office has been closely following the developments with regard to the issuing of broadcast licenses in Armenia for the last two years. In particular, special attention was paid to the eight tenders where the above-mentioned stations participated followed by a number of court cases.
My predecessor, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and other international bodies have stated on several occasions that the absence of these two stations from the airwaves limits media pluralism that I believe exists in Armenia.
I note that no progress has been made in rectifying the existing situation and I appeal to the Government to take all the necessary steps to help recreate a broad media landscape in Armenia.
In particular, I urge the Government to ensure that the National Commission on TV and Radio functions as an independent body. It is also important to provide for licensing procedures to be more transparent.
Azerbaijan (From Report to the PC of 16 September 2004)
In Azerbaijan, in my letter to Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov of 28 July 2004 I expressed my concern regarding reported acts of violence against two journalists, Mr. Aydin Quliyev, the Editor-in-Chief of Baki-Khabar, and Mr. Eynulla Fatullayev, a journalist with the magazine Monitor. I have just received an answer from Mr. M.Mammad-Guliyev, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, for which I am very thankful. According to the details included in this letter, the Quliyev case was dismissed. The investigation in the other case is ongoing.
Belgium (From Report to the PC of 8 June 2004)
In March I asked the Minister of Justice of Belgium about the police search of the house and office of Hans-Martin Tillack, the Brussels correspondent for the German weekly Stern. I understand that police confiscated documents related to his investigative work, his bank statements, his computer and his mobile telephone. He himself was taken away to the Palace of Justice for questioning and detained for 10 hours. I have asked for information regarding the Articles of the Criminal Code that were invoked in the procedure, and if it is ensured that a journalist's sources of information remain protected.
France (From report to the PC of 8 June 2004)
In April, I have asked the Minister of Economy in France about the Bill to Promote Confidence in Digital Economy (known as the LEN). Several NGOs have expressed their concerns because this Bill would make Internet hosts responsible for censoring web content in the absence of any judicial process. In addition, a provision of the Bill would allow freedom of expression to be limited not only by public concerns but also by the necessities In April, I asked the Minister of Economy in France about the Bill to Promote Confidence in the audio-visual technologies.
Italy (From Report to the PC of 8 June 2004)
I have suggested to the Italian Delegation that I could hold a work-shop in Rome, an informal hearing, on the pros and cons of the country's new media legislation known as the Gasparri Law. IS
The Law aims both at the fulfilment of the 20 percent upper limit for television market concentration, asked for by the Constitutional Court in 1994, and at preparing for the era of modern technology of broadcasting which will bring countless new channels into existence. There are several questions 1 would like to raise dealing strictly with the legal aspects and the concrete implications of this law. The gist of the questions is whether this combination law fulfilled its anti-monopoly function. At our Rome event experts who are both supportive and critical of this law could take part. I look forward to hearing the answers from the Italian government, as well as from the NGO community whom I have also approached.
(From Report to the PC of 16 September 2004)
In Italy, I raised the issue of the 16 August police raid on the offices of the Milan weekly Gente and the Rome home of journalist Gennaro De Stefano. The police, as I understand it, were acting on the orders of the Genoa prosecutor and were looking for documents relevant to an enquiry into street clashes during the July 2001 G-8 summit in Genoa. Material was seized from the offices of Gente, which was planning to publish the results of its investigation into this matter. The weekly's editor, Umberto Brindani, and reporter De Stefano were told during the searches that their names were on a list of people being investigated for alleged illegal possession of documents. I have asked the Italian authorities for clarifications and I am thankful for their answer I received yesterday which I am currently studying.
Moldova (From Report to the PC of 16 September 2004)
I am also following the protests in Moldova by the journalists from the national broadcaster Teleradio Moldova (TRM) that started this summer. The protesters are demanding major changes at TRM. Demonstrations started on 27 July, when the journalists went on strike to protest unfair procedures of selection of staff at the new public broadcaster following the adoption of a law last year. Since 22 August, five persons have been on a hunger strike protesting continued political control over TRM.
I am also concerned with the arrest of cameraman Dinu Mija on 6 September by police in Tighina in the self-proclaimed Transnistrian republic and his sentencing to 15 days in prison. I welcome his release on 13 September.
I am planning to visit Moldova in the second half of October to take a closer look at the media situation in this OSCE participating State.
Russia (From Report to the PC of 8 June 2004)
In Russia, I am concerned with the recent dismissal of Leonid Parfenov, the director and anchorman of the political programme Namedni, on NTV. I understand that Parfenov was fired after he aired an interview with the widow of a former Chechen rebel leader, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, violating orders from the channel's management. In an official statement, NTV said the programme had been taken off the air because of a contract violation by Parfenov, but many journalists, including Parfenov himself, see the action as a clear-cut case of censorship.
(From Report to the PC of 16 September 2004)
Last week, I raised three cases with the Russian Government: the cases of Andrei Babitsky and Anna Politkovskaya and the detained film crew from Georgian TV channel Rustavi 2. I look forward to receiving additional information.
Also, I have commissioned a report on how the media covered the tragic events in Beslan. The report is attached (it provides additional information on the cases mentioned above).
The coverage of the events has proven that media freedom had taken hold in Russia. However, several worrying developments in the relationship between the government and the media drew the attention of local and international experts and human rights activists. lh
Cases of detention and harassment of journalists occurred, seriously impeding their work. Even more importantly, the government did not provide in a timely manner truthful information on the handling of the crisis:
How many people were taken hostage; What was the number of hostage takers; Who were they; What were their demands.
As a result, journalists were physically attacked in Beslan for allegedly misinforming the public.
A triple credibility gap arose between the government and the media, between the media and the citizens, and between the government and the people. This is a serious drawback for a democracy.
The main sources of information for the Russian people are the three nationwide broadcasters. Unfortunately, they did not provide accurate and up-to-date information. In the end, the print media and Internet news sites stepped in, filling the information void as much as they could.
Serbia and Montenegro (Kosovo) (From Report to the PC of 8 June 2004)
My original Kosovo report was presented to you on 22 April. It was the result of urgent concern expressed in the Permanent Council that, before and during the violence that erupted in mid-March in Kosovo, objective and pluralistic information practically collapsed, especially on public broadcasting.
On World Press Freedom Day in early May, accompanied by expert Dardan Gashi, I visited Kosovo to present our findings and our recommendations. The visit received wide media coverage. I held meetings with local and international officials, including the then Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Harri Holkeri. I met media executives and many journalists. I gave a press conference in Pristina, and - in an event that speaks volumes about the situation there - I held a separate press conference, along with the Temporary Media Commissioner Robert Gillette, for Serbian journalists, in Mitrovica, which was still sealed by barbed wire.
Among the recommendations made in the Report, I mostly focused on the need to strengthen the board and the management of the public service broadcaster RTK. I believe this is the single most important message, both symbolically and institutionally, that the OSCE can put across. RTK could and should be the main agent of ethnic peace in Kosovo, but today its newsmaking does not even provide for the Serbs of the province. I have raised this matter with the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, the Temporary Media Commissioner and the UN-SRSG, who specifically welcomed more vigorous involvement by my Office in Kosovo.
I believe that there is a need to monitor RTK in the long term, focusing not only on concrete violations of the Broadcasting Code but on tendencies and editorial policy, so as to avoid a similar situation in the future. As I indicated in my recommendations in April, this could be done by an outside expert who could make suggestions on how RTK might improve its performance. I have approached several OSCE participating States for voluntary contributions to fund this work.
(From Report to the PC of 16 September 2004)
As a follow-up to our report on The Role of the Media in the March 2004 Events in Kosovo, I am dispatching to Kosovo a Special Representative for a limited duration who, in close co-operation with OMIK and the Temporary Media Commissioner, willfocus on observing and encouraging the implementation of our recommendations presented here in April 2004. The funding for the Special Representative, Mr. Dardan Gas hi, has been generousiy provided by the United Kingdom and by OMIK. . . . .
The Special Representative will also follow a series of freedom of expression issues that have not been addressed adequately so far. In close co-operation with the donor community, the Representative will try to develop a more focused dispersion of funds for the local media. Ft
Ukraine (Report to the PC of 8 June 2004)
Overall, media pluralism is present in Ukraine. Different views are represented, politicians at all levels are regularly criticised in the media, even if the media does not yet provide for a dialogue between different sides and views.
Here are some of my observations and recommendations:
Ukraine has several laws that I can recommend to all OSCE participating States, including some of the older democracies.
• Ukraine is one of the few OSCE participating States that has taken the bold move to decriminalise libel. • Amendments to the Law on Television and Radio, passed in 2003, lifted limits on advertising revenues, thus allowing the media to become more independent of different "sponsors." • A law that defined. and banned censorship was signed in 2003. • This law also prohibits state and local government agencies from filing for defamation claiming "moral damages."
Nevertheless, certain recent developments are worrying and raise questions about the authorities' active commitment to freedom of expression.
• The broadcasting media is heavily tilted towards the government, often representing only one view out of several prevalent in the country. • The practice of sending out so-called temniki, basically coverage guidelines for editors, should be abolished and replaced by a transparent public relations strategy with clearly defined goals and objectives. • The ending of the re-broadcasting of Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe and of other quality western programmes in Ukraine, although ostensibly done for commercial and legal reasons, nevertheless raises questions regarding its timing during an election year. • The current 'two-headed' licensing procedure is not only complicated but it also leaves room for political favouritism. • The Gongadze case, often raised by my predecessor, is still under investigation three Prosecutor Generals later. For the sake of public trust in the rule of law we need answers in this seemingly never-ending investigation.
Campaign to decriminalise Libel (From Report to the PC of 16 September 2004)
I am continuing the work started by my predecessor on libel: for several years now this Office has been actively lobbying for its decriminalisation. Already, as of today, five OSCE participating States have abolished libel as a criminal offence, and turned to its civil-law based handling: USA (although 17 states within this country still retain their criminal libel provisions), Moldova, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia. (Since then Croatia has also decriminalised libel).
Also, on 1 July, President Robert Kocharian signed amendments to the Criminal Code partially decriminalizing libel in Armenia. In a letter to Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan, I welcomed this as a step in the right direction. At the same time, libel remains a criminal offence and the existing, provisions still offer more protection for public officials than ordinary citizens.
On 15 October 2004, the Parliament in Slovakia will have a debate on a new Criminal Code. To my knowledge, under the current proposal submitted by the Ministry of Justice, articles 331 and 384 would retain criminal penalties for defamation or slander that exist in the current penal code as articles 154, 156 and 206. In a letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice Daniel Lipsic, I urged him to reconsider his original proposal.
Both Armenia and Slovakia should not miss this opportunity for reform and should join those countries that have decriminalized libel and have set a good example to be followed by other OSCE participating States. ~~
Here are some recent libel cases that I have raised.
In Hungary, an appeals court in early July suspended a 10-month prison sentence against editor Andras Bencsik for two years. An eight-month suspended prison sentence against journalist Laszlo Attila Bertok was upheld. The case was brought by MP lmre Mecs after Demokrata, the weekly that Bencsik edits, alleged that testimony by lmre Mecs had played a role in the sentencing of four people to death after the 1956 revolution.
In Poland, the Warsaw Supreme Court upheld a three-month prison sentence against Andrzej Marek, Editor-in-chief of the weekly Wiesci Po/ickie (Police News), for libelling a local official.
In another case in May 2004, Beata Korzeniewska, a journalist for the daily Gazeta Pomorska, received a suspended one-month prison sentence for libelling a judge from the city of Torun.
In Azerbaijan, we were following the criminal libel case against lrada Huseynova, a journalist with Bakinski Bulvar. I was pleased to hear that on 24 June 2004, the Nizami District Court dropped the charges against her and closed the case. However, the case of Huseynova remains an exception to the rule and libel lawsuits against journalists are unfortunately still a regular occurrence in Azerbaijan. We were just informed that the editor-in-chief of Baki-Khabar, Mr. Aydin Quliyev, was sentenced to one year suspended imprisonment for re-printing an article from another newspaper. This case is particularly alarming since the same journalist was physically assaulted in July as is mentioned later in this report. We also heard that Elmar Huseynov, the editor of the weekly Monitor is facing a trial in a libel suit filed by a Member· of the Parliament from the ruling party. 15
Inserts from the Speech Delivered by Prime Minister Mr. Fatos Nano during the Parlamentary Debate on Media July 5th, 2004
Allow me to retrospect a few facts and truths on the transition of the mass media in Albania in the course of these 12 years in order to identify for the public the progress already achieved in terms ofthe institutionalization of the freedom of speech, ofthat very freedom which was inexistent, if you will, or was crippled and violated just a few years ago. I don't deem it superfluous to quote on this occasion a renowned philosopher's saying that "Freedom is like air, you just feel its need when you are short of it."
Today, the media exercise their activity in accordance with the articles provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, the Law on "Public and Private Radio Television," the Law on the Press, which since 1997 to this day has had but just a single article that, indeed, was endorsed by us, socialists and progressists, namely that "The Press is free," as well as on the legal body of the codes and conventions that govern the freedoms of the press in compliance with human rights. Therefore, the time is well gone for good when journalists were hit and beaten in darkness by outlaws lurking in· ambushes, when they were castrated, and their lives made a real hell on earth, when they were thrown in jail or treated worse than criminals. I take this opportunity to commemorate with deep emotion and respect journalist and writer Teodor Keko, who departed from this life burdened with the unveiled mystery shrouding his -€*ecutors who, on the order of the leadership of the former regime, beat him brutally on his doorstep just because he made his views public. The same holds true ofEdi Rama, Frrok Cupi, Alfred Peza, Zamir Alushi, Bardhok Lala, Zamir Dulja, and many others, who are live testimony to that inhuman physical and psychological repression exerted upon the people of the press during the entire course of the Berisha regime. Additionally, the list of those who have been verbally attacked and debased is endless. ·
For many a reason, I may not agree today with Aleksander Frangaj or Marse! Skendo and Martin Leka on certain particular matters, yet, they are former prisoners just like me, and we were equally punished and sentenced unjustly, so, whatever happens, we will remain for life cell mates, former politically persecuted by the Berisha regime. Ultimately, the freedom we ensured gave us many things, even the chance to share different views today.
We, socialists and progressists, feel proud to live in a lively and vibrating market of the media, even though they are not structured according to the required standards. Currently in Albania, there are 126 private subjects with activities in the area of electronic mass media, radio and television, both on a national and local plane, compared to a ZERO number before 1997. Currently 22 daily newspapers are published in Albania, let alone the considerable number of weeklies and other periodicals, whose exact number I am not in a position to tell, for I am afraid that this very moment, somewhere in some corner of Albania, thanks to the freedom we have promoted, perhaps, two or three young men, full of dreams, have already prepared and thrown in circulation a brand-new paper. Hence, Albania ranks first in Europe in terms of daily newspapers per capita. Unfortunately, however, the daily circulation of all newspapers does not exceed 70-80 thousand copies, which, on the other hand, places Albania at the bottom in terms of the number of copies per capita. It is precisely this indirect ratio that urges us to make a simple analysis to realize what is wrong, about which I am going to present my opinions below.
It is interesting to note that even one year earlier, just like today, we opened a debate in an Assembly session on the stale recurrent pretext of the opposition that repression is being exerted on the mass media and the freedom of speech. Do you know what has happened in the span of 12 months only in the market of electronic operators? Thirty new operators have been added. I doubt whether it is a question of repression or of welcoming democratic generosity, when even the costly electronic media grow at a rate of 2 subjects a month!
It is quite obvious that in the span of the last 7 years, including of course the last 12 months, not a single case of violation of journalists has been observed because of their occupation. Not a single one, indeed. All of you can bear witness to my institutional response toward a certain minister, who became the center of attention in a public incident because he transgressed the bounds of his right in his behavior towards a journalist. I did this despite your games, which aimed at freezing the government, because for us, socialists and progressists, the principle of freedom stands above the interests of sticking to power. Is -it true that lawsuits involving politicians, government officials, and journalists have been filed? Absolutely. However, none of these lawsuits can be considered of a political nature and less so as organized campaigns against the freedom of the press. These legal and transparent trials help the media to clean themselves and dissociate from the pseudo-professionals, the charlatans, or the "gangs cloaked with mass media masks," who misuse the rule of law. Through the rule of law, we aim at further preserving the freedom of speech and not. its violation and misuse, which is to the liking of the irresponsible opposition or some pseudo-journalists, who have turned this noble profession from a public mission into an illegal business to amass enormous profits, which have failed as yet to be thoroughly computed.
It is one fundamental concept of democracy that I feel is worth mentioning here: bringing a case to trial, even one against a press personage, is by no means considered a punishment; on the contrary, it is an appeal for justice and, from a narrower point of view, it is just one more chance offered to the writer of the article to establish tangible proof of his accusations. Like other societies of European standards, Albania needs a sound media, a real and independent state power to defend the large interests of the public rather than agencies of political blackmail or dubious business groups. To attain these standards, it is essentially indispensable that all of us, namely, the policy, the society, the institutions of the rule of law, the non-governmental bodies, and so on, act equally and proceed on the same track. This is the only way to salvage the free media from any sort of tutelage. It is first of all the mass media themselves that should contribute to this aspect. It is indispensable that the mass media independently establish their balancing instruments and antidotes against lack of transparency, money and power laundering, professionalism, deformations and distortions, speculation and pollution of the social and political atmosphere with slanders, blackmail, and so on and so forth.
A true reflection of the situation of the Albanian media in the face of its mission to the public is given by the market and the public opinion. However, their situation with relation to the Constitution, the respective laws in force, and all the legal arrangements dealing with media is indeed sized up by the state institutions and, certainly, by us, the law-makers.
With reference to the abovementioned, the question might be summed up: "What is the ratio between the media legal activities as private businesses compared to other undertakings? To shed more light upon this matter, let me offer you a piCture of the media market so that both you and the public better realize the ratio to the media of the government and the other structures that are legally responsible for them.
With regard to observ:ing legal and technical standards of licensing and functioning, the electronic media are not subject to the control exerted by the government, but by the National Council ofRadio Television [K.KRT] instead, which is composed of7 members, from who 3 come from the majority, 2 from the opposition, and 1 from the President of the Republic.
This lllcfependent and professional institution deserves to be evaluated and praised, because all its decisions, about which private subjects have lodged complains in the court, are still in force. ·
Out of 126 subjects exercising activities in the area of the media, 31 have already registered at the respective court offices as ')uridical persons," and 3 as "associations". Only 48 of the subjects registered as "juridical persons" have fulfilled their legal obligation to deposit the previous year balance-sheet with the KKRT.
From the auditing of the financial balances for the FM radios, only Top Albania resulted with a passive balance. . ·
Likewise, half of licensed TV stations have submitted passive balance-sheets.
It is interesting to note from official statistics and facts that 45 percent of licensed TV's · pre-tax earnings come from advertisements, 5 percent from sponsoring, and about 50 percent from "other sources".
Let me highlight the fact that, from what the balance-sheets show, the investments some media owners declare can in no way justify their financial resources. Consequently, Mr. Frangaj' s allegation to the public that $ 6 million have been invested in TV Klan is not reflected in the balance-statement. It is a figure that is not entered in the balance-sheet.
With due respect to the public opinion and you, the laws in force do not permit us to misuse the conflicts between the media as a business and the media as an institution, as a tribune of free and professional speech. From this point of view, as outlined in the concerns of the Syndicate of Journalists, concerns that have been referred also to the Prime Minister's office, the situation of the media labor market is a problem. The data retrieved from the state specialized institutions demonstrate that the majority of the media journalists and other employees work illegally, therefore they are not insured. Even for those few journalists or employees who work legally, their insurance is paid for a ridiculous minimal monthly pay.
Allow me to give a few examples. The "Spekter" Ltd. of Mr. Koco Kokedhima's, who in a letter he addressed some days earlier to me, claims to have hired 200 persons, had only 35 of its employees insured in 2003, and he has declared that he has insured 59 people in 2004, though he does not have yet signed a legal agreement with the Institute of Social Insurances.
In2003, the national Klan TV had insured only 21 of its employees, whose minimal pay is 10,184 leks. That is the reason why many people, some of whom are present here, continue to wonder how the journalists can afford such luxurious residences and resort villas when their monthly pay is only $100 dollars a month. I do not believe they are going to justify these facts with the bonuses they get, because this kind of income is not covered by the obligatory contributions of the fiscal year for this category of income. This matter is not under the jurisdiction of the High Inspectorate of Disclosure of Personal Assets", but under the jurisdiction of the General Directorate of Taxation, which is duty bound to observe the laws and not allow such acts.
Let me continue: the national TV Arberia has insured 30 persons, who get an average monthly pay of 13,000 leks.
The local TV Top Channel has insured 90 persons, with an average monthly pay of 10,700 leks, while Media 99 (TV Koha) has 16 insured employees, with an average monthly pay of 17,000 leks per month.
Among the printed media, the "Tema" newspaper is a case in point because it has hired only one person, who is officially insured, and this very person is the owner of the newspaper, who seems to handle things by himselfl
The newspaper "Koha Jane" together with "Sport Express" have 46 employees who are insured and get an average pay of 10,800 leks per month. "Albanian Newspaper" has only 30 insured employees.
It is not uncommon when the media are employed to camouflage or guard informal and illegitimate actions by their owners, as is the case with constructions without licenses. As the most typical case, let me mention the 8-story building of the newspaper "Koha Jone" in "Sami Frasheri" St. in Tirana, the construction of which was completed in 2000, while no legal authorization for the ground or for the building were ever obtained and no one bothered to deal with such a violation of the law. The subject "2K Group" owned by :Nir. Koc;;o Kokedhima has fmished the construction without authorization of a whole floor in the 1O·story facility located at ''Ismail Qemali" St in Tirana (near the Albanian Radio Television). For this violation the construction police have imposed a penalty on the subject "2K Group" worth 16 million leks, which has not been paid as yet. The refusal to pay the fine is due to the fact that the 11th floor of this facility was legalized by the Tirana Municipality on July 26, 2001, even though the penalty imposed by the construction police was not paid. The matter is in court now. Until the matter goes to the Court of Appeals, the- decision of the construction police remains in force. The decision by the Supreme Court is now expected.
The building subject "ADA Construction," with investor "Ada Holding- Ada Air" (the owners of these enterprises are also co-owners of the Media 6 [TV -Klan]), has built 23 villas with 2 or 3 stories in t1_e coastal zone of Golem at Kavaja. These subjects received--- the authorization on 21 May 2001 to only build 10 villas in a tourist village on an area of 1.78 hectares. Yet, these subjects have built an additional 13 villas from what they were issued authorization for in an area of 3.18 hectares, thus committing double violations of the legal authorization. Begun as a tourist village and a juridical person stimulated for tourism, it just ended up as a cluster of residence villas, properties of the chiefs of Media 6 and some others, and that is the reason why it has failed to sign an agreement for development and lease with the state, to which these subjects are indebted the amount of $1.5 million. Every knock on their doors by the Construction Police or other legal state agencies has been stifled by the so-called "protectors of mass media freedom''.
I believe it is absolutely clear to the large public that the misuse of the law by the media owners has never been exploited by my government as a means of pressure to obtain news and editorials that are advantageous to us, because we are. determined to go through to the end with our fight against informality to the detriment of the law. On the contrary, in all the cases I mentioned above, the state agencies have levied the maximum legal sanctions that fall within their competences. If the opposition however thinks_ that the · enforcement of the law and the legal transparency about the economic activity of a series of media owners are linked with the status of the freedom of speech, then this is an advocacy for the violation of the law.
\Vhile observing the fiscal legislation on the confidentiality of statistical figures for each subject, I can tell you that the Albanian Radio-Television maintains a taxable turnover, which is 3 times larger than that of the national TV "Klan" and "Arberia". Meanwhile, it results that certain regional print media or TV stations maintain a fiscal circulation either equal or larger than TV ''Klan" or even TV A.
As to the 41 mass media licensed (registered) operators in Tirana, the taxes they pay do not exceed 0.9% of their declared pre-tax earnings.
All these cases and phenomena appear in an undertaking that has been substantially stimulated by the government and state in compliance with the laws in force.
Accordingly, the law on the Albanian Television has exempted from the Value Added Tax (from the tax returns on value added) all the newspapers and magazines, as well as the publication of advertisements by these means of public information.
Pursuant to the criteria provided for in the above-mentioned law, the Council of Ministers has issued decree no. 49, which has stimulating effects on the mass media undertakings, allowing the later payment of VAT. These subjects have benefited from imports $130,000 in 2003, and $400,000 in the first 4-month period of the current year.
Without wishing to further delve into this matter, I deem it necessary to bring to your attention the direct contribution byrne government and its structures to the free media through various sponsorships which make possible to balance the government's transparency with the society's interest to ensure a sound and independent media. Just for your information, let me tell you that only KESH Ltd. has spent on advertisements an amount of $150,000 in 2001, which has gone to the pockets of the media, about $500,000 in 2002, about $560,000 in 2003, and $180,000 in 2004 (1st 6-month period). To avoid any eventual misuse ofthe so-called preferential distribution, let me tell you that in the course of three years taken together, the Albanian Television [TVSH] has earned $110,000 from the KESh advertisements; the national TV Klan has earned $180,000 and the national TV Arberia $120,000.
The Alb telecom, INSIG, ARMO, and others, without mentioning here tens of smaller shareholder companies or structures of local power have done the same. Had we listened to the advice of some international specialized agencies for the problems of the freedom of speech, today the media market would have $I million revenues less per year, which it gets from the various ads and announcements. Indeed, this is the money coming from the Albanian taxpayers and is spent in the name of the freedom of speech and the economic boosting of the very young Albanian media. How much this affects the quality of the freedom of speech, this is another matter that needs further discussion.
This is but only a small part of the picture of the media market, which I deemed it · necessary to portray to you in order for you to better understand how different are the j__S
relations between the · government and the media . compared to what the outdated opposition claims, or compared to the time it was in power.
On this occasion, I would like to dwell on the misuse of the sporadic facts alleged to be as "certain" indications of the alleged violence exerted on the media. According to international classifications on the freedom of the media, Albania falls under the same group with Croatia and Bulgaria, recognized as a group that has experienced only advancement and progress in the area of the legal protection of the freedom of speech. Just to refresh your memory, the only case when an Albanian leader of the post communist era was placed in the List of Shame of the Ten Sworn Enemies of the Freedom of Speech is Sali Berisha, who was put there along with Fidel Castro, Slobodan Milosevic, Robert Mugabe - whom he still is attached to - Lukashenko, and a few other African dictators. The said list can be easily accessed in the Website with this address: www.cpj.org. You will understand in this way the progress made and the regress they want to reverse us. These transfonnati9ns are sa great that they can enable even Berisha and his adherents to claim that they are -allegedly protecting the "freedom of speech". I consider this an achievement, a progress of the country, though I know this is just a demagogy of the technology of oppression (not of the press) on the part of Berisha.
Certainly, as I mentioned above, our media have their own problems, which were highlighted and outlined also in the last report prepared by the European Union on Albania. These problems mainly deal with the obvious lack of working conditions for journalists, as well as with the immediate need to ensure the transparency of the assets of the media. The said report underlines the fact that the current situation of the Albanian media, I quote, ttDoes not promote the development of an objective and professional journalism."
Therefore, the time has come to make a distinction, according to the standards and criteria of the European Union countries, in which we are in the process of integrating, between the "freedom of speech" and the "business of speech", to differentiate between the media business and other businesses in the media that unfortunately many a times are dirty businesses. The government and the majority have been entirely involved, in cooperation with professional journalists and their representative bodies within and outside Albania, to contribute to the enhancement of professionalism and the credibility of the media through an uncompromising struggle against informality and abuse of the fourth power. This is the only way we will be able to avoid the abnormality we emphasized above in Albania ranking first in Europe in the list of countries with the greatest number of media outlets and last regarding the copies per capita. This is the only way that our journalists and media owners can take better care of the public, rather than worry about pleasing the group of the owner they serve. Only in this free and competitive reality, based op. the rules of the open market economy, there will be no more newspapers producing just 300 copies, no unprotected journalists that are cast from one media outlet to the ather, while their owners keep on with their undertakings and increase the number of their villas and apartment floors, playing the role of an acid, namely, destructive journalism, as the recent Brussels analysis highlights, while pretending they were the owners of the largest newspapers on earth. In this function, hence, that of regulating the operation of this market that is vital for the future of democracy, allow me to remind you that on my initiative as Prime Minister, the leading managers of the fiscal administration and the Ministry of Finances, and the mass media owners agreed since one year ago and managed to establish today a system of transparency and assistance in the fiscal expertise that the state may provide to assist in further improving the accounting methods and the preparation of the annual balance sheets, and in rigorously observing the rules and the standards of a functioning rule of law state. Improvements to this respect are perceptible, which promote not only the transparency of the media business to the state and the public, but also the latters credibility. I want to point out that the government I lead is most interested in the consolidation of the most professional and credible media possible, which can have a sound impact on the public, because only in this way can we really contribute to progress and the European integration of Albania.
Furthermore, one year earlier, I as a Prime Minister, together with the owners of the main media outlets undertook a legal initiative to fight piracy (plagiarism) in the market, which is one of the ugliest manifestations of informality. The achievements are quite obvious. Today you do not see any stolen productions on Albanian TV screens, whereas the market of publicity has greatly improved. This is another very important step taken toward the observance of and respect for the intellectual copyright in the country and in the global realities we are in the process of joining.
To further promote .this fruitful process of partnership, a few weeks ago I sent invitations. for cooperation to a large number of domestic and international organizations dealing with the media. I have essentially stressed the fact that with the assistance of the most advanced world expertise and with the contribution of the mass media structures in the country, while not diverting for a single moment from the legal responsibilities of the government structures, the time has come to draft a legal package to better protect the freedom of speech and prevent it from being misused. This would be indeed a good ground for a fresh qualitative leap m this vital field of democracy.
The debate of the day has been actually focused on the need for a law on the media. Despite the overflow of motions, I think this debate is very professional and tackles important issues of the print media. I observed from the debate that that there is a large consensus on the need to enhance the credibility of.the media, which is accordingly linked with the transparency of ownership, of financial resources, of circulation, and so on. I take this opportunity to hail the Parliamentary Commission on the Mass Media, which since aJ.most one year now engaged in a serious, broad and transparent process to draft an integral and coherent bill on the press. The "Law on the Freedom ofPress11 is a document that will perceptibly raise the standards of the professionalism of the media and the state transparency. This Act of Freedom naturally has nothing in common with th,e law on the media drafted during the time when Berisha was in office. And .this is because .2:t·
Mr. Berishas law, as was shown in actual practice, aimed mainly at violating the freedom of the speech and the imprisonment of journalists. On the other hand, our Act on the Freedom of Speech embodies a very significant feature - it does not provide for jail sentences for the journalists or the publishers. The endorsement of this draft law, not the current status quo, will raise to modern world levels our standards of information, the protection of the sources of information and the circulation of information.
By means of this law, the majority finally aims at legally consolidating the freedom of speech and, accordingly, at enhancing the level of legalization of the media business, its transparency toward the law, the state, and the public institutions. I am confident that in order to be able to implement this New Act of Freedom, the majority I lead will have the broad support by the community of the free media and the public opinion.
Thank you! Confidentiel
Commentaires officiels de Ia Federation de Russie concernant la partie du rapport du Representant de l'OSCE sur la liberte des medias (OSCE-FOM) consacree a Ia Russie
1. Comme l'a fait connaitre officiellement la direction de la chaine de television NTV M. Leonid Parfenov, directeur et presentateur du programme 1Vamedni, a ete licencie pour avoir violer les clauses du contrat de travail. S'il y avait eu une raison illegale ayant conduit a son licenciement (certains j ournalistes, par exemple, ont prefere d'y voir la main de la censure au sein de cette chaine) il aurait pu introduite un recours juridique contre cette decision. Ce recours n'a pas ete presente. 2. Concernant le cas de ?vl.Andrei Babitsky: selon le porte-parole de la Direction Generale des affaires interieures aux transports du Ministere de l'interieur de la Russie, le 2 septembre demier ce joumaliste, qui etait en etat d'ivresse, a fait l'objet d'une incarceration. Les agents de police de l'aeroport Vnukovo l'ont arrete pour ebriete et insoumission aux injonctions de la force publique. Le 3 septembre le juge de paix de la region Sontsevo de Moscou a prononce une peine de 5 jours de. privation de liberte al'encontre de M.A.Babitsky. 3. Selon le service de presse du Miriistere de l'interieur de la Russie les autorites de police n'ont pas participe a l'enquete liee a "l'impoisennement" de Mme A.Politkovskaya et ne disposent d'aucune information a ce sujet. 4. C'est avec un sentiment d'incomprehension et de profond regret qu'on a appris aMoscou la diffusion du rapport de l'OSCE-FOM. M.M.Haraszti intitule "Couverture mediatique en Russie de la tragedie de Beslan: acces a !'information et conditions de travail des journalistes". Nous estimons qu'une compilation partiale des correspondances d'un certain nombre des medias russes ne peut pretendre a etre consideree comme une position officielle d'une organisation intemationale renommee telle que l'OSCE. A notre avis il ne s'agit que d'une tentative de speculations politiques et mediatiques sur la tragedie de Beslan. Nous considerons comme indigne et odieux de vouloir rejeter la responsabilite de ce monstrueux acte terroriste sur les autorites russes, selon des sources d'information partiales reprises dans le rapport en question. Nous avons constate avec etonnement que des actes terroristes ayant causer un grand nombre de victimes dans d'autres pays, n'ont, pour des raisons qui nous paraissent incomprehensibles, pas suscite un tel interet de la par de l'office des recherches pres l'OSCE-FOM. Agissant de cette fa9on l'office susmentionne fait une approche ambigue qui ne contribue aucunement a la cooperation antiterroriste dans le cadre de l'OSCE. A deux reprises le Representant permanent de la Fede:ation de Russie pres
l'OSCE avait fait part a J\!L~1.Haraszti de cette position officielle du J\!1inistere des affaires etrangeres de la Russie. L'OSCE-FO:tvl a reconnu des erreurs quant aux theses presentees dans son rapport tout en promettant plus d'objectivite a l'avenir. M.M.Harazsti a d'ailleurs fait des declarations en ce sens lors de la conference de presse qui a suivi la publication de son rapport. PERMANENT ~.P ~:::l.bNlAllUN 1 el. : Uj
The Republic of Cyprus expresses its grave concern regarding some of the provisions of the new Turkish Penal Code which was adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 26 September 2004. In particular, we record our disapproval of Article 305 of the new Turkish Penal Code, which provides for strict sentences of imprisonment ranging from three to ten years, imposed on citizens who are involved directly or indirectly in" ... actions which are contrary to the fundamental national interests ... ".
Effectively, through Article 305 of the new Penal Code, the Republic of Turkey, in the name of "national interests", attempts to impose restrictions and severe limitations on the freedom of expression of her citizens, in complete violation of the International and European Conventions on Human Rights.
Even more alarming, however, is the reference in the explanatory report of Article 305 that the penalty of imprisonment will be increased " ... in case money or benefit or promises have been accepted for conducting propaganda via the Press and the Media ... " on issues such as " ... the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from Cyprus or for accepting a solution that is against Turkey on this issue or for the genocide of the Armenians ... ".
It is therefore clear, according to the provisions of Article 305 of the new Penal Code and its explanatory report, that the Republic of Turkey attempts, at a period that it wishes to obtain a firm date for the start of accession negotiations with the European Union, to impose severe restrictions on the freedom of .expression in utter contempt of international and European instruments on human rights and the basic rules and principles governing a democratic society.
Furthermore, the Republic of Turkey, irrespective of the wider issue of the democratic deficit that arises for the country through the adoption of this Article of the new Penal Code, illustrates yet again her true intentions regarding the solution of the Cyprus problem. lt is obvious from the content and philosophy behind Article 305, that Turkey is not only unwilling to withdraw her troops from Cyprus, but has in fact adopted a new law imposing severe sentences to those who even dare to express such views in public. At the same time, the provisions of the new Penal Code prove beyond any doubt the insincerity and hypocrisy of Turkey regarding her acceptance of the provisions of the Annan Plan for the gradual withdrawal of the Turkish troops from Cyprus and her true intentions regarding the demilitarization of the island.
The new Turkish Penal Code also proves that our concerns for the lack of an effective safeguard mechanism for the implementation of the Annan Plan, that were so strongly expressed by the Greek Cypriot community and also reflected in the results of the referendum of 24 April 204, are fully confirmed by Turkey's attitude as revealed by Article 305 of the Penal Code and its explanatory report.
The Cypriot authorities have strong doubts as to the compatibility of these provisions of the new Penal Code of Turkey with the European Convention on Human Rights and the relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.
Strasbourg, 21 October 2004 Intervention of the Turkish representative
In the morning session of the meeting two delegations voiced criticism over the new Turkish Penal Code.
I welcome this criticism, for it allows me to inform the Committee about yet another significant step forward in the political reform process in Turkey: our new Penal Code.
I think the Committee will be interested to hear that the long and the arduous effort that was required in the preparation was supported by experts of the Council ofEurope.
Opinions of these experts were taken into consideration in every step of the process. They were even invited to the deliberations in the parliamentary committees, where they were able to exchange views with the parliamentarians and duly contribute to the enactment of a Penal Code in line with the norms of the Council of Europe.
We highly appreciate the contribution of the Council of Europe in this respect.
The new Penal Code was adopted by the Parliament on 26 September 2004 and was published in the Official Gazette 12 October 2004. It will enter into force as of April 2005.
The new Penal Code places a special emphasis on the protection of individual's fundamental rights and freedoms. 1 would like to highlight some of the major provisions of the Code:
No one shall be punished on the grounds of an act that does not constitute a crime under the law. Provisions on crimes and sentences shall not be interpreted in a broad manner paving the way for comparison.
No discrimination shall be made among individuals on any consideration and no privilege shall be granted to any individual in the implementation of the Code. Provisions are introduced to punish acts of discrimination.
Sentences are rearranged taking into consideration the gravity of crimes and current circumstances. In this respect, imprisonment shall consist of heavy life imprisonment, life imprisonment and periodic imprisonment. Furthermore, alternative sanctions, such as being employed for the benefit of public, are introduced to replace short-term imprisonment under certain conditions.
The distinction between slight provocation and grievous provocation is removed and the judge is granted broad discretion.
Separate sections are incorporated into the Code under the headings "Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity" and "Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Human Beings" where sentences are introduced for these crimes. This change, along with the recent amendments to the Constitution will also allow Turkey to become party to the Rome Statute.
Torture is defined as a crime which can be committed not only by civil servants but by individuals as well. Perpetrators of torture shall be sentenced from 3 to 12 years imprisonment. Should the act of torture is committed in the form of sexual harassment; the perpetrator shall be sentenced from 10 to 15 years imprisonment.
Killings in the name of customary law, including honour killings, are considered as an aggravating circumstance entailing heavier punishment. Mitigating clauses in honour killings are removed.
Provisions on crimes against sexual inviolability are placed under the heading "Crimes against Persons" and heavier sentences are introduced for such crimes.
Prevention of the exercise of the freedom of thought, opinion and belief shall be punishable.
Sentences are introduced for those violating the privacy of individual life.
Openly inciting people to hatred and enmity on grounds of class, race, religion, sect or region shall be punishable provided that an imminent and clear danger emerges for public security.
Expressions of thought for the purpose of criticism do not constitute a crime.
* * *
As to the issue of the article 305 of the new Penal Code:
I would like to precise that the two issues brought up in the morning do not figure in the new Code. The text of the Article is as follows:
"Offences against fundamental national interests ARTICLE 305- (1) A citizen who either directly or indirectly accepts from a foreign individual or organization pecuniary benefits for himself or for another person in return for engaging in activities against fundamental national interests or for that reason shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of three to ten years and to a judicial fine of up to ten thousand days. The same penalty shall be imposed on the person who provides the benefit or makes the promise. (2) If the act is committed during wartime or benefit has been given or promised in order to spread propaganda through the medium of the press and media, the penalty shall be increased by half. (3) Except in cases where the act is committed during wartime, the prosecution of the offence shall be subject to the authorization of the Minister of Justice. (4) Within the meaning of the present article, fundamental national interests shall mean independence, territorial integrity, national security and the fundamental qualities defined in the Constitution of the Republic. "
Actually, it can be seen that the article in question does not relate to the freedom of expression issues per se.
These two issues are currently being discussed in an extensive manner by the public in Turkey and to my knowledge no one has ever been prosecuted for doing so.
On the other hand I am not sure if this is the case in all member states. Our Consul General in Paris is currently being sued for having discussed the mutual tragedy that was encountered both by the Turkish and the Armenian people during the First World War. The new Penal Code provides the judges with a greater margin of appreciation that will facilitate the job of our judicial system in aligning itself with the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Actually, through an amendment to Article 90 of the Constitution, supremacy was provided to Turkey's international obligations in the field of human rights over the domestic law. This amendment gives direct effect to the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in domestic law and procedure.
This amendment to the Constitution is regarded as a safeguard clause and enables the judiciary system to align itself with the Convention and the case-law ofthe Court.
With these safeguards in place, the Turkish Government feels confident that the Article in question will not create any problems in the field of the freedom of expression.
As to the issue of Turkish troops stationed in Cyprus under the relevant Treaties:
It comes as a surprise to hear such accusations from an entity that have prevented their people from accepting the Annan Plan which envisaged the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the Island. What is mote, the Greek Cypriot side launched an officially-supported campaign of pressure and intimidation to deter Greek Cypriot people from voting in favour of the Peace Plan. I think if questions on the issue of freedom of expression are to be forwarded, they should be directed at other directions than this delegation. 901eme Reunion des Delegues des Ministres sur la liberte d'expression et d'information - le 21 octobre 2004 -
Monsieur le President,
La delegation armenienne souhaite, en premier lieu, exprimer ses remerciements au Secretariat pour le document qu'il a mis anotre disposition; ce document fait le constat des evolutions enregistrees ces dernieres annees dans les pays membres, revele les lacunes encore existantes mais souligne egalement les evolutions positives intervenues. La situation relative a Ia liberte d'expression en Armenie n'echappe pas a cette approche; mais nous observons, avec satisfaction, que les reformes dans ce domaine vont dans le bon sens et qu'un certain nombre de progres ont pu etre accomplis.
La delegation armenienne a presente sa contribution ecrite concernant les developpements recents en matiere de liberte d'expression et d'information en Armenie et nous concentrerons nos remarques sur certains problemes souleves par le secretariat dans le document CM/Monitor(2004)7, qui permettront de n~pondre acertaines preoccupations.
Concernant l'informationemanant de l'Al9 relative a!'existence des propositions d'amendements a !a loi sur Ia liberte d'information, telle qu'elle figure dans le point 3, cette delegation peut affirmer que les autorites armeniennes n'ont pas presente, et n'envisagent pas de presenter, des propositions d'amendements a cette loi.
Concernant les questions abordees dans le point 4, je voudrais informer que Ia situation s' est ameliore apres !'adoption des amendements de la loi sur la radiodiffusion et la television. Ces amendements prevoient une nouvelle procedure pour la formation de la Commission nationale de television et du Conseil de Ia television publique et de Ia radio. Les ameliorations apportees par ces amendements ont ete, a cet egard, soulignees par l' Assemblee parlementaire, dans sa resolution 1405(2004) sur Ia mise en reuvre des engagements de l 'Armenie, adoptee le 7 octobre dernier .
A propos de !'octroi d'une licence aAI+ eta Noyan Tapan, nous nous refererons ala reponse fournie par mes autorites au questionnaire du GT-SUIVI.AGO, faisant apparaltre que ces societes ne se sont pas vu attribuees les licences car elles ont perdu l'appel d'offre suite au vote des membres de la Commission intervenu conformement aux dispositions prevues par la loi sur la radio et Ia television. Les autorites armeniennes ont declare, a diverses reprises, qu'elles etaient disposees a presenter, pour examen, les dossiers ayant motive le refus de Ia Commission nationale sur Ia television et Ia radio d'octroyer les licences. Elles ont, meme, suggere aux experts du Conseil de !'Europe de proceder a une evaluation generale de Ia situation des medias electroniques en Armenie. Cette question a fait !'objet de contacts entre Ia Direction Generale des Droits de !'Homme et les autorites armeniennes; Ia suggestion d'elaborer un rapport d'evaluation par Ia Commission Nationale de Ia Radio et de la Television, faite par Ia DG2, est en cours d'examen, en ayant a !'esprit l'utilite d'une assistance des experts du Conseil de !'Europe dans ce travail.
Les dernieres observations que je souhaiterai faire sur Ia situation en Armenie ont trait aux cas de violence contre des journalistes signales durant les rassemblements du printemps dernier : des poursuites penales ont ete engagees dans chacun des cas ; les responsables de ces violences ont ete traduits devant les tribunaux et ont ete .sanctionnes. Un rapport detaille de ces faits a ete presente au GT.suivi.AGO. . · Monsieur le President,
La delegation armenienne souhaite questionner la delegation turque a propos de I' article 305 du Code penal consacre aux activites contre les inten~ts nationaux fondamentaux passibles de peines allantjusqu'a 10 ans de prison. Ce Code penal a ete presente par le Gouvemement turc et a passe toutes les procedures parlementaires. Cette delegation se declare preoccupee par l'eclairage donne, dans le rapport explicatif, a propos des activites considerees comme allant a 1' encontre de ces inten~ts nationaux ; en effet, parmi ces activites, il est fait explicitement reference a la publication et aux declarations, par I' intermediaire des medias, affirmant I' existence du genocide armenien ou le retrait des militaires turcs de Chypre. De telles mentions dans le rapport explicatifau Code penal, en contradiction flagrante avec 1' article l 0 de Ia CEDH, constituent une grave atteinte a la liberte d' expression ; elles font encourir de lourdes peines de prison a l'encontre de toute personne exprimant une opinion differente de la position officielle sur ces questions.
11 vade soi que cette situation est prejudiciable a !'expression d'un libre debat sur ces questions, et doit meme etre consideree comme une violation du droit des personnes appartenant a la minorite armenienne, dans la mesure ou les interpretations faites de cet article du Code penal sont de nature a empecher la communaute armenienne de Turquie de commemorer la tragedie de 1915.
Cette delegation souhaite savoir si les autorites turques envisagent de modifier cette situation de fa<;on a permettre Ia libre expression sur ces questions, en tenant compte des recommandations des experts du Conseil de !'Europe qui ont eu I' occasion d'exprimer leur preoccupation ace sujet. Additional Information Concerning the ~eed.om of Media iD Albania
From 12 years now the P:ltliamcnt of Albania has approved a package of la~ for the written a:nd electronic media in or Up to now, there ure approved and implemented a number of essential laws that regulate the a.ctivities of the media wir.h the other subjects related to it. Law nr. 8410 date 30.09. 1998 "FOR THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE Ri\DIO AND TELEVlSION lN T'HE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA". This law has been changes ::>evera.l times like: law nr. 8794 date 10.5.2001 and taw nr. 8655 date 31.7.2000. Law for t..t,.e right of information or access in information; Law for the protection of privacy; Law for the state secret; Two article of constitution1 23 and 24 for the f:reedom of press. There are established and are functioning two i..."lstitutions t.'l.at monitor the implementation of existing laws for electronic media as: "Steering Committee of public transmitting" consisting on five members from tb.e position parties, five members from the opposition parties, and five others of wdl known academics, National Committee of the Radio and Television a~ the main organ of is:suing license for electronic media. The institution of the People's Advocate which deals >vith the complains and the relations between the media fu'"ld the subjects related wit..~ it. 2. At point (4) of the remarks according to an expert of OSCE ~Law for public and private radio and television" does not require or guarantee the independence of public transmitters and potentially this reduces their independence and gives "more power to the parliament" Law nr. 8410 date 30.09.1998 "FOR THE PUBLIC RA.DIO AND TELEVISION lN THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA' a..'!lended "vith the laws nr. 8794, date 10.5. 2001 and nt. 8655 date 31.7.2000 prepared wit.~ the assistance of t.'le experts of OSCE AND THE Council of Europe, as~ures ihe tr.::msfonnation of the Albanian Radio Television from a state transmitter to a public one, and related with this, the above legislation offers three fundamental guarantees for its independence; a. The Steering Committee consists on 15 members; well kno'WI'l public personalities, who are not allowed to bts.) This board of directors has the possibility to g\Jarantee the independence of the public transmitters and defend the interests of the public because the independent institutions propose five representatives. The Steering Committee accordi."lg to the taw elects the Director General and its staff. b. The law guarantees the economic independence becuuse the majority of the incomes are insured by the public taxes and not by the state budget. c. The law guarantees the editorial :independence a.."'1d the safety of L.'le members of the board and executive staff. Thei.r mandate is of five years term and does not coincide with the general parliamentary elections that are held once in four years. The amendment of this Jaw aims to regulate t..'1e digital transmitters and services that are not predicted a.Yld adjusted \Vlth th 2. In point (4) of remarks is mentioned L.'lat according to the annual report of the Albanian Radio ond Television, there is a critical situation for tl-rits institution because of political inte:r.rention, fimmcial dependence from the state budget and lack of structural refm-m. One expert of OSCE tho.t comments the statues of ART notices lack of Jaw provisions to protect jts independence. (August 2004} We notice that the AFU' has financial problems for two reasons: a. AR'T needs a thorough change in technology, but accordir,g to the existing law investments in new tcc..~nologie:s should be fma.Tlced by the state and they need millions of doll -The project-amendment of Lhe law on the electronic media -The bill on \-vritten media "The act of the freedom of press" -The bill on the defamation and insu1ts that arc found in the Penal Code, u~ well -The bill on. the written media is being considered by the Parliamenta.ry Committee on media and will be part of the agenda of the Assembly during October . U- Regarding the remarks of the Council of Europe on the independen<:e of media from the public authorities: 1. Point 4 of the remarks states that National Council of Radio and Television is considered to be under the control of the party in power, with no representatives from the opposition, because the opposition had renounced from participating to the parliament and there were complaints abcut the impartiality of the National Council of Ramo ru1d Tclcvi::>ion (NCRT). Regarding this remark we would like to emphasi7.e that the activity of the NCRT in the Rep"Ublic of Albania is arranged by the law Nr. 8410, do.te 30.0<1.1998"' ON THE PUBLIC AND PRIVAT RADIO AND TELEVISJON IN THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA". This law is changed twice 'With the laws Nr. 87<14, date 10.05.2001 and nr. 8655, date 3l.07.200. NCRT has its own website where are published all the decisions, legislation on its activity, the structure ;md the manner of exercising the o.ctivi.ty ofNCRT. The composition of NCRT is again regulated bylaw, or more precisely: Tnc Assembly elects the members of the NCRT for a 5-year period, no more than t·mce in succession. The President of the Republic proposes to the Assembly the candidacy for 1 member, while 6 other candidacies arc proposed by the Standing Committee on Means of Public Information, "With equal representatives from the parliamentary position and opposition. The Chairperson of NCRT :is elected by the Assembly L'lrough it:> seven members based on 2 candidacies proposed with secret voting by the NCRT. The Deputy Chairperson of the NCRT is elected by the NCRT itselfwith secret voting ba:sed on two cand.idacie~. The Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson of first mandate of NCRT arc e1e(...."'ted for a 6-year period, so tha.t to make sure the continuity of the functioning of NCRT during the 5-year change of the members in the future ma.ndate. The First Counc:il had two members from the opposition, Mr. Pashk Penrathi and L~cr Stani, while the Ocmocratic Party did not send its representatives, despite the request of the NCRT in its annual repor;:s to the Assembly. Actually there are elected two members of the NCRT from the opposjtion, Visar Zhiti and Agron Duro. The seventh member remains to be appointed by the President of the .Republic. This law has the right dispositions to guarantee the independence of the Alba.nin.n Rudio-Tek-vision, but still its leading stuff, has not compiled any strategy of t."'le complete change of this institution into a public transmitter. This is a legal issue and the delay into the compilation of this important document is mainly the re~rult of the Jack of experience. 4. In point 4 o( the remarks is raised the is~ue of the removal by the NCRT of the transmitters of .'\.lba TV and its judicial conflict. In this point is stated: "both stations emphasize that this ma...~es a dear political decision... " Regarding this remark we would like to emphas~ that this conilict was solved by the Court and the decision was in, favour of NCRT. Later it was amended, and this law that allows tho.t u satellite transmitter, called ALSAT before the conflict, to have a land signal. (Attached you will find a statement by the NCRT on this issue) III. In the remark about the defamatory and the issues related to jt, it is stated that Regarding this we would not have anything to add to what the General Secretary of Pffi'liamentruy Assembly of Council of Europe, Mr. Terry Davis, stated during the autumn session 2004, answering the concern of Sali Berisha, the leader of the opposition, on the freedom of press and the abovew mentioned issue stntcs: "There is w-idespread concern about the use of the law of defamation in Albania to stifle critid~m of oppo~ition journalists. I entirely accept that. However there i::. ulso widespread international concern about the fact that some journalists are behaving very irresponsibly. The point is that some journalists bring discredit to their profession by publishing ::~tones that arc not tl'i.l.c either because they have not checked their accuracy or worse still- it is alleged- in the knowledge that they are not true. There is <:oncem about the independence and objectivity of some jo·urnali~t:-;-not all." Supplement to the Council of Europe's study on freedom of expression and information in COE Member States L The Mass Media Act entered into force in May 2001; however, its defmite implementation was carried out mainly in the period 2002~2003. Each year the Ministry of Culture issues two calls for applications, based on the Mass Media. Act which are of importance for the freedom of expression and infor.mation, i.e. the Call for applications for co-fmancing Qf audiovisual p:rojects and the Call for applicatiQns .for ca-financing programme content' and technical infrastructure in the media. The latter, above all~ represents a t.t'Ue embodiment of the freedom of expression and information, being intended for all types of the media. with special ~mphasis on d.eroog.rap.hically endangered regions, a.11d thus stimulating sustainable devek•pment ofthe media <.md their diven~ity. In 2003 and 2004 special calls for applications were issued for student, regional and Iocal programmes, translating basic public interest in the media area, Twenty-four applicar:~ts,were given srud.ent, regional or local programme stains at;.d~ in accorda.""lce with the principle of balanced media distribution and public interest, appropriate funds were allocated. 2. Since 22 February 2003 a Decision on drawing up a Ust of events of major importanc~ is in use in Slovenia, stating the events that are of commercial interest for the international media in relation V'rith acquiring exclusive broadca-"'ting rights, a.11d of major importance for Slovenian society. The decision was adopted on the basis of the Decree on procedure and criteria for drawing up a list of events of major importance (Ur. 1. RS, No. 105/2001)> which was in tll!n adopted on the basis of the European Convention on Transfro:ntier Television ?..nd ti:te Protocol amending the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. 3. An Act amending the Mass Media Act is currently in parliamentary procedure. "fhe proposed amendments focus on 4 key objectives: providing conditions for media p.lurality, harmonisation •vith the EU acquis, .harmonisation vfith the amended ·telecommunications legislat~on, and ha.nnonisation with the legislation regulating the access to information in the public realm . .A.mong others, the proposed a..'!lendments take into account the decision of the Constitutional CoL\rt of 21 September 2004 on the annulment of Article 82 of the Mass Iviedia Act, which regulated co-financing .of local, regional and student prograrnmes hl the amount of 3%) of the radio and television fee. Tb.e Act amending the Mass Media Act envisages compensation for the cancelled stimulations in .4nwle 4 of the existing Mass Media Act, defining public interest in the media area and piacing the programmes vvith regional, local or student status among the programmes tb.at are of special interest for the Republic of Slovenia. The most imporumt proposed amendments to the Mass. Media Act cart be summarised as follows: A. Amended allotment of stimulations to the pl"ogrammes of special importau.ce~ according to the provisions of Article 4 of the Mass Media Act, which defines public interest in the media area. · B. Regulation r:Jf access to public information fo.- the media and the right of appeal in relation with the access to information in the public realm. 4L C. linpnrvemli:nt of the uystem or granting approvals foi- the at:qui.sition uf more than 21}%, of ownership sbare in media publishers~ mth the aim to preserve media plurality .. D. Improvement of the provisions on independent producers {)f audiovisual works. ,, ~ E. Harmonisation of the provisions on attilining programme quotas with the E U acquis. F. Putting up a .. bridge'' between th€ Mass Media Act and th~ Telecommunicatious Act in relation to the provisions on licenses for performing radio and television activities. · G. Amendwg the provisions on tlb.e fund for audiovisual media and public interest in the media area - a more detailed definition of the procedure and criteria for co-fmancing the projects from the budgetaxy fund for audiovisual media. 4. As of 22 March 2003 a new Access to Information in the Public Realm Act (Ur. L RS, No. 24/2003 - ZDIJZ) is in force. TI1is Act falls >:>ritro..in the competence of the tvlinistry of Infonnation Society but, being one of the key regulations in the area of freedom of infonnation, we wish to acquaint you whh its basic features. The Access to Information in the Public Realm Act regulates the access tQ informatio~"l related to the functioning of state auiho.ritie:s and the bodies of local self govemment. The access to infom.xation in the public realm being free, any entity subject to this Act has to enable h~e applicant, on his/her verba] or written request, the access to all types of information in the public realm; w-1-uch under the provisions of the Act are. not spedfied as an exception. The exempt types of L'lfonnation include classltled information, business secrets, personaJ dara and other information protected bv sector-spec,ific leeislation and the Access to Informationin the Public Realm Act. •' ' .. - 5. In relation with the case of fue reporter Miro Petek we wish to add that in May 2004 a trial began at the Murska Sobota District Cou.rt against five alleged assaila.11ts. Tne trial has not yet been conchlded. After the attack on J\1r Petek a parliamentary commission for the investigation ofthe background of the attack has been established. Parliamentary Assembly Assernblee parlementaire Parliamentary Assembly Assembh!e parlementaire Committee on Culture, Science and Education COUNCIL CONSEIL Commission de Ia culture, de Ia science et de !'education OF EUROPE DE l'EUROPE Strasbourg, 28 October 2004 Dear Ambassador, 1 would like to thank you again for the invitation to participate in a meeting of the Ministers' Deputies devoted to thematic monitoring. 1 also highly appreciated and enjoyed the more personal exchange of views that we were able to have over lunch. The fact that the meeting was devoted to the issue of freedom of expression and information, could be regarded as symbolic and will hopefully open the door to increased co-operation in this field between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, in a spirit of openness and transparency. However, it is also my view that the Council of Europe, having created and promoted the highest democratic standards in the media field across our continent, should not discuss freedom of expression behind closed doors. The importance of exercising its moral weight, the organisation's strongest arm, by far outweighs the potential benefits of a confidential procedure. In an age of global communication, there should be more modern solutions than secrecy to advance open and honest dialogue with governments. In view of your further work on this issue, you might find it useful to find below a summary of the main proposals outlined in my presentation: 1/ transmit relevant documentation to the Parliamentary Assembly, as requested in Assembly Recommendations 1506 (2001) and 1589 (2003): namely, the data collected by the Secretariat on freedom of expression and information, as well as the information provided by delegations on progress made in the field of freedom of expression and information; 21 it is vital that the Committee of Ministers agree on a procedure in order to continue monitoring freedom of expression and information, and more generally, the role of the media in modern society and submit periodic reports to the Parliamentary Assembly; 3/ continue the dialogue with the Parliamentary Assembly on this issue. I shall personally inform the Committee on Culture, Science and Education on my meeting with the Ministers' Deputies and propose practical measures for follow-up. As the Assembly will pursue its activities in the field of monitoring freedom of expression and information, 1 am anxious that the discussion with you and your colleagues will continue. I should therefore be grateful if this letter would be distributed to the Ministers' Deputies. Yours sincerely, Paschal Mooney Mr. Paulo CASTILHO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of Portugal to the Council of Europe F- 67075 Strasbourg Cedex, tel: +33 3 88 41 20 00, fax: +33 3 88 41 27 76, http://assembly.coe.int, e-mail: [email protected]