OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: RESPONSE TO THE REPORT OF

UNCLAS STATE 111460 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV OSCE KPAO PHUM PREL SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: RESPONSE TO THE REPORT OF THE REPRESENTATIVE ON MEDIA FREEDOM, MR. MIKLOS HARASZTI ¶1. (U) Post is authorized to present the following statement at the October 29 Permanent Council meeting in Vienna. Begin text: Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, The United States is once again pleased to warmly welcome to the Permanent Council the Representative on Freedom of the Media. Mr. Miklos Haraszti. The accomplishments of you and your staff since your last appearance before the Permanent Council are truly impressive, even if their substance is deeply sobering. You deserve the gratitude of this body and of each of the participating States for your tireless efforts. Your report highlights the dangers faced by journalists, the methods of intimidation and violence used to censor and silence dissenting voices and the worrisome trend towards ) rather than away from ) the criminalization of journalism. Your report is a clarion call to action for all of us. The report you deliver today is simply stunning in recounting the level of violence directed at journalists, including violent physical assaults, stabbings, death lists, campaigns of intimidation, attempted murder and even several murders in some participating states. These are crimes visited upon those who fulfill a critical role in the democratic process. These troubling statistics are too often accompanied by case after case where authorities choose to look the other way -- no charges are filed, no perpetrators are found -- or, instead, charges are brought against the victimized journalists. You have previously cautioned against the dangers emanating from the climate of impunity that develops when these crimes remain unresolved. Your report correctly draws attention, along with physical intimidations, to the increasing use of legal intimidation by government officials and public figures. The numbers of civil lawsuits and criminal charges being brought against journalists on trumped-up charges of violating state secrets laws, for defamation or hooliganism, for "moral damages" or, as you point out, even for "defaming the honor of a village" is an unhealthy and negative trend in some participating States to use the law as a way to restrict media freedom. In the rare cases where penalties are deemed necessary to be levied upon media outlets, they should be commensurate with the offense and not simply designed to crush the outlet by "fining them out of existence." We believe it is also important to consider the impact of shifting technologies on the freedom of the media. In my country many news outlets, particularly print, are coming under financial stress with the rise of the Internet. This paradigm presents opportunities along with challenges and we need to remain vigilant on both counts that freedom of media and freedom of expression are adequately preserved. Finally, we want to express our thanks to you again, Mr. Haraszti, for your invaluable work. We know that you are in the final months of a term that has seen remarkable growth for the institution of the OSCE's Representative on Media Freedom. We urge your office to continue the extremely high quality that has been the standard of your tenure. And we will hope that your next report will bring evidence that participating States have heard your messages and taken measures to address their implementation of our shared OSCE commitments. Thank you, Mr. Haraszti. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. END TEXT CLINTON