Press freedom 2009 (Jan-Apr)

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) strongly condemns the recent physical assault on Bojan Kosanin, a cameraman of the TV production Glas Juga and KiM Radio, in Silovo/Shilovo, Kosovo ... read more

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns the recent verbal accusations levelled against the news agency Makfax by a state official in Macedonia (Republic of Macedonia/FYROM).

According to information before SEEMO, on 10 March 2009, Marjan Madzovski, Cabinet Chief of the President of the Macedonian Parliament, accused Makfax of unprofessional behaviour, inaccurate news reporting, and breaching diplomatic protocol... read more

According to information before SEEMO, on Tuesday 3 March 2009, at approximately 18:00, police stopped and searched the car of a group of journalists from the Tetovo-based Albanian-language newspaper, Shqip Media, on the outskirts of the town of Kumanovo... read more

Serbian authorities must step up their investigation into the killing of journalist and publisher Slavko Curuvija, the International Press Institute and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organisation, said today, one month before the 10th anniversary of his death... read more

The International Press Institute Monday appealed to European Commission leaders to make press freedom a priority in ongoing membership talks with Turkey amid concern over verbal attacks on news organisations and continued legal hurdles to free expression in the country.

IPI Director David Dadge held meetings with Ollie Rehn, the enlargement commissioner, and other officials to emphasize the European Union's influence in seeking reforms during membership negotiations with Turkey... read more

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned about the continuous attacks on the media in Greece.

According to information received by SEEMO, during the evening of 26 February 2009 the offices of the Athens-based newspaper Apogevmatini were attacked by a group of masked men... read more

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned about recent developments in Serbia, where constant pressure is exerted on media outlets, investigative journalism, and freedom of speech.

Political and police pressure were exerted on the staff of the daily newspaper Borba after it published allegedly confidential information about the decision of the Serbian Government to pay one million dollars in the case of Miladin Kovacevic... read more

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply concerned about the physical attack on journalist Abdulhalim Dede on 19 February while he was on-air during the morning programme, Kalimera Ellada, broadcast by the Athens, Greece-based Antenna TV.

According to SEEMO's sources, the Turkish Ziraat Bank had invited, among others, Dimitris Stamatis, Secretary General of the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace, to attend the opening of its first branch in Komotini, Thrace, Greece... read more

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply concerned over the attack on private television station TV Alter in Athens, Greece, on Tuesday, 17 February.

According to information before SEEMO, around 7:15 p.m., four armed men fired shots and threw a suspected explosive device outside the premises of TV Alter's central offices in Athens... read more

The International Press Institute (IPI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) 2 February reiterated earlier calls for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to refrain from verbal attacks on the media.

This latest call follows the 30 January assault on journalists during a public speech in which the prime minister condemned the press for being biased in their coverage of the recent Gaza conflict... read more

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute, is deeply concerned over recent death threats made against journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to information received by SEEMO, Bakir Hedziomerovic, editor-in-chief of the programme "60 Minutes", broadcast by the television channel FBiH, and one of the country's leading investigative journalists, received multiple death threats... read more

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply concerned about the current media environment in Kosovo, marked by a recent string of brutal attacks against journalists and other press freedom violations.

According to information received by SEEMO on 8 January, several journalists working for Most TV were attacked by a crowd as they were on the site of a bomb blast in Bosnjacka Mahala/ Mitrovica... read more

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute, is deeply concerned about the recent eviction of the Albanian newspaper TemA from its premises by the Minister of Economical Affairs, Genc Ruli.

According to information received by SEEMO, the Minister of Economical Affairs cancelled unilaterally and without any further notice the newspaper's 20-year-old contract for the premises... read more

SEEMO expresses concern about the exclusion of certain media by the Orthodox Church in the Republic of Macedonia / Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply concerned about efforts by the Orthodox Church in the Republic of Macedonia / Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to prevent certain media from properly carrying out their work ... read more