Petition for Media Liberty in Bosnia and Herzegovina

A PETITION TO ALL CHIEF PROSECUTORS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
FOR URGENT IMPLEMENTATION OF MEASURES AND ACTIVITIES DICTATED BY LAW

 

Chief prosecutors:

  • Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Federal Prosecutor's Office, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Republic Prosecutor's Office of Republika Srpska
  • Prosecutor's Office of Brčko District, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of the Sarajevo Canton
  • Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of the Zenica-Doboj Canton
  • Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of the Tuzla Canton
  • Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of the Western Herzegovina Canton
  • Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton
  • Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton
  • Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of the Posavina Canton
  • Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of the Central Bosnia Canton
  • Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Canton no. 10

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

Recently there have been frequent attacks on the employees of media concerns, they have been verbally harassed, there have been attempts to intimidate them and otherwise target them in public. Hindering the right to free speech and obstructing media freedoms of all kinds is becoming customary in the public life of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most recent action of occupying the offices of the klix.ba portal in Sarajevo and the brutal public harassment of and threats made to the editor-in-chief of the tacno.net portal in Mostar that has even gone on in the presence of police officers, as well as an intense campaign to provoke ethnic and religious intolerance, intimidation, and hate speech through statements on several web portals with no impressum or registered address show the constant pressure being exerted on journalists of media which are not owned by the state or are not politically imposed, and these pressures are going unpunished.

We ask that you, the people most responsible for exercising the rule of law, take urgent and decisive action against the attackers, that in keeping with the law you bring them to justice, so that you ensure once and for all the freedom of the media of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that journalists are able to enjoy the rights that purveyors of the written word enjoy throughout the civilized world. This right implies freedom of thought, the ability to articulate a personal position and to write without compromise against all evils, particularly against glaring examples of fascism arising anywhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the unprecedented wave of primitive corruption that has swept the country.

Knowing how difficult and responsible your task is, and knowing that should you respond to our petition you will be exposing yourself to risks, threats and the pressures of criminal groups and individuals who stop at nothing, we, the people, the signatories of this petition, are prepared to stand with you when you show that you have the civil courage to act with integrity and do your job to its fullest extent. With your sincere engagement, ignoring pressures from political parties and other interest groups, you will confirm our belief that a critical mass of responsible people can take historic steps even in the most difficult moments and change for the better the life of an entire country.

 

Sarajevo,

 

Svetlana Broz

 

NVO Gariwo, Gabriele Moreno Locatelli 11

Civil courage

 

Civil courage is the will and ability to disobey, resist, oppose and to end by non-violent means the abuse of power by any public authority, private enterprise or individuals who deliberately neglect their duties to society or illegally use for their own advantage the levers of their political, economic or social power violating human rights – whether in the media, academic, ecclesiastical or family spheres.

 

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
Albert Einstein

 

"It is better to light the candle than curse the darkness."
Eleanor Roosevelt

 

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi

 

"We know what we are, but know not what we may be."
William Schakespeare