SEEMO
PROTEST
TO H.E. MILAN KUCAN, PRESIDENT,
SLOVENIA, 2 OCTOBER
2001
H.E. Milan Kucan
President
Ljubljana
Slovenia
Fax:
+386 1 478 13 57
Vienna, 2 October 2001
Your
Excellency,
The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation
(SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South
Eastern Europe,is deeply concerned about recent developments in the Republic of
Slovenia.
In particular, SEEMO is worried that more than seven months
after Miro Petek, an investigative reporter for the Slovene daily, Vecer,
was attacked in front of his house in Mezica, the attackers have still not been
apprehended.
Petek, who reports on the connection between politicians and
criminals, was attacked on 28 February. The attackers broke his nose, and his
skull, jaw and cheek-bones were fractured. As a result of the attack, he lost
his sense of smell, his eyesight is poor, and he was unable to work for five
months.
In SEEMO's opinion, the fact that the Slovene police, in a press
conference on 3 September, attacked the country's journalists for claiming that
the investigation into the case was ineffective and even blamed the media for
the inefficiency of the police, is proof that the authorities are investigating
the case in an unprofessional manner.
SEEMO urges Your Excellency to do everything in your power to find
the attackers of Petek and to ensure the safety of journalists working in
Slovenia. We also urge the authorities to end the intimidation of Slovenia�s
journalists, who have an important observer role in SEEMO, and remind you that
journalists play an essential role in any democratic society.
Yours
sincerely,
Oliver Vujovic
Secretary General
Cc: H.E. Janez
Drnovsek, Prime Minister, Slovenia (+ 386 1478 17
21)
H.E. Rado Bohinc, Minister of
Internal Affairs, Slovenia, (+ 386 1251 43 30)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
SEEMO is a regional network of
editors, media executives and leading journalists from newspapers,
magazines, radio, TV, internet, new media and news agencies in the South Eastern
European Region.
Contact:
SEEMO, Spiegelgasse 2 / 29, 1010 Vienna (AUSTRIA), Tel: (+ 43 1) 513 39 40, Fax:
(+43 1) 512 90 15, www.freemedia.at/seemo
