Kosovo Serbs say rights to information being infringed

BBC Monitoring, January 23, 2006

 

Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet

 

Belgrade, 17 January: The Coordination Centre for Kosovo-Metohija stated today that the decision by the OSCE temporary media commissioner in Kosovo-Metohija, Robert Gillette, which had brought the broadcasting of [Zvecan-based] TV Most programmes in the province in question, was erroneous, and asked the authorized temporary bodies to reconsider it.

 

"The facts indicate that there has been an extremely small number of electronic media since 1999 which broadcast programmes in Serbian in this area. Reducing their number further additionally endangers one of basic [human] rights - the right to information, education and culture in maternal language," the statement said.

 

The Coordination Centre warned that an upsetting message had thereby been sent to Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija and that such an act was contradictory to the obligation of fulfilling the Standards for Kosovo-Metohija, adopted by the international community, among which is development, and not closing down media in national minorities' languages in the southern province.

 

Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1751 gmt 17 Jan 06