EU and US to clarify whether there will be media reforms before elections in Macedonia

AJM welcomes the commitment of the EU and the US to act as facilitators in reaching the Przino Agreement and guarantors of its implementation, to continue the negotiation with the political parties for media reforms as one of the key preconditions for fair and credible elections.
AJM welcomes the statement of EU Commissioner Hahn and the MEP member of European Parliament Howitt who calls for media reforms before the parliamentary elections.
AJM considers EU/USA assessment of freedom of media in Macedonia to be objective and expects Washington and Brussels to continue insisting that the Macedonian Government creates favorable conditions for free and professional media.
With regret, we conclude that the responses that we have received from the EU and the USA regarding speculations that the international community has barging the media reforms with the Government of Macedonia in order to secure a postponement of the elections were not very clear.
The question of whether there will be media reform before 5th of June which will improve the media coverage of election campaigns and provide for fair media coverage of all parties remains unanswered.
We have no doubts that the main responsibility for the lack of media reforms falls on Macedonian parties – signatories of the Przino Agreement. However, we want to note that the EU and the US as guarantors have an important role to play in the implementation of this Agreement. With the establishment of the Council of Media Ethics where AJM played a key role, journalists and media demonstrated maturity and willingness to face responsibility for professional reporting.
However, we have never been under the illusion that media self-regulation can give the expected results if the government does not act responsibly and stops interfering in the media sector. Self-regulation cannot address violence against journalists, wiretapping of journalists, corruption of media with governments propaganda campaigns and political and partisan influence of the media regulator and public broadcaster – MRT. Because of this, we need serious reforms that will free the media from the current pressure from politics and business.
AJM will continue to work towards systematic and sustainable media reforms in conformity with the Pzino Agreement. We will use all the democratic means to convince the signatory parties and guarantors of the Agreement to pass changes in the media legislation before the elections.
In that respect, AJM has requested the support of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and other international media and freedom of expression organizations such as Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, SEEMO and others. The High Representative for Freedom of Expression of OSCE Ms. Dunja Mijatovic has been informed, in the following days, we will send the letter to EU Commissioner Hann and embassies of EU member states in Skopje and the Embassy of US in which we will demand full implementation of Przino Agreement prior to the elections.