At demonstrations, full freedom to report is as important as reporters' visibility, says OSCE media freedom watchdog
VIENNA, 27 November 2007 - The OSCE Media Freedom Representative, Miklos Haraszti, said today he welcomed negotiations by police and the journalistic community in Hungary to establish a joint policy on the handling of the press during street protests.
"I have closely followed the debate on the rights and responsibilities of police and journalists, which was prompted by the incidents of 17 November," said Haraszti, referring to the arrest of two journalists at an unauthorized demonstration in Budapest. "This new effort at a dialogue represents an important step."
He said he appreciated that Freedom House Europe, a non-profit organization promoting democracy, had proposed that police use recommendations developed by his office on the handling of the media during demonstrations.
"However, the OSCE recommendations, issued by my office in June 2007, stress that the media also have special responsibilities at these events," Haraszti said.
"We call on police to guarantee the right of journalists to cover any public event, regardless whether it was authorized. We also call on journalists to visibly identify themselves as media professionals, to make sure that their reporting does not inflame the situation, and to refrain from participating in the demonstration."
"We found visibility vests, backed by proper press cards and honoured by police, to be the best-functioning practice in reporters' protection."
He added that the planned joint policy should safeguard the freedom of the media to report on all public events, while also supporting legitimate law-enforcement activities.
The recommendations can be found at //www.osce.org/documents/rfm/2007/06/25176_en.pdf