Concern over the conflict in Bulgarian state radio

VIENNA, 27 March 2001 - On 21 March, Bulgarian police entered the premises of Bulgarian National Radio and barred the station's journalists from their studios. The journalists were protesting the appointment of a new Executive Director who they believed to be politically biased. On 22 March, seven journalists, including the protest leaders, were dismissed. Today, Freimut Duve, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, was informed that other journalists also feared for their jobs.

Freimut Duve has already intervened with the country's Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova and expressed his concern over the current state of the conflict at the radio station. He once again would like to reiterate the need for a open dialogue on the future of public broadcasting in Bulgaria. He urges the relevant authorities to avoid taking any further repressive measures against the journalists.

For more information contact the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, tel.: +43-1-512 21 45 - 0, fax: +43-1-512 21 45 - 9, e-mail: pm-fom@osce.org