H. E. Václav Klaus
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
Prime Minister’s Office
Prague
Czech Republic

Vienna, 7 February 1995

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), representing editors and leading journalists from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in 89 countries, is most concerned about the proposed changes in media legislation in the Czech Republic.

We are informed that the legislature is considering a proposed law that would oblige media organizations, most notably the national news agency CTK, to publish declarations and statements by officials of the central organs of government in their entirety, and not in edited form.

We consider this proposal to be an attack by your government on freedom of the press in the Czech Republic. Full text presentations are usually issued by press departments of the respective institutions. Forcing a news agency to do this, would reduce it to this role and diminish its reputation to that of a public relations organization. Media organizations should be allowed to decide what to include as information and in which from, even if critical, this is presented. Only in this way can true freedom of expression be achieved.

Therefore, we urge you to use your utmost influence to see that this proposed legislation not take effect and to take and guarantee further steps to ensure freedom of the media in your country.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director