H. E. Dr. Franjo Tudjman
President of the Republic of Croatia
Office of the President
Zagreb
Croatia

Vienna, 9 May 1996

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI) is most concerned about the case of two journalists working for an independent Croatian newspaper.

We are informed that Viktor Ivancic, editor-in-chief of the satirical and investigative weekly Feral Tribune, and Marinka Culic, a Feral Tribune reporter, were charged with criminal libel on 7 May 1996. The charges cite Ms. Culic’s article of 29 April, which was critical of Your Excellency’s plan to rebury the remains of World War II Croatian fascists alongside their victims in a joint cemetery in Jasenovac. The journalists face fines or up to three years in prison if convicted.

IPI understands that the case is the first to be brought under a new libel law passed by the Croatian parliament on 26 March. The new legislation provides for fines and jail terms of up to three years for persons who criticize the president of Croatia, the prime minister, the speaker of parliament, and the presidents of the supreme court and the constitutional court.

We regard the action taken against the Feral Tribune to be part of a concentrated effort by the government to silence the critical voice of the independent media of Croatia in the run-up to important local elections this year. The government recently imposed a US$ 2.5 million fine on Novi List , the country’s leading independent daily, for alleged tax violations, and closed an independent weekly tabloid, Panorama, on legal technicalities.

IPI; a global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organizations and news agencies in 85 countries, urges Your Excellency to ensure that all charges against the journalists of Feral Tribune are dropped and to end the campaign of harassment currently being waged against the independent media in Croatia.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director