Naujienos

Dear Participants of the Conference,

Life is no longer imaginable without newspapers, the Internet, radio and television. Knowledge and information, more than any other, disseminated in different ways and in various forms have a tremendous impact on the self-awareness of all the citizens of the world and on international relations.

Even before the reestablishment of Lithuanian independence, journalists across the globe contributed immensely – by promoting and consolidating democratic values – to ensuring that the freedom of Lithuania was not threatened. Each of you – your professionalism, ability to uncover and tell the truth, raise most sensitive problems, mobilize society, and discuss the most painful topics – has helped create a more civic-minded, self-conscious and just Lithuania. I know you are doing this vitally important work in other countries, too.

I am very happy that Lithuania as chair country of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has decided to discuss such an important and, at the same time, complicated issue as the safety of journalists. The number of threats to journalists and media professionals has been growing in recent years. Many of them were arrested, persecuted, murdered, or subjected to media restrictions.

Often, we fail to realize that if one journalist is victimized, all of us are victimized because the journalist’s message cannot reach us.

If we could make our journalists feel safe and secure, we would ensure the rights of all our citizens to the freedom of information and, of course, the right of the media to do its work without fear. It is a duty of governments and societies to make sure that all citizens can exercise their rights and freedoms and that those who attempt to violate them are punished immediately.

However, violence against journalists and against the free word and pluralism may take any other than physical form. The freedom to publish impartial and timely information is limited by political ideologies, business interests and, even more frequently, by corruption. This happens because groupings are formed which do not want to and cannot accept the truth and also because of the fact that the truth is not always simple or straightforward.

We are used to having and we wish to always have swift and best quality information from the hot spots and far-away countries or about the covered-up illegal processes in our countries. Therefore, we should respect and be proud of those who take the risk searching for the truth even when their life, health or dignity is jeopardized.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish this discussion to bring the journalist community together, make its solidarity stronger, encourage it speak up openly and loudly about the real situation in the media, mobilize and unite not only journalist organizations, but also the academic community, media experts and international institutions responsible for informing the society, and jointly explore the solutions to strengthen the OSCE media space.