October 22, 1999
His Excellency Zivko Radisic
Republika Srpska Member of the Bosnia-Hercegovina Presidency
Fax: 011-387-78-212177
His Excellency Milorad Dodik
Prime Minister
Republika Srpska
Fax: 011-387-78-30103
Your Excellencies,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by today’s violent attack against Zeljko Kopanja, the founder and chief editor of Nezavisne Novine,the largest independent Serb daily in Bosnia-Hercegovina.
The 45-year-old Kopanja lost both his legs when a car bomb exploded in front of his home in Banja Luka at around 8 a.m. today, while the journalist was on his way to work. The bomb detonated when Kopanja opened the door of his car.
Kopanja won international praise recently for publishing the first detailed accounts of Serb war crimes against Bosnian Muslims to appear in Bosnian Serb media. Nezavisne Novine’sfirst article on the subject argued that the atrocities were part of a premeditated campaign of ethnic cleansing against Muslims and other non-Serbs.
The piece also questioned why local authorities had failed to investigate and prosecute suspected war criminals, apparently prompting the republic’s prosecutor to reopen his investigation into the atrocity allegations. In a follow-up article published one week later, the paper quoted testimony from witnesses at the Hague war crimes tribunal.
As a nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending the rights of journalists around the world, CPJ condemns the attempted murder of Zeljko Kopanja for practicing his profession. The attack only serves to heighten the climate of fear and self-censorship among journalists in the Serb republic of Bosnia-Hercegovina.
We remind your excellencies of your international obligations to safeguard press freedom and to ensure the universally-recognized right of journalists to practice their profession freely and safely. We urge you to investigate this incident thoroughly and to punish those found responsible.
Thank you for your attention. We await your comments.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Join CPJ in Protesting Attacks on the Press in Bosnia
Send a letter to:
His Excellency Zivko Radisic
Republika Srpska Member of the Bosnia-Hercegovina Presidency
Fax: 011-387-78-212177
His Excellency Milorad Dodik
Prime Minister
Republika Srpska
Fax: 011-387-78-30103