<Spy News>CPJ protected journalists
domagoj_...@yahoo.com
Alex Lupis, Europe & Central Asia Program Coordinator,
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has a decade of
experience working on human rights and press freedom
issues in the Balkans and former Soviet republics.
He has worked as a human rights monitor in Bosnia for
the Vienna-based Organization for Security & Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE); He worked in Bosnia for 18 months
conducting war crimes and human rights investigations
for the OSCE in 1996-97.
In February 2005 Alex Lupis said to Vecernji list
newspaper (Zagreb, Croatia):
"We are familiar with the newest events about POA
(counterintelligence agency) and overhearing of journalists
in Croatia. We got the information's that during 2003.
and 2004. five journalists were tracked and accused for
collaboration with foreign secret services.
After the case of journalist Helena Puljiz, and this new
affair, we conclude that some members of political elite
still preserve old communist look on independent journalism,
and with their behavior they confirm that independent
journalists are threat" - with these words Alexandar Lupis,
the counselor for Europe in Committee for journalists
protection in New York, has confirmed for Vecernji list
that in their American headquarters came official report
about problems that Croatian journalists facing with.
http://tinyurl.com/anm2l
(The affair could slow down the enter of Croatia into EU
Author: Jadranka Juresko-Kero, Vecernji list, Zagreb)
Since there were no confirmed reports whether these
independent journalists were collaborating with foreign
secret services or not, http://mprofaca.cro.net/poa.html
all comments including this one from Alex Lupis, were
echoing same stereotype generally protecting journalists and
journalism in general. Even HND, one of three organizations
of professional journalists in Croatia, strongly condemning
a failed attempt of Croatian intelligence to recruit
journalist Helena Puljiz, didn't say a word about possible
journalist recruitments by foreign intelligence agencies,
like American Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)
protested against recruiting CIA agents among (American)
journalists and members of the clergy and NGO's.
http://mprofaca.cro.net/ciapress11.html
As "Alex Lupis has confirmed for Vecernji list
that in their American headquarters came official report
about problems that Croatian journalists facing with"
so United Press International and The Washington Times
reported about problems that British MI6 agents and
informants were facing in Croatia.
Writing about Zeljko Peratovic, one of five Croatian
journalists under surveillance because of their confirmed
contacts with foreign intelligence agents, UPI / Washington
Times wrote:
"The Croatian media are abuzz about the continued
employment of a journalist reportedly outed as a MI6
(British overseas intelligence) agent and disinformation
agent. Zeljko Peratovic writes for the journal Vjesnik.
According to the media, Peratovic distributed -- and
apparently still distributes -- disinformation on the
whereabouts of Croatian Gen. Ante Gotovina to help
avoid his capture."
[...]
"Despite being unmasked by the former head of Croatian
counter-intelligence, Franjo Turek, Peratovic remains
a journalist. Croatia's President Stjepan Mesic
confirmed Peratovic's role in the Feral Tribune, issue
no. 967, which stated that six journalists, including
Gordan Malic of the Globus wire service, plus ex-police
chief Ranko Ostojic and several British diplomats
supplied misleading information to the Croatian public
that Gotovina was in Croatia.
Mesic's former national security aide, Zeljko Bagic,
warned him MI6 spies and British intelligence had
recruited a number of prominent journalists in Zagreb
to plant disinformation about Gotovina in the Croatian
media. Peratovic's alleged erratic behavior was said
to have caused his MI6 handlers some concern; several
senior MI6 officials, according to the account, wanted
him dropped immediately, but a local MI6 agent insisted
that he be retained, describing him as "an imbecile ...
but useful nevertheless."
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050113-041835-4514r.htm
Source: John C.K. Daly and Martin Sieff, UPI, Washington Times
Obviously, Alex Lupis is familiar with this part of the
story; In 2000 he was "working on a book" about investigating
war crimes in Bosnia. Interestingly, one issue he discussed
in the book was assessing / analyzing the national security
/ intelligence institutions, which is - just to use his own words
- "something human rights people generally stay away from".
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/balkans/message/936
He was Balkans policy analyst at the Soros Foundation's
Open Society Institute (OSI) in New York, a staff
member of "Forced Migration Projects" (1998)
http://www.minelres.lv/minelres/archive/10171998-20:48:37-8267.html
and manager of the FMP's Legal Policy Task Force.
Lupis was also a consultant to Human Rights Watch (HRW)
and the World Bank Institute (WBI). He speaks Russian
and a language he calls "Serbo-Croatian" and joined
the Committee to Protect Journalists in September 2000.
He was one of over 180 participants at a Bosnian Conference,
convened by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), held
in Washington, DC, on November 12-13, 1999.
A panel discussion titled "Bosnian Diaspora: What Do We Need
to Know?" was held at the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace. Discussion was facilitated by Ms. Kathleen Newland
of the Carnegie Endowment and had four panelists:
Mr. Nedzib Sacirbej, Ambassador-at-Large of Bosnia and
Herzegovina; Alex Lupis, Soros Foundation; Harold Northrop,
International Rescue Committee (IRC); and Catherine Schwering,
U.S. Department of State. Mr. Lupis spoke about the Soros
Foundation Lawyers' Project in Bosnia and human rights and
democracy in general.
On July 18, 2001, on behalf of Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) Alex Lupis testified before the
joint hearing of the International Operations and
Human Rights and Middle East and South Asia subcommittees
of the House International Relations Committee
about the state of press freedom in Central Asia.
A testimony was part of a hearing on "Silencing Central
Asia: The Voices of Dissent," held to investigate the
state of freedom and democracy in Central Asia.
According Beta news agency ("Who's charging journalists?",
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/balkanhr/message/7517
ANEM Weekly Media Update, April 5-12, 2005) Alex Lupis
has criticized Croatia and Serbia for imprisoning
journalists. Speaking for Voice of America, Lupis said
that these countries were in the group of rare European
countries in which journalists could end up in prison
for libel.
"The process of decriminalization of libel has begun
in the past decade. Some countries such as France still
treat libel as a criminal act, but these provisions of
the legislation are not practiced", said Lupis. "Few
Southeast European countries have the provisions on libel
in their criminal codes, but the courts seldom apply them.
According to our records, during last year, such cases
were recorded only in Croatia and Serbia", Lupis had stated.
On December 25 2002, when Russian environmental journalist
Grigory Pasko was convicted for treason through espionage
by the Pacific Fleet Court in Vladivostok, and taken into
custody in court and placed in detention, the Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ) called the verdict an outrage.
-- Today's ruling demonstrates that the trial of Grigory
Pasko was nothing more than a political vendetta against
a journalist who made public information that embarrassed
the Russian military but served the public, its director,
Joel Simpson said in a statement.
-- Pasko's detention is a black mark on the Russian justice
system and further undermines President Putin's stated
commitment to press freedom.
http://www.bellona.no/imaker?id=22532&sub=1
(An outrageous decision, By Jon Gauslaa, 2002-01-03)
In October 2002 the US Congress is considering
legislation that would attempt to counter efforts
by repressive governments, including those in the
Caucasus and Central Asia, to restrict public access
to information. The measures focus on electronic
media, noting that "unrestricted access to news and
information on the internet is a check on repressive
rule by authoritarian regimes around the world."
Media watchdogs characterize the proposed US
legislation as "helpful," but stress that laws would
need accompanying support for journalists in order
to advance freedom of _expression in the Caucasus and
Central Asia, and elsewhere.
On October 2, United States Representatives Christopher
Cox (R-California) and Tom Lantos (D-California)
introduced the Global Internet Freedom Act, a bill
aiming to frustrate foreign governments' efforts
to censor Internet use. Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) and
Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) introduced a companion bill in
the Senate eight days later; both bills are sitting
in committees while members of Congress campaign
before November elections.
"This legislation will definitely be helpful in
protecting the free flow of information," said
Alex Lupis, Europe and Central Asia program coordinator
for the Committee to Protect Journalists.
"But it shouldn't replace or lessen US support for
independent journalists because unless they feel safe
they won't publish critical information on the Web."
http://gvnews.net/html/MiddleEastNewsletter/local15.html
In the case of five Croatian journalists indicted
by the ICTY for contempt of the court (ICTY already
releases arrest warrant for one of them)
http://mprofaca.cro.net/haag_novinari.html
Alex Lupis and CPJ are just "monitoring this ICTY case".
To Mr. Lupis "One crucial issue here is that it is not
yet clear what kind of penalty the prosecutors or judges
are seeking against the journalists. Seeking some sort
of financial penalty is how such conflicts are handled
in Western courts. But if the prosecutors or judges seek
a prison sentence, it would make it an entirely different
case."
Oddly enough, to Mr. Lupis and CPJ it's not quostionable
at all whether The International Criminal Tribunal for
(war crimes commited in) Former Yugoslavia is entitled
to try journalists or not; As he wrote to me - "We are
trying to get more information from the Tribunal about
the kind of penalty they are seeking and hope they will
be more forthcoming. That information will help clarify
the status of this case".
Mario Profaca
*****
Grigory Pasko was arrested in November 1997 and
acquitted by the Pacific Fleet Court in July 1999
of treason charges, but found guilty of abuse of
office. He appealed the verdict seeking a full
acquittal, but so did the prosecution insisting
he was a spy. Russia's Military Supreme Court
cancelled the verdict and sent the case back to
a re-trial in November 2000. The re-trial started
on July 11, 2001 and ended on December 25, with
Pasko being acquitted on nine out of ten charges,
but still sentenced to four years. Both sides
have appealed the verdict. It may take many months
before the appeal case will be heard.
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