(Hina) rml / 07.02.2005. / 14:45 MET

FIVE REPORTERS URGE INVESTIGATION INTO REPORTS THAT THEY WERE UNDER SURVEILLANCE BY POA

ZAGREB, Feb 7 (Hina) - Five Croatian journalists on Monday sent a letter to the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND), parliamentary committees on national security and human rights, and the Council for the Civilian Supervision of Intelligence Services, urging an investigation into an article from the Globus weekly saying that the Counterintelligence Agency (POA), led by its former chief Franjo Turek, had tapped their phones in 2003 and 2004 because they were suspected of participating in a media-intelligence campaign against Croatia.

Reporters Gordan Malic of the Globus weekly, Zeljko Peratovic of the Vjesnik daily, Mario Kavain of the Jutarnji List daily and Ivica Djikic of the Feral Tribune weekly said their request referred to the article of February 4 headlined "Turek's Presentation", which contained POA documents which they said constituted a grave libel on their work.

The reporters said that a POA document, published in the article under the title "Information on intelligence-media manipulation aimed at discrediting Croatia", covered their articles on investigations by the Hague war crimes tribunal, the functioning of security services etc., describing their work as "a premeditated, organised and coordinated campaign to disseminate misinformation jeopardising national security".

The reporters warned that the document bore proof that some of them, including journalist and "Jutarnji List" editor Davor Butkovic, were placed under temporary surveillance by the POA in 2003 and 2004 and that Peratovic and Boris Pavelic of the Novi List daily were also believed to have been under surveillance.

"We have therefore concluded that during the term of its former chief Franjo Turek, the POA acted unlawfully against a number of Croatian journalists to construe the monstrous 'Information on intelligence-media manipulation aimed at discrediting Croatia' and depict our articles as dangerous for national security," reads the joint request of the five journalists.

"Notwithstanding the dark past of our secret services, this kind of campaign against journalists is unprecedented," reads the request.

The journalists urged the HND, the parliamentary committees and the Council for the Civilian Supervision of Intelligence Services to respond to the latest article considering that senior government officials have denied the existence of such a presentation or that the POA acted unlawfully in this case.

They also urged the HND to inform domestic and foreign public of their case and request a response from state institutions, as well as to press charges against those responsible for the case.

According to the Globus weekly, the POA stated that the said journalists and several foreign reporters were suspected of swaying the public opinion in Croatia in collusion with individuals from foreign institutions by disseminating misinformation about the whereabouts of General Ante Gotovina, who is wanted by the Hague war crimes tribunal.

The POA document read that by doing so the reporters were discrediting Croatian institutions, exerting pressure on Croatia and slowing down its integration into the European Union.

  (Hina) rml / 09.02.2005./ 17:31 MET

MESIC: TUREK'S REPORT DID NOT CONTAIN ANY INDICATIONS OF REPORTERS BEING UNDER SURVEILLANCE

Stjepan Mesic and Dragutin Lucic

ZAGREB, Feb 9 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic confirmed on Wednesday having seen the controversial report by former Counterintelligence Agency (POA) chief Franjo Turek stating that the report did not contain any indications that reporters had been placed under surveillance and that he would have reacted if that had been the case.

Mesic made the statement at a ceremony marking the sixth anniversary of the "Fran Krsto Frankopan" Education and Training Command Centre in anwer to questions by reporters, who asked him about his relationship with Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic and the operation of secret services.

Asked whether secret services acted lawfully when they accused some reporters of intentionally misinforming the public about the case of General Ante Gotovina, Mesic declined to comment, stating only that he advocated lawful conduct.

Commenting on reports that his spokeswoman had also been under surveillance, Mesic said that he read such reports only today and that he believed secret services had no reason to place her under surveillance.

He said that he had to compare the report he was presented with and the recent media reports stating that some reporters were placed under surveillance by the POA during the term of former POA chief Franjo Turek.

Asked if he believed that reporters were intentionally misinforming the public to obstruct Croatia's integration with the EU, Mesic said that there was no such plan, but that reporters often presented unverified information.

Intelligence services are given tasks they must carry out, they are not working transparently all the time, but they must always abide by the law, Mesic said in response to a reporter's question.

Commenting on a remark by a reporter that the system was incapable of arresting Gotovina, Mesic said that he would not agree with the statement, but that the general could not be arrested if he was not in Croatia.

Croatia is criticised for not being fully credible in fulfilling that obligation, but now that we have intensified the efforts to establish the whereabouts of General Gotovina, I believe that we will be fully credible and that this will not affect our EU entry talks, Mesic said.

Mesic said that he had not demanded that Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic be replaced because of allegations that he violated laws when purchasing military trucks and because of his statement in which he described Mesic's conduct during the presidential campaign as "a tragicomic performance".

Roncevic later apologised for his statement. Asked if he had accepted the apology, Mesic said that what mattered were not apologies but the need not to interfere into one another's duties.

Members of the Council for the Civilian Supervision of Secret Services and the Committee on Home Affairs and National Security will visit the POA on Thursday to establish the authenticity of reports in the Globus weekly saying that five reporters were placed under illegal surveillance by the POA during the term of former POA chief Franjo Turek.

The chairman of the Committee on Home Affairs and National Security, Ivan Jarnjak, said this after today's session of the Committee which discussed the case. Jarnjak recalled that the Council had carried out an investigation in 2004 and established that there had been no illegal surveillance of reporters.

  Vecernji list, 09.02.2005 (19:38)

Overhearing: The affair about tracking five Cratian journalists provokes the attention and stormy reactions even in Committee for journalists protection in New York

A.Lupis: The affair could slow down the enter of Croatia into EU

Author: Jadranka JURESKO-KERO

We are familiar with the newest events about POA (counterintelligence agency) and overhearing of journalists in Croatia. We got the informations 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 comunist look on independent journalism, and with their behaviour they confirm that independent journalists are threath, 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.

Not wanting to uncover with who of this five journalists are in conntact, because they want «to protect» that person from another discomfort, Lupis said that New York Committee for journalists protection expres sorrow because Croatian government still didn' t manage to implant democratic standards of behaviour of intelligence service.

Lupis claimed that behaviour like that could have negative affect on process of integration of Croatia in EU.When he was asked to evaluate the grade of journalist freedom in Croatia, Lupis said that his Office thought that the political need of Croatian intelligence services to control independent journalists was a serious problem. Lupis emphasized that the newest affair, like the one with Helena Puljiz, sign that some politicians in Croatia think that journalists and medias should serve only to the state and the ruling party, and not to the readers. About the affair of new overhearing connected with former chief of POA, Franjo Turek, President Stjepan Mesic, said that he saw computor presentation, but there were no names of journalists given in Globus.

But, the change of Turek itself is a proof that security system didn' t work as it should have, said Mesic.

  Committee to Protect Journalists

CROATIA: Journalists demand inquiry into alleged abuses by security agency

New York, February 10, 2005 —Five independent Croatian journalists filed a petition on Monday requesting that the government investigate allegations that the Counter-Intelligence Agency (POA) tried to discredit them after they reported on sensitive war crimes issues, according to local and international press reports.

The journalists called for an inquiry after the February 4 edition of the independent Zagreb weekly magazine Globus published a POA document titled "Information on intelligence-media manipulation," which accused the journalists of working for foreign security services in order to discredit the government and impede integration with the European Union.

According to a March 2004 presentation that POA Director Franjo Turek gave to senior government officials, the agency had conducted surveillance against the journalists in 2003 and 2004 and accused them of espionage after they reported on the government's failure to arrest war criminals indicted by the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

The five journalists are: Gordan Malic of Globus; Ivica Djikic of the independent Split weekly magazine Feral Tribune; Marijo Kavain and Ivanka Toma of the independent Zagreb daily Jutarnji List; and Zeljko Peratovic of the Zagreb state daily Vjesnik.

The journalists have filed the petition with the Parliament, attorney general, and Council for the Civilian Supervision of Security Services. The council held an initial hearing on the matter yesterday.

During the 1990s, the nationalist HDZ government relied on security services to persecute independent journalists. Reformist governments since 2000 have made limited progress in changing the politicized agencies.

In October 2004, POA agents threatened and attempted to blackmail independent journalist Helena Puljiz into becoming a POA informant.

  Human Right House - Network

Croatia: Journalist wiretapped again

The special working group of the Parliamentary Committee for Internal Affairs and National Security is opening an investigation today over Croatian Counter Intelligence service (CIS). The principal cause for the investigation is the recent public address of five journalists who were the subject of secret treatment of the CIS during 2003 and 2004, under the allegation that they have deliberately published wrong information about Hague fugitive general Gotovina in order to obstruct Croatia to enter the European Union. (11-FEB-05)

The special parliamentary working group was formed after five Croatian journalists – Gordan Malic, Zeljko Peratovic, Ivanka Toma, Mario Kavain i Ivica Djikic – have sent an official request to the Croatian Journalist Association, Civic Committee for the Oversight of the Secret Services, Parliamentary Committees for National Security and Human Rights to examine the allegations from the text published in newsweek magazine "Globus", in which the author Gordan Malic claimes that the CIS was conducting a secret operation against the above mentioned journalists, accusing them of "media-intelligence operation against Croatia".

Namely, mentioned news article brings a document called "Information about media-intelligence manipulation aiming to discredit Croatia" which was presented in March 2004 to the President Mesic, Prime Minister Sanader, Minister of the Judiciary Skare-Ozbolt and Minister of the Internal Affairs Mlinaric by Franjo Turek, former director of the CIS. In short, the document of the CIS accuses the journalists for planed and coordinated misinforming, which prevented respective bodies from arresting general Gotovina.

-In my opinion the reason why the authorities in charge didn´t react upon the receival of the report from the CIS is because they were only concerned with how the report is going to look like to Carla del Ponte. – said Zarko Puhovski, the Chairman of the Croatian Helsinki Committee.

According to the CIS, except from journalists, several higher state officials also participated in the "media – intelligence operation against Croatia". Judging by the documents published in the media, the CIS permanently wiretaped Ranko Ostojic, the former Head of the Croatian police in charge of arresting general Gotovina and former spokesperson of the Ministry of the Interior Zinka Bardic.

The Civic Committee for Oversight of the Secret Services and the Parliamentary Committee for Internal Affairs and National Security will decide in the coming days whether the secret listening to the above mentioned Croatian citizens was illegal or not. However, the latest affairs related to the work of the CIS, including the "Puljiz affair", raised some serious questions about the overall situation of the Secret Services and the way they function in Croatia.

  O Sitio do Sindicato dos Jornalistas Portugal /2005/FEV/11

Jornalistas croatas querem esclarecer acusaçăo de espionagem

Cinco jornalistas croatas solicitaram ao governo do país, a 7 de Fevereiro, que investigue as acusaçőes que lhes foram feitas pela agęncia de contra-inteligęncia POA, visando desacreditá-los, na sequęncia de reportagens em que abordavam aspectos delicados relativos a crimes de guerra.

Os repórteres avançaram com o pedido depois de, a 4 de Fevereiro, a revista semanal "Globus" ter publicado um documento da POA em que os jornalistas săo acusados de espionagem para serviços de segurança estrangeiros com vista a prejudicar o governo croata e a impedir a entrada do país na Uniăo Europeia.

Em Março de 2004, o director da POA, Franjo Turek, apresentou ao governo uma exposiçăo onde se afirma que a agęncia manteve os referidos jornalistas sob vigilância em 2003 e 2004. O documento acusa os repórteres de espionagem, baseando-se aparentemente no facto de terem escrito sobre o fracasso das autoridades em deter os criminosos de guerra indiciados pelo Tribunal Penal Internacional para a Ex-Jugoslávia.

Os cinco jornalistas visados – e que querem agora ver esclarecida toda a situaçăo – săo: Gordan Malic, da "Globus", Ivica Djikic, da revista semanal "Feral Tribune", Marijo Kavain e Ivanka Toma, do diário "Jutarnji List" e Zeljko Peratovic, do diário "Vjesnik". Os cinco entregaram a petiçăo ao parlamento, ao procurador-geral e ao Conselho para a Supervisăo Civil dos Serviços de Segurança.

Denunciando esta situaçăo, o Comité para a Protecçăo dos Jornalistas (CPJ) recorda que, durante a década de 1990, o governo nacionalista HDZ deu ordens aos serviços secretos para que perseguissem os jornalistas independentes. Depois de ligeiros progressos registados a partir do ano 2000, a situaçăo voltou a agravar-se em 2004, quando agentes da POA ameaçaram e tentaram chantagear a jornalista Helena Puljiz para que ela se tornasse informadora da POA.

 fonte: Informacione senza frontiera (ISF) Firenze

Croazia: i giornalisti chiedono un’inchiesta per fare chiarezza sugli abusi degli agenti di sicurezza

12.02.05 - Cinque giornalisti indipendenti croati hanno firmato una petizione in cui chiedono al governo di lanciare un’inchiesta contro la Counter-Intelligence Agency (POA) che avrebbe cercato di screditarli dopo che erano apparsi alcuni articoli su crimini di guerra. I giornalisti avevano giŕ chiesto l’apertura di un’indagine dopo l’edizione del 4 febbraio scorso del settimanale indipendente Globus che aveva pubblicato un documento della POA intitolato "Informazioni sulla manipolazione dei media da parte dell’intelligence", nel quale si accusava i giornalisti di aver lavorato con intelligence stranieri per screditare il governo e ostacolare l’integrazione all’Unione Europea. Secondo una dichiarazione rilasciata nel marzo del 2004 dal direttore della POA Franjo Turek agli ufficiali del governo, l’agenzia avrebbe sorvegliato i giornalisti nel 2003 e nel 2004, accusandoli di spionaggio dopo aver reso pubblico che le autoritŕ non erano riuscite a catturare alcuni criminali condannati dall’Alta Corte Internazionale dell’Ex Yugoslavia. I cinque giornalisti sono: Gordan Malic del Globus; Ivica Djikic del settimanale Feral Tribune; Marijo Kavain e Ivanka Toma del quotidiano Jutarnji List e Zeljko Peratovic, giornalista del Vjesnik. I reporter hanno firmato la denuncia insieme al Parlamento e al Consiglio per il Controllo dei civili dei Servizi di Sicurezza. Negli anni ’90 il governo nazionalista HDZ aveva fatto spesso uso dei servizi segreti per perseguitare i giornalisti indipendenti. I governi riformisti che si sono avvicendati dal 2000 invece hanno fatto ben poco per cambiare la politica dell’intelligence. Nell’ottobre 2004 infine, alcuni agenti della POA hanno minacciato e ricattato la giornalista indipendente Helena Puljiz per cercare di convincerla a diventare un loro informatore.