Meeting in Sarajevo, the High Representative and EU Special Representative, Valentin Inzko, and the US Permanent Representative to the OSCE, Ian Kelly, deplored the increasing pressures on media freedom in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“In recent weeks, there have been attempts to curtail the ability of media to report freely, accurately, and fairly from all parts of the country. Particularly alarming are efforts led by elected officials to deny certain media access to information or to influence their editorial policies,” Inzko said. Stressing that such behaviour was unacceptable in a democratic society that aspires to join the European Union, Inzko informed Ambassador Kelly that he had written to the OSCE Representative on the Freedom of Media to inform her of these concerning developments.

Speaking of the upcoming election campaign, Inzko and Kelly discussed the importance of political parties refraining from the nationalist rhetoric that had dominated previous elections. They agreed that citizens also had an important responsibility to ensure that political leaders address the issues of concern to voters. “Elected officials take decisions affecting the daily lives of citizens, and they must know that citizens will hold them accountable for their actions. This is why it is important that as many citizens as possible raise their real concerns with candidates during the election campaign, and turn out to vote this autumn,” Inzko said.