ZAGREB, May 17 (Hina)- The Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (HHO) in cooperation with the Croatian Journalists' Society (HND) on Friday began a seminar on the "Right of the Public to Know and Limits to Free Access to
Information", consisting of a series of lectures to conduct preparations for a new law on the Right to Information.
ZAGREB, May 17 (Hina)- The Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human
Rights (HHO) in cooperation with the Croatian Journalists' Society
(HND) on Friday began a seminar on the "Right of the Public to Know
and Limits to Free Access to Information", consisting of a series of
lectures to conduct preparations for a new law on the Right to
Information. #L#
The sponsor of the two-day HHO seminar and further activities and to
propose the new law, is the Council of Europe and Article XIX - an
international organisation involved with promoting freedom of
public speech.
Electing their government, citizens did not give public servants
the right to decide what is good and not for the public to know, Bozo
Novak, the president of a newly founded HHO Media Committee, said.
He estimated that the new coalition government had a positive
approach to promoting freedom of the press, but changes in this
field were only partial and too slow.
Deputy Prime Minister Zeljka Antunovic said that the government was
dissatisfied with the way the press covered government activities
and one measure to improve cooperation with the media was the
adoption of a new regulation on access to information by the media
which will oblige all government bodies and institutions.
All participants at the seminar agreed that all information must be
accessible to the public except if it was to protect state security
or privacy which must be precisely regulated by law.
HND President Dragutin Lucic said that Croatia's media legislature
was drawing closer to European standards, but in practise it was
ambiguous particularly with regard to the judiciary.
(hina) sp sb