"We call on journalists to do their work professionally in accordance with codes of honour and not to succumb to political euphoria that has been in the making for years over unsettled border issues between Croatia and Slovenia," said the statement signed by the presidents of the two associations, Grega Repovz of Slovenia and Dragutin Lucic of Croatia.
The two associations reminded journalists of codes of honour and the positions of the International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists, which require impartiality and balance in reporting and a spirit of tolerance.
The state authorities of Croatia and Slovenia were asked to ensure reporters unobstructed access to the area on the Croatian-Slovene border where an incident involving Slovene journalists occurred on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the head of the northernmost Croatian county of Medjimurje, Josip Posavec, on Thursday called on the governments of Slovenia and Croatia "to immediately remove all armed men from either side of the border to calm the population living in the border area."
Speaking at a press conference in Cakovec, Posavec said that his county bordered on two countries, Slovenia and Hungary, and that it was interested in peace and cooperation and in the implementation of projects of interest to people living in the border area.
"Sveti Martin na Muri is rather gloomy today, there is fear and uneasiness. People are surprised and we are all afraid that someone will lose control and cause an incident that would have far greater consequences," the head of Sveti Martin na Muri municipality, Franjo Makovec, said at the same press conference.