The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on Georgia to lift official censorship of Russian-language media and appealed to all sides in the South-Ossetia conflict to open the doors to free reporting in the region.

“The world needs to know what is happening and we appeal to both Russian and Georgian authorities to allow media to operate and journalists to work freely”, said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. “In particular we call on Georgia to lift censorship of Russian-language media which undermines its democratic credentials and which could provoke an information battle that will exacerbate the conflict on the ground”.According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the international

Russian-language satellite network RTVi has stopped broadcasting in Georgia and according to the Moscow Times, other media such as Russian news channels Rossiya, Channel One, and NTV, as well as Web sites ending in “.ru” have been blocked as well. The IFJ has joined other press freedom groups in calling for all restrictions to be lifted.

The IFJ is also worried that much of the Russian media coverage, in particular main television networks, are under the political guidance of the Kremlin. "When journalists are not free to report independently it is inevitable that media coverage becomes partisan and adds fuel to the conflict rather than promoting wider awareness of the realities on the ground," said White.

In the conflict zone itself, the IFJ believes that the armed forces involved do not respect the civilian status of journalists and media workers as required by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738, passed in 2006.

Adding to the concerns, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, said in a statement yesterday, “It is essential that the authorities abide by international law which affirms the civilian status of reporters”. Four journalists have been killed, several have been injured and many have been prevented from working in the area by the army or the mercenaries operating in the conflict zone.

“Georgia claims to be a democratic country and Russia claims to respect international laws but in reality they seem to be paying lip service to these obligations. It is in the interest of peace, reconciliation and rights of both communities to let media work freely”, says the IFJ.

For more information contact the IFJ at +32 2 235 2200
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide