Macedonia Fails to Decriminalize Libel

Photo by: Balkan Insight

The bill, which aimed to remove slander and libel as criminal offences, was filed by a small opposition party, the Liberal Democrats.

MPs from the ruling centre right VMRO DPMNE and the Democratic Union for Integration abstained from the vote, saying that they are not against decriminalization in principle but that the motion was simply an opposition marketing act.

“It is encouraging that none of the parties rejected the idea outright. I hope that we will close this issue by the end of March through [ongoing direct] talks with the government,” says Naser Selmani, the head of the Journalists' Association, ZNM.
 
ZNM put this issue at the top of its agenda in October last year when it started a round of talks with government ministers on media grievances, set to resume this year. However, so far both sides have not reached agreement on any of the issues raised.

The proposed bill to decriminalize slander and libel, which originally went before parliament in November, was welcomed by many Macedonian journalists.

There are a significant number of ongoing criminal cases against journalists in Macedonia, a situation that observers say represents a serious problem for the media- hindering free speech and encouraging a culture of self-censorship.

The OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, noted during a visit to Macedonia in late October that more than 100 ongoing cases of slander were being waged in the courts against journalists.

Last summer, following the closures of several critically inclined media outlets, a number of international media watchdogs voiced concerns about media freedom in Macedonia.

The European Commission’s annual report on the country, issued in autumn 2011, made the same point, noting "intimidation of journalists and selective enforcement of legislation against media companies" as an "increasing cause for concern".