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Alert

SEEMO alarmed at recent attack upon newspaper's director

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is a 3 September 2007 letter by the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate:

H.E.
Filip Vujanovic
President of Montenegro
By Fax: +381 81 245 849

H.E.
Zeljko Sturanovic
Prime Minister of Montenegro
By Fax: +381 81 242 329

H.E.
Jusuf Kalamperovic
Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro
By Fax: +381 81 246 526

Vienna, 3 September 2007

Your Excellencies,

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is alarmed at the recent attack on a director of a newspaper in Montenegro.

According to information before SEEMO, on 1 September 2007, during the early morning, Zeljko Ivanovic, founder and director of the daily "Vijesti" from Podgorica, was beaten by three unknown assailants near a restaurant, where the newspaper had celebrated its 10th anniversary.

SEEMO is deeply concerned about the attack. We ask Your Excellencies to ensure an immediate investigation into this case, to take all necessary legal steps to find the perpetrators, and to protect the life of Ivanovic.

We would also like to remind Your Excellencies that Dusko Jovanovic, director of the daily "Dan" was killed on the night of 27 May 2004 in front of the newspaper's editorial office in Podgorica. The murderer or murderers of Jovanovic remain free. Last year, on 24 October 2006, Jevrem Brkovic, a leading novelist in Montenegro, was attacked by masked assailants, while his driver Srdjan Vojicic was shot dead, close to the place where Ivanovic was recently attacked.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Vujovic
SEEMO Secretary General