Summary: 27 September 2007, Brussels - The European Union expresses its deep concern on the situation of the freedom of the media and on the increasing threats faced by journalists in Somalia.
Since January 2007, seven journalists have been murdered, while others have been intimidated and forced to leave the country.
Last week's events - the attack perpetrated against Radio Shabelle and the forced interruption of its broadcast - have illustrated that the right to freedom of expression in Somalia faces serious threats, which the European Union condemns. Freedom of expression and opinion is a fundamental human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration and should be a crucial factor for genuine reconciliation and consolidation of peace in Somalia.
The European Union urges the Somali authorities to investigate the crimes committed against journalists and to uphold the necessary conditions to allow the media to do its work.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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