Brussels, 06/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - On 3 March the Portuguese Presidency published the following declaration (unofficial translation):
"The European union is seriously concerned with the continued violation by the Serbian authorities of the right of free expression of opinion. The public threats against the Independent media show that the regime pursues an arbitrary and discriminatory policy to clamp down on independent voices. The recent case of the indictment of Mr. Dusan Mihajlovic, president of the New Democracy Party, for alleged spreading false information and disrupting law and order is the latest in a long series of attempts by the Serbian authorities to muzzle freedom of speech.
The European Union reiterates its fundamental belief that the exercise of freedom of expression is one of the cornerstones of democracy and that the Serbian people should be allowed to freely express its political will."