Kerem Lawton

Serbia's ruling reformist coalition, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia, (DOS), struggled to come to terms with the legacy of corruption and extreme nationalism left by a decade of rule under former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Political division in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, powerful organized crime groups, and political apathy kept the conflict-ridden DOS coalition on the brink of collapse after the assassination of the prime minister in March.

Fighting between the Macedonian government and ethnic Albanian rebels seeking increased civil liberties escalated throughout the year, pushing the country to the edge of civil war. Unprofessional reporting and outright hate speech by both ethnic Macedonian and ethnic Albanian journalists played a central role in radicalizing their respective communities and polarizing the political atmosphere.

The revolutionary political changes of late 2000 and early 2001 that ousted former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ended a decade of repression for Yugoslavia's independent journalists. But after a year in power, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), which replaced Milosevic, failed to enact needed reforms in media-related laws. And while the DOS proved far less heavy-handed than Milosevic, its leaders have not hesitated to apply more subtle pressures on independent media that do not embrace DOS policies.

New York, January 3, 2002--A total of 37 journalists were killed worldwide as a direct result of their work in 2001, a sharp increase from 2000 when 24 were killed, according to CPJ research. At least 25 were murdered, almost all with impunity.

The dramatic rise is mainly due to the war in Afghanistan, where eight journalists were killed in the line of duty covering the US-led military campaign and a ninth journalist died of wounds sustained there two years ago. This was the highest death toll recorded for a single country since 1999, when 10 journalists were killed in Sierra Leone.

Nueva York, 3 de enero de 2002 -- Un total de 37 periodistas fueron asesinados en todo el mundo como resultado directo de su labor en el 2001, un brusco incremento en relación con el año 2000, cuando 24 fueron asesinados, según las investigaciones del Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas (CPJ, por sus siglas en inglés). Por lo menos 25 de ellos fueron asesinados, casi todos con impunidad.

El dramático aumento se debe principalmente a la guerra en Afganistán, donde ocho periodistas murieron cumpliendo su deber al cubrir la campaña militar encabezada por los Estados Unidos, y un noveno periodista murió de heridas que recibió en ese país hace dos años. Este es el mayor saldo de víctimas que se haya registrado en un solo país desde 1999, cuando 10 periodistas fueron asesinados en Sierra Leona.

New York, March 29, 2001 --- CPJ deplores the death of a British journalist this morning in the Kosovo village of Krivenik, near the Macedonian border.

Kerem Lawton, 30, a British national and producer for Associated Press Television News, died from shrapnel wounds sustained when a shell struck his car. At least two other civilians are feared dead in the attack, and at least ten others were injured.