"State propaganda is another hybrid threat not only to countries in our region, but also to the whole of Europe. We are witnesses to how the state scale of propaganda is used in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine in order to achieve clear political objectives, to provoke a further escalation of the conflict and lead to the vulnerability of the society," stressed the head of the Lithuanian diplomacy.
Lithuania's Foreign Minister welcomed the report on propaganda and media freedom, which the OSCE Representative presented in 2015. The report analyses the threats of propaganda and gives recommendations to the OSCE participating States concerning the fight against propaganda.
"This document provides a very solid framework to start a serious debate at the OSCE level. I hope that the fight against propaganda will become a permanent item on the political agenda of this organization. Tangible results can be only achieved through a coordinated effort to identify the most effective ways to ensure alternative information sources, to set high standards of a fair media coverage and to maximise independence and transparency of media funding," noted Linkevičius.
Lithuania's Foreign Minister also voiced his support for the activities of the Office of the OSCE Representative and for increasing its independence and autonomy, and thanked Mijatović for her principled position in defence of the principles of freedom of expression and free media, also for her help to initiate the discussions on the decriminalisation of insult and defamation in Lithuania.
In the meeting, Linkevičius noted that during Lithuania's non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council in 2014-2015, the country had placed its primary focus on the safety of journalists and media freedom. According to Lithuania's Foreign Minister, Lithuania will continue to dedicate a lot of attention to these issues for the next four years during its membership of UNESCO's Executive Board.
On 2 February, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media is taking part in the regional conference "Propaganda and Freedom of Expression" in Vilnius. The conference was organised by the Lithuanian Union of Journalists, the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania, the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
The conference is attended by journalists from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine.
During the event, Mijatović received an award of the Lithuanian Union of Journalists for outstanding merits in journalism and for her significant contribution to freedom of expression around the world.
