In Mostar, the 26th of January will begin with the laying of a wreath of flowers and keeping a minute of silence in remembrance of the sacrifice of the three Rai-Trieste journalists Marco Luchetta, Dario D’Angelo and Alessandro Sasha Ota, who were killed 28 years ago by a grenade while shooting a programme on the effects of war on children.
The commemoration was organised by the Italian Embassy in Bosnia-Herzegovina in conjunction with the city of Mostar to renew the sense of their commitment and reaffirm the importance of a free and professional press. At 10 a.m., on the spot where they lost their lives and where a plate commemorates them, Milenka Rustia, Ota’s widow, the Italian Ambassador Nicola Minasi, the Mayor of the city, Ljubo Beslic, and the Italian MP Marco Bergonzi, will join the families of the three journalists.
The commemoration will continue at Mostar’s City Hall with a debate on the freedom of the press and information, organised in association with the OSCE Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina within the framework of Italy’s rotating Chairmanship for 2018, which will be attended by Bruce G. Berton, the Head of the OSCE mission. The event will begin with the screening of original material shot by the three reporters on the day of their death and images taken from the documentary “Per quel sorriso” (“For that Smile”) dedicated to them by the Croatian public service TV Hrt4.
The debate, which will be open to the public, will include journalists, war correspondents, media organizations and representatives of schools, universities, NGOs and of civil society. The Italian public service TV, RAI, will be represented by two correspondents who will take part in the debate moderated by
Ena Bavčić, from Civil Rights Defenders. On the panel, there will also be the spokesperson of the local OSCE mission, Osce Željka Šulc, which is a major player in defending the freedom of the media, of education and the transparency in election processes in Bosnia Herzegovina.
