[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 17 (Thursday, February 4, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MIKLOS HARASZTI

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, in my capacity as Chairman of the 
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, I am pleased to 
commend Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the 
Media, for his years of dedicated service in the cause of advancing 
freedom of expression and media. An accomplished writer and journalist 
as well as a courageous human rights activist in his native Hungary for 
decades prior to the end of the Cold War, he was elected to parliament 
in the early 1990s. Since his appointment to his current position in 
2004, Mr. Haraszti has been an outspoken champion for beleaguered 
journalists throughout the OSCE region.
  Mr. Haraszti's periodic reports have proven invaluable in tracking 
trends regarding laws, policies and practices governing freedom of 
expression and media in the participating states. He has been vigilant 
in monitoring and reporting on issues arising from the adoption of 
``extremism'' laws in a growing number of OSCE countries. The 
Representative on Freedom of the Media has likewise been a strong voice 
in calling for decriminalization of defamation and a critic of attempts 
by some regimes to restrict the Internet and new media technologies. 
Most importantly, he has responded to specific urgent situations and 
cases, including instances involving the harassment, physical attacks, 
and even murder of journalists. He has never shied away from naming 
names, he has never played favorites, and he has been a voice for those 
whom governments would like to silence.
  Next month Mr. Haraszti will conclude his service as the OSCE 
Representative on Freedom of the Media. You can write a great mandate 
for a high-level official, but if you don't appoint the right person to 
the job, you won't get results. Mr. Haraszti has been the right person 
for the right job and we have been very fortunate that he has given 6 
years to serve the greater good in the OSCE region.
  The OSCE participating States will be hard pressed to find an 
individual to match his professionalism, passion, and integrity. I join 
my colleagues at the Helsinki Commission in expressing our deep 
appreciation to Miklos Haraszti, a tireless advocate for freedom of 
expression and media, for his service and we wish him the best in his 
future pursuits.

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