The round table ‘War crimes and the media: the possibility of establishing trust' was held in the Mediacentar Sarajevo on 27 and 28 February. The participants included prominent individuals from the media and non-governmental sectors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro. The round table also included the BiH screening of the documentary about the destruction of Vukovar entitled 'Posljednji rez' (The Last Cut) and the presentation of the recently finalised report on the media coverage of war crimes trials in all three countries. The round table was organised by the Transitions Online (the Internet magazine for the area of 28 former Communist countries of South-Eastern Europe). This was the first of the three two-day events focusing on war crimes and the media that the Transitions Online have planned for this year.

The round table ‘War crimes and the media: the possibility of establishing trust' was held on 27 and 28 February and the participants included journalists and editors from the media and the representatives of the non-governmental sector from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro.

The round table included the screening of the documentary about the destruction of Vukovar 'Posljednji rez' (The Last Cut) by Drago Hedl. This documentary is the first attempt at an all-inclusive film story on Vukovar, which includes participants in the events, persons who took direct part in the tragic Vukovar events, as well as sections of documentary footage made public for the first time.
The documentary was directed by Janko Baljak and produced by the television B92.
The round table programme included the screening of a 40 minute tape of the 'Scorpions' executing Srebrenica civilians near Trnovo and the presentation of the recently finalised report on the media coverage of war crimes trials in all three countries. The report is expected to be made public after March 20.
The round table covered the most topical discussions with the top input speakers. Some of the round table topics included:- The transparency of the war crimes trials in the region - Experiences from the other countries regarding re-establishment of trust - News media and crimes - The role of the non-governmental sector in the process of trust re-establishment - The role of politics and the media in the process of trust re-establishment- The manipulation of victims- Possibilities for re-establishing trust in the region.

The input speakers and facilitators of the roundtable included: Nataša Kandić, the executive director of the Fund for the Humanitarian Law; Drago Hedl, Feral Tribune assistant editor-in-chief; Marijana Grandits, director of Working Table I of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe and professor of the European Masters Programme in Venice; Sonja Prostran, a member of the reporting team 'Youth initiatives for human rights', under the auspices of the OSCE Mission in Serbia and Montenegro; Zlatko Dizdarević, BH journalist and a diplomat; Mirsad Tokača, the president of the Centre for research and documentation; and Refik Hodžić, producer from the XY Films.
This was the first of the three two-day events focusing on war crimes and the media that the Transitions Online (www.tol.cz) have planned to organise this year in the Mediacentar Sarajevo.
In the course of the year, the participants of the round table discussions will attempt to engage in practical activities aimed at the establishment of the mutual trust in BiH, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the wider region.
The project was supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the US Institute for Peace (USIP).
Project was hosted by the Centre for investigative reporting and media education of the Mediacentar Sarajevo.