State Must Protect Freedom of Expression and Media

Centar za razvoj neprofitnog sektora

The participants of the Media in Crisis Situations round table discussion, held yesterday, February 28, in Belgrade, demand from the President and Prime Minister of Serbia to condemn officially the violence in Serbia and to take all legal measures and activities to provide for the security and rights of citizens, as well as unimpeded work of the media.

The representatives of print and electronic media are aware that Kosovo`s declaration of independence got Serbia into one of the most serious crisis in its recent history, but that the expected and understandable protests escalated into manifestations that threaten the right of citizens to normal life and work and threaten to lead the country into anarchy.

- Over the past several weeks, journalists and media companies are directly exposed to physical violence and verbal abuse. Seven and a half years after the democratic changes in Serbia, the journalists are again accused of lacking patriotism, grand treason even, just for doing their job and offering timely and impartial information, states the request sent to the highest offices of Serbia, listing numerous cases of threats and attacks against reporters and journalists of Serbian and foreign media.

The participants asked President Tadic and Prime Minister Kostunica to invest their efforts to stand for protection of journalistic profession and sanctioning of all perpetrators of physical attacks on journalists.

-The truth can be unpleasant, but journalists should not be punished for doing their job, say the media.

At the same time, 44 NGO condemned the latest statement by Minister of Infrastructure Velimir Ilic, which is a direct incitement to violence against political opponents, primarily the Liberal Democratic Party of Ceda Jovanovic.

The nongovernmental organizations demanded from the Public Prosecutor to start legal procedures against Ilic and to investigate the Government�s responsibility for its involvement in the attacks.

- We demand from the President of Serbia to react and take clear position on increasingly frequent cases of incitement to violence, says the letter the NGOs sent to all relevant institutions of the state, international organizations and members of the diplomatic corps stationed in Serbia.