Perhaps, in some other historical and social circumstances, a period of 25 years would be insufficient to complete the picture of the media's contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights.
However, time, people and events at the turn of the millennium significantly accelerated the development of society in transition when it comes to Montenegro and when it comes to the media.
It is necessary to conclude that there is no one-sided or simple answer to such a question.
However, it seems that the awareness that the entire body of human rights must be viewed through the prism of the media's activities is growing, because in modern conditions it is difficult to talk about their realization if there is no public debate about it and if examples of human rights violations are not presented in the media.
Responsible journalism, based on professional and ethical principles, must constantly have human rights in the spectrum of its attention and its daily routine, to affirm them and encourage their protection.
For the assessment of a time and creation, the conditions under which the media are founded and operate are not without significance. At the same time, it is very difficult to talk about absolute independence, even less impartiality, because just as there are a variety of reasons and goals when media are born, so the long-term strategy of the media can have political, ideological, interest, pragmatic, economic and numerous other goals.
When it comes to human rights, that space becomes significantly narrowed and leaves very little room for different understandings of reality. This should especially be kept in mind at the time of the creation of "Vijesti", because it is about the resurrection of another important attribute of modern society, which is media pluralism in Montenegro.
In response to the question of what was the qualitative contribution of the founding of "Vijesti" in the process of creating the media scene of Montenegro at that time, perhaps things should be set in such a way that we understand what was missing in that area until then. Both then and today, the lack of media pluralism created and creates the risk of the dominance of one or more media under the influence of the same monopoly, which in the end can have the effect of suppressing what some people can or want to think, know or say.
It seems that "Vijesti" played a key role in breaking the previous monopoly on information and demystifying taboos on many topics from public life, thereby creating space for further strengthening of media freedom as an indispensable part of the concept of human rights.
Another important element has continuously characterized the past two and a half decades. This is undoubtedly information about registered violations of individual and collective human rights and freedoms.
From the point of view of institutions that directly deal with the protection of human rights, the important role of this, as well as other media, as a source of information about the violation of human rights and freedoms, but also the benefit of raising social awareness about what this violation specifically entails as the social consequence and how much damage it produces.
When it comes to human rights, it is often the case that there is not enough knowledge in the public discourse about either their form (definition) or their essence.
In that part, all this time, it was certainly noticed that there was a large media space left to theorists, pragmatists, human rights defenders, experts in certain fields, but also victims and all other relevant participants of the event who could and can play an important role in the development of the human rights system.
In short, the offer of media content in these two and a half decades has greatly helped the understanding of the importance, promotion and protection of human rights and freedoms. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that various factors obstructed these processes, and essentially marked attempts to discipline the editorial policy, which is unfortunately a frequent case in Montenegro.
When it comes to topics about human rights, such an invasive option is not only unacceptable, but most often returns like an unpleasant boomerang to the place where it started as an idea.
Affinities and circumstances certainly had and still have an influence on the determination of priorities in the candidacy of human rights topics.
It is natural that primacy is given to the topicality of current events, but one also gets the impression that no topic has been bypassed, nor is that honestly possible in Montenegro.
And precisely in this diversity and heterogeneity of society, it is not easy to maintain a kind of balance between needs and results. Summing up, it seems that vulnerable groups, i.e. different minorities (ethnic, religious, sexual), whose rights, and even more about the adversities they face, have been spent a lot of time and paper during all these years, have not been left out of focus.
Somewhere along with all the listed topics, almost as a rule, journalists remain on the sidelines.
Those who are expected to justify their hard-earned bread by pleasing everyone and not standing in the way of anyone in the pursuit of often or always conflicting interests in a deeply divided Montenegro. Those who, in addition to their position, should fear for their physical and mental integrity just because they are doing their job...
Under pressure or without it, the absence of any part of the mosaic of the media scene can leave us deprived of information, perhaps the very one that is crucial for the realization of some human right and freedom.
Media and human rights go hand in hand. If it lasts for 25 years and records continuity in attracting a large number of users of information, there is probably a good reason for that...even when it does not coincide with our individual or particular beliefs, attitudes, thoughts or simply interests.
After all, haven't we earnestly and long called for a time in which everyone will be free to say what they think, provided that it does not harm the basic substance: people and human rights...
Finally, the media's partnership with institutions that protect human rights is an important prerequisite for this and all other freedoms in a country, but only if the institutions take it seriously in time.
The author is the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms
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