NGO group: We hoped that Pušić would simply apologize to Lejla Kašić

Several non-governmental organizations told Antoni Pušić that he could have simply and humanely apologized to Lejla Kašić instead of issuing a long and, as they stated, contradictory statement.

In the joint statement of the NGO group, it is stated that they hoped that the musician would "simply apologize" to Kašić "at least for the sake of the generations of young people to whom he is a role model".

The statement, signed by the Center for Women's Rights, Action for Human Rights, Civic Alliance, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Juventas, Association Parents, Association of Young People with Handicap, SOS Telephone for Women and Children Victims of Violence Nikšić, SOS Telephone for Women and Children victims of violence Podgorica Center for Roma Initiatives and LGBTIQ Association Spektra we broadcast in full.

"We carefully read Antoni Pušić's reaction to allegations of his sexual harassment of the producer of the TV show "Dnevnica", Lejla Kašić. We hoped that he would say the right thing, when he had already done the wrong thing, and that he would simply apologize, if not for his personal responsibility towards the woman whom he badly insulted with his behavior, then at least for the sake of the generations of young people for whom he is a role model, because of which we are obliged to be better and to take responsibility for our behavior, even when we are ashamed of it.

Instead, we got a statement that denies the victim of unacceptable behavior and that unscrupulously demonstrates the "cancel culture" that the author warns against. By justifying the refusal to apologize to the victim of his unacceptable behavior by disqualifying her as a person who "needs treatment", "who over-oils", "who flirts", he, unfortunately, justifies violence towards the "unworthy" and does the same as they did before him known bullies. It is irrelevant whether they are unworthy "lunatics", "women who overmarry", "fags"... the principle of justifying violence - for which there is no justification - remains the same.

It is especially irresponsible to justify violence towards anyone ("a man would have fared worse in her place") with personal dissatisfaction, specifically, with his own decision to accept participation in the show. This is especially so if it is common knowledge that the media and health institutions are full of victims of all kinds of violence, domestic, peer and institutional, against which we, as a state and society, are all obliged to fight.

It is symptomatic that he expressed his dissatisfaction with the show in which he agreed to participate, not to its editor - a man, but to the producer - a woman, and in a very strange and absolutely unacceptable way.

"Instead of a long and contradictory statement, he had to and could have simply and humanly apologized to the young person he tried to humiliate with his behavior," the statement reads.