Essential freedom of the media does not exist in Montenegro, and every political elite needs to discipline journalists.
This is what the interlocutors of "Vijesti" said, among other things, yesterday, on the International Day of Combating Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.
Deputy President of the Commission for Monitoring the Actions of Competent Authorities in Investigations of Cases of Threats and Violence Against Journalists, Murders of Journalists, and Attacks on Media Property Zoran Miljanic He told "Vijesta" that "there have been no serious attacks on journalists in the last two and a half years".
"We can say that thanks to the police and the prosecutor's office, all attacks on journalists were prosecuted. Perpetrators and convicts were deprived of their liberty and were mostly sent to serve their sentences. "Unfortunately, the Government Commission is dragging its tails from the previous period... As you know, Montenegro is a subject in both the European Commission and the USA precisely because of the uninvestigated attacks on journalists," said Miljanić.
He emphasized that the previous government commission brought to light many cases of attacks on the media.
"In every case, the commission and the teams within it dealt thoroughly. Thanks to her efforts, there was a change in the acting prosecutor in the case of the murder of the editor-in-chief of "Dana". Duško Jovanović, from which we expect the results of the work. The commission also found that there are many moments that are not investigated enough or at all. Therefore, there is room for further work... I believe that, so far, we have done the work in a good, correct and valid way, and I hope that the conclusion, or rather the end of that story, will be the prosecution of the perpetrators and those who gave orders. The prosecution needs to fulfill the recommendations it received from the commission, and lately there has been progress, unlike the previous period when we did not have a real partner in the prosecution," said Miljanić.
Media Syndicate: Mainly online threats this year
The media union told "Vijesta" that they had recorded 13 cases of attacks on journalists.
"It is mostly about online threats, which have become more relevant in recent years. For the sake of comparison, last year we recorded as many as 28 cases, and there were physical attacks and threats to life. Our expectations are that when the amendments to the Criminal Code, which provide for higher prison sentences for attackers of journalists, will fully take effect, the number of attacks will be even lower or will stop completely," said the Media Syndicate.
Secretary General of the Association of Professional Journalists (DPNCG) Mila Radulović she assessed that political responsibility for the impunity of attacks on journalists should be borne by the government.
"This creates a sense of fear, so many colleagues, victims of attacks and threats, have withdrawn from investigative journalism, and some have police protection. Some are undergoing security checks. Part of the media strategy, which was adopted by the previous government, also contains provisions that should improve the investigation of attacks and responsibility for previous failures, but as we know, this depends on the political and judicial elites", said Mila Radulović.
As she said, the DPNCG has long insisted on the responsibility of prosecutors for omissions, especially "in the most difficult cases, such as the murder of the editor-in-chief of 'Dan' Duško Jovanović, attacks on Oliver Lakić, Tufik Softić i Mladen Stojović".
"We are not forgetting the new cases of obstructing the proceedings in the case Sead Sadiković, opening proceedings against Duško Mihailović, neglecting the case Dragan Šćepanović. A serious problem, the solution of which the state is not working on, is the pursuit of journalists by phantom portals, which the prosecutor's office ignores. This is evidenced by the recent case of Dragana Šćepanović, whose security assessment we requested. She has been the target of the yellow portal for more than a year, which is obviously not a concern for the prosecutor's office because they are referring us to a private lawsuit," said Radulović.
Sanctions must be stricter, the government must understand that journalists are the control
Director of RTV Nikšić and journalist Nikola Markovic he assessed that in our country we cannot talk about the essential freedom of journalists until the cases of murders and serious attacks on media workers are solved.
He warned that political elites still need to discipline journalists and the media.
"Every political elite that gets into a position to exercise power has the need to discipline journalists and the media," said Marković.
According to him, every government must understand that critical media are the wealth of society.
Director of the Media Center Goran Đurović he assessed that attacks on journalists must be "severely sanctioned if we want to live in an environment that encourages the work of the media".
"If journalists feel any kind of pressure and fear of the consequences of their reporting, the media cannot be expected to fulfill their function in society. The role of all state institutions is to demonstrate their willingness to protect journalists, and this can best be proven by revealing the perpetrators of the most serious crimes against the media," said Đurović.
Representatives of the Center for Civic Education (CGO) announced that the ruling political structures must refrain from trying to control and influence the work of journalists and the media.
"Competent institutions are obliged to provide basic conditions for the work of media workers, including the protection of their safety. Even before the political changes in 2020, the CGE pointed out the importance of establishing a safer environment for the work of all journalists in Montenegro", said the CGE.
The decision to establish this day was made by the United Nations in 2013. On that day, all governments in the world are called to account for the impunity of attacks on journalists.
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