World Press Freedom Day, May 3, should traditionally be used to remind the Government that free access to information, media independence and investigative journalism are in serious crisis, said Milica Đokđurić, editor of media programs at NGO 35mm.
"Continuous attacks on journalists, at an economic moment when their wages are being 'eaten' by inflation every day, with a barrage of anonymous threats on social networks, when you add pressure from politicians and media owners to all of that - you get a gray picture of the needle of democracy. That's why we wonder : is there any reason to practice this profession today in Montenegro," she said.
"Today, when tolerance is flourishing again - but towards violence against journalists, when we are free to write - but what suits the minister, the prime minister, the president, the church and in the end - the prosecutor's office, we ask ourselves: does it make sense to engage in journalism in Montenegro? When instead monitoring of democracy, journalists in Montenegro have to monitor their own security, or be assigned security, when day after day in such an environment mental and physical health suffers - we ask ourselves: how can we endure doing journalism in Montenegro", he adds Đokđurić.
On World Media Freedom Day, as he says, we only celebrate that Montenegro is one step away from adopting a set of media laws. "Until then, we will use the Law on Free Access to Information, according to which authorities can declare any information secret without explanation. We remind you: when key information is out of reach of the public, the government is not transparent."
She said that NGO 35mm, through membership in bodies and negotiating working groups, of which she singles out the one for Chapter 10, confirms its commitment to the fight for fundamental media reforms and continues to contribute to the process of adopting media laws, which, they hope, will contribute to a positive opinion for obtaining Reports on fulfillment of temporary benchmarks (IBAR).
"All the questions we asked are a sarcastic review of the situation in which journalists are in Montenegro, and are actually a form of support for our colleagues who are threatened with death, who live under police escort or who are victims of harassment and intimidation because criticize the work of the officials. And most importantly, this is the day to pay tribute to those who lost their lives because of the search for the truth. If we continue to be silent about the state of the industry while the government and the authorities watch it all, we are afraid that it will take over. Silence. Attacks on journalists, fake news, politicization and polarization of the media will have the only say. And that darkness must not win," concludes Đokđurić.
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