State officials in Serbia, supported by pro-government media, continue with unfounded attacks, pressures and targeting of media operating within United Media, announced the UM.
According to reports, the latest appearances by the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament and former Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Media Adviser to the President of Serbia Suzana Vasiljević and the owner of the pro-government tabloid Informer Dragan J. Vučićević, in the show Hit Tweet on the pro-government TV Pink, are the culmination of a multi-year, almost decade-long campaign to independent media, and especially N1 and Nova, present themselves as enemies of the state.
"This campaign, as a rule, is intensified in periods of social crises that these media report on. What is particularly worrying is that the representatives of the authorities and media sympathetic to them try in every way to normalize the targeting of independent media, presenting them as political subjects, organizers of non-existent state also hits subversive elements, and that only and exclusively because they report in the public interest and about things that are not mentioned, even on the public service. theses about the threat of the state. Ana Brnabić is particularly active in these attacks, who, just a few days ago, stated that she is working on the full implementation of the ODIHR recommendations. We can say with certainty that this does not refer to the fulfillment of duties in terms of protecting the safety of media workers'", the statement added.
Instead of refraining from incendiary and toxic speech and condemning threats, pressures and intimidation of independent journalists and media, Brnabić, who is the president of the Serbian Parliament, directly threatens their safety, the UM reports.
"The state of media freedom in Serbia is stated in numerous relevant reports, such as the already mentioned ODIHR and Reporter without Borders, where Serbia ranked penultimate in Europe and 98th in the world in terms of media freedom, with a constant decline from year to year. officials do not even care about EU recommendations, which have been repeating for years not only that high-ranking officials must refrain from labeling and verbally attacking journalists, but also publicly condemn such behavior, which is, after all, an obligation prescribed by the Constitution and media laws," the statement said. is.
United Media has been warning for years about the dangerous consequences of the continuous campaign against journalists of the independent media N1 and Nova by state officials.
"We called on them to provide normal conditions for the work of all media within their jurisdiction. However, it is obvious that those who lead the verbal attacks, pressures and targeting of professional media cannot be protectors of freedom of expression and have a positive effect on changing the climate, i.e. establishing environment for media freedom," the UM statement added.
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