19. 10. 2012

ANEM PROTESTS OVER THE DISCRIMINATION OF “INSIDER” JOURNALISTS

Belgrade, October 19, 2012 - The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has strongly protested over the discrimination against journalists of TV B92, ANEM member, who were banned from attending the public joint session of the Assemblies of Municipalities Zvecan, Kosovska Mitrovica, Leposavic and Zubin Potok from Northern Kosovo, which was held in Leposavic on 18 October.

The team of journalists of the television program "Insider" - which is broadcast on TV B92 and whose latest series entitled "The ‘Patriotic' Fraud" investigates the misuse of state funds intended for assistance to the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija - was not allowed to attend the joint session of four Serbian municipalities from Northern Kosovo. A group of ten young men, who identified themselves as employees of the Cultural Center, said that they had been ordered not to let the B92 journalists enter the hall and physically prevented them from attending the session and reporting from it. During the session, which was open to the public and attended by journalists from other media, the deputies condemned, in their words, "the orchestrated campaign of some media, aimed at aimed at demonizing the Serbian people in Kosovo, especially the Serbs who live in the north of the province, all related to expenditure of state funds".

ANEM expresses its full solidarity with discriminated journalists and strongly condemns this kind of discrimination and the unacceptable practice of arbitrarily belittling serious investigative journalism as an "orchestrated campaign", while at the same time rejecting the evidence of specific abuses committed by identified individuals and claiming alleged "demonization of the Serbian people who live in Kosovo".

ANEM especially condemns the disappointing lack of professional solidarity by certain journalists who were reporting from the same event and who ignored the discrimination against their colleagues. ANEM wants to believe that media professionals will learn to recognize their mutual interests and fight to protect them, not only when their own media are directly threatened, but every time when the fundamental principles, important for the functioning of the media community, are endangered.

Lastly, ANEM urges the authorities to ensure full implementation of the Public Information Law - especially the obligation of state officials and organizations, bodies belonging to territorial autonomous provinces and local self-governments, public authorities and public companies, as well as deputies and members of assemblies, to make available to the public all information about their activities, under equal conditions for all journalists and media - instead of allowing the Law to be ignored.

ANEM President, Sasa Mirkovic