27. 04. 2014

JOURNALISTS MUST FEEL FREE

Belgrade, 27. 04. 2014 (B92) - Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić said in his inaugural speech that the government will be committed to the protection of freedom of speech and the continuation of the investigation and solving of the murders of journalists.

"Even though I sometimes do not like the questions I am asked and get terribly upset when I see in the morning what they write, journalists must be free to explore and investigate things that interest them. This is the foundation of media freedom," said Vučić in his inaugural speech before the Serbian Parliament.

He said that in the past two years freedom of speech and media freedom have improved and that international organizations such as the Freedom House have noted that Serbia has moved up 20 places concerning these issues.

He said that journalists in Serbia must feel that they are "free to roam and explore whatever they want without any fear." Vučić announced that three media laws that will be harmonized with the EU will be adopted soon.

"I want reporting to be free and when you find out something and when you complain about something you have no right to influence the media. Public service broadcasters should be the leaders of free information and a locomotive when it comes to educational and cultural programs. We wish to make possible the independence of public service broadcasters," said the Prime Minister-elect.

He said that he supports the work of the Commission to investigate the murders of journalists Slavko Ćuruvija, Dada Vujasinović and Milan Pantić and thanked Veran Matić and Ljiljana Smajlović for the work in the Commission so far, for their assistance and achieved results in solving the murders of journalists.

Vučić announced that digitization will be completed within the time limit prescribed by the EU, which is 17 June, 2015. He announced that laws on the protection of whistleblowers and on advertising, in accordance with European regulations, will be passed soon.

However, on the very day when prime minister-elect Vučić stated that the new Serbian government is committed to freedom of speech, journalists` associations are protesting against the statement made by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which accused RTS of being used only for attacks against Vučić. The associations assess the statement as pressure and intimidation of journalists. They also protest against the decision by state leadership that the inauguration of the new government can be covered only by selected media - Reuters, TV Pink , Infobiro, Tanjug and by the Government and Parliament (Information) services. That decision was later changed and all media will be able to cover the inauguration.