10. 03. 2015

Ombudsman reacts to postponement of B92 program

10.3.2015. (B92) - BELGRADE -- Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic has expressed great concern over the postponement of B92 TV's new investigative program because of fear for the safety of journalists.

The second episode of the Reporter series was due to be broadcast on Monday, but was postponed until further notice.

"When fear silences reporters, there is no freedom of the media, democracy has been silenced. Authorities are under obligation to effectively protect endangered journalists, and finally eliminate threats so they can continue to work and live normally," the citizens' ombudsman said on Tuesday.

Jankovic added that citizens had the opportunity to hear many times from senior officials that "no one is stronger than the state."

The ombudsman therefore expressed his belief that the state will have genuine political will and implement laws equally to all, and finally provide an environment of incentives instead of threats to freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Serbia.

Also on Tuesday, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said that the police provide protection for some B92 journalists, and that the media outlet did not inform his ministry that the program, dealing with football clubs, had been "canceled."

Speaking during a session of the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs and Defense, he said B92 also neither sought the opinion of the MUP "nor asked" before deciding to cancel the broadcast.

"It is their decision and I will not interfere in that," said Stefanovic.

He reiterated that the police was providing security for some B92 TV reporters because there are serious reasons for it.

Stefanovic said that the police do not announce the names of persons under their protection, nor the moment these measure are revoked, "because this could be a threat to their safety."

The minister appealed to the media "to be careful when writing about it, because the essence is that such articles threaten the security of protected persons."

Meanwhile, Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) President Vukasin Obradovic spoke for Radio Free Europe (RFE) to say it was "obvious that various interest groups, not only political but also hooligan ones, continue to have such influence that they can make journalists feel unsafe, while programs are taken off the air for that reason."

"This is a serious signal to authorities and to us in the media that serious measures must be taken to ensure that journalists can do their work without pressure and threats. Brankica Stankovic has been in 'detention' for six years because of similar threats. We cannot allow, authorities above all cannot allow the same situation to repeat with another journalist," he said.

Obradovic believes that authorities have not sufficiently distanced themselves from those who made the threats.

"Not only that, but they amplified them when various officials showed up in the media which in an indirect and often in a direct way supported those threats. On the other hand, now some media are directly involved in the campaign against Brankica Stankovic and Insajder. Instead of journalistic solidarity we have media and journalists who lead the campaign against their colleagues, calling into question their personal safety. It's a disgrace for those media, but also for all those who tolerate such behavior," the president of the NUNS said.