ANEM alarm: Will the police ever start doing their job?
"When will the police prevent the firing of pyrotechnic devices at citizens? Look, I have been injured," asked Marko Miletić, the chief and responsible editor of the Mašina portal, multiple times in a dramatic recording from Vrbas – but he received no answer.
Journalists testify that the police, alongside whom the assailants were firing fireworks directly at citizens, did not even attempt to prevent this brutal attack.
However, a response came from the Ministry of Interior, which was subsequently echoed by the police director—making false claims that citizens allegedly fired pyrotechnics at the police and masked SNS assailants.
Alongside Marko Miletić, who was injured by a pyrotechnic device, Andrej Stamenković, an assistant cameraman for TV N1, was also lightly injured by stones thrown by SNS assailants. More than 60 citizens sought assistance at the emergency center in Vrbas, where they were again attacked by assailants. The police did not intervene then either, nor did they protect the injured citizens.
In response to a question from a journalist clearly marked with a press vest, directed at a representative of the intervention unit in Vrbas—whether the TV crew could expect protection—the answer was: “It depends on what the orders will be.”
Citizens and journalists clearly cannot count on police protection, making it necessary for them to take all possible self-defense measures. The brutality and hatred displayed by the assailants in Vrbas, Bačka Palanka, Novi Sad, and Belgrade were supported by the police—through inaction. This is becoming a new reality in Serbia: from the impunity of assailants to active support for violence.
There are numerous examples where the police ignored physical attacks on journalists, allowing assailants to impede reporting, and in some cases even acting on their orders.
ANEM appeals to conscientious members of the Ministry of Interior to respect the laws and protect the public interest and the safety of citizens.
We call on media outlets to equip journalists and media workers covering protests with adequate protective gear and to train them for safe reporting. In addition to press vests, it is important that they have and wear helmets with clear press markings—something that proved very useful for the TV N1 crew yesterday—as well as gas masks, not only due to the potential for tear gas but also because of the brutal attack with fireworks, which surprised and shocked those present yesterday.
ANEM calls on international organizations for solidarity and assistance, and representatives of the European Commission and other European institutions for political and practical support, in order to stop and sanction violence, and to enable journalists to report safely.
Veran Matić, President of ANEM's Management Board and Member of the Permanent Working Group for Journalist Safety
The project "System for Violence Prevention and Journalist Protection" is implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insajder TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union and the Balkan Democracy Fund.
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