Journalists’ associations, opposition condemn media campaign against Skrozza

Skrozza gave an interview to the If I Were Someone show on N1, saying that things would have been different if “we had woken up on October 6, 2000 (a day after the mass protests that toppled the Milosevic regime) in a different Serbia, without some people.”

Her words were construed to be a call for the killing of current Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic who was part of the Milosevic regime, when he served as the Minister of Information and introduced a draconian law which allowed censorship. The pro-regime TV Pink and the Informer tabloid quoted Skrozza as saying that Vucic should have been killed in the year 2000.

The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS/NUNS) said it strongly condemns the organized campaign of defamation and targeting of FoNet journalist Tamara Skrozza, conducted by media close to the government.

It pointed out that Scrozza’s statement was taken out of context, that she never mentioned President Vucic, nor did she call for his murder.

“This type of targeting of Tamara Skrozza is also a classic example of pressure on independent media and the creation of an atmosphere of fear and insecurity,” said IJAS/NUNS, and called on the Serbian Ministry of Information and Telecommunications to immediately address this issue and conduct an inspection of the enforcement of the Law on Public Information and Media.

IJAS/NUNS will submit a petition to the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) and a complaint to the Press Council, and we will provide colleague Skrozza with all the necessary legal support, said this association.

The Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS) condemned as “unacceptable and dangerous” the accusations made by media close to the government against FoNet journalist Tamara Skrozza over the past two days.

“The campaign against journalist and media ethics expert Tamara Skrozza was initiated yesterday by TV Pink, alleging that ‘opposition journalist Tamara Skrozza said Vucic should have been killed between October 5 and 6, 2000’,” explained UNS.

It also noted that “Informer, Alo, and Vecernje Novosti joined in, echoing similar accusations.”

UNS emphasized that these baseless allegations could provoke violence against Skrozza and her family, further worsening the challenging conditions and safety concerns faced by journalists in Serbia.

Democratic Party (DS) leader Zoran Lutovac condemned what he described as a disgraceful campaign against journalist Tamara Skrozza.

“I call on the relevant institutions and the public in Serbia to strongly condemn the disgraceful attacks on her personally and on freedom of speech through these attacks,” said Lutovac.

The opposition Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) also condemned the attack on Skrozza and called on Information and Telecommunications Minister Dejan Ristic to urgently initiate appropriate actions against all involved media.

We see these attacks as a further instance of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party’s (SNS) pressure and propaganda tactics against anyone who dares to criticize the state of the country after their 12 years in power, said the PSG in a press release.

“While journalist Skrozza has not threatened anyone’s life, these attacks endanger hers, as there are numerous cases where media demonization has led to physical violence,” stressed the PSG.

It said that propaganda outlets such as “Pink, Happy, Alo, Informer, Vecernje Novosti, and B92 conduct campaigns daily and deceive Serbian citizens with no accountability, except for material damages resulting from private lawsuits whose rulings often take years to finalize.”

The PSG emphasized that Minister Ristic’s response is both urgent and essential. “We will hold him accountable for any harm that comes to journalist Tamara Skrozza until he halts these media outlets from violating the law,” it concluded.

N1 Belgrade, UNS, NUNS