The government on the offensive against the journalists and the media

Yesterday’s „war against the media and journalists“ was started by the Speaker of the Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, accusing the Fonet agency at a press conference of claiming that they had called for the assassination of the President of Serbia by broadcasting the statement of lawyer Boza Prelevic. Although Fonet did not publish what was attributed to it, fake news was spread from one of the most powerful positions in Serbia. In the atmosphere of daily attacks on journalists, this represents an open target not only for the employees of this agency, but also for all other journalists who are called out daily by the authorities, which has already become a pattern for their demonization and dehumanization. „Arrows are being fired“ at journalists and the media on a daily basis.

The first physical attack on a journalist and on work equipment took place in Novi Sad when Zoran Strika, the deputy editor-in-chief of Radio 021, was attacked during the performance of his work while reporting on the citizens’ departure for the SNS rally in Belgrade. On that occasion, two young men knocked down a man from Novi Sad, who was filming the incident with his mobile phone. While he was on the ground, they beat him, stole his phone and threw it into the Danube. Seeing that the journalist Strika recorded the whole event, another young man physically attacked him, trying to snatch his phone by holding him by the arm and neck, without stopping attacking him even when Strika emphasized that he was a journalist. Despite the fact that the editor of Radio 021, asked the present director of the Provincial Fund for European Affairs and Development to prevent this attack, there was no reaction, but Strika managed to free himself and call the police and, together with the attacked citizen of Novi Sad, moved away from the scene of the attack. While they were waiting for the police, they were attacked by three hooded youths. They intended to steal the phone that the journalist had borrowed to his fellow citizen in order to call his wife. They also threw this stolen phone into the Danube with the obvious intention of destroying the evidence of the violence committed by that group.

Such attacks on the journalist’s body and his property, along with the destruction of evidence, clearly speak of a policy that intends to abolish freedom of speech and make the work of journalists as difficult as possible within the profession that should protect and promote the public interest through objective information. In this intention, the government obviously does not hesitate to use phalanxes in black uniforms with hoods and masks for this purpose.

At the large rally „We will not give Serbia“, organized by SNS in Belgrade, the television crew of KTV was attacked, while it was broadcasting events from the scene as well as Nemanja Sarovic’s interviews with the gathered citizens. After a series of insults and threats, by persons who were dressed as security guards and among whom one can recognize the leaders of public companies and state institutions, there was throwing of plastic bottles, pouring of water, pushing and hitting of the members of the journalistic team, which included Danijel Radic, director of KTV from Zrenjanin. While the police watched this silently, there was a physical attack on cameraman Sinisa Niksic, who was hit in the nose area and whose camera and other equipment were damaged. The present police officers reacted only after the physical attack, by surrounding the journalist team and forbidding them to continue reporting, while restricting their movement due to the impossibility of guaranteeing their safety. Instead of sanctioning the perpetrators, journalistic work was prevented, with the police saying to them that they had done sufficient reporting. The team was prevented from moving until the rally was over and the participants dispersed. This is a direct threat to security, an attack on the body and property, upgraded by the prevention of work and the illegal detention of the KTV journalistic team.

The third case of attack happened in Cacak, while TV Nova S journalist Nebojsa Jovanovic prepared a report on the departure of citizens of Cacak to the SNS rally in Belgrade. The President of the Cacak Municipality Assembly, lgor Trifunovic, tried to prevent the recording of this public event by aggressive behavior, which motivated one of the thugs to prevent the recording by trying to damage the camera, push the cameraman away, snatch and throw the microphone on the floor. In this case, the police intervened only later.

While performing his journalistic work in Nis, the safety of journalist Srdjan Nonic from the Niska initiative portal, who was trying to perform his journalistic work reporting on the preparations for the departure of the participants of the Belgrade rally, was threatened. Nonic received several verbal threats and was mugged by a „masked group that was informal security“. In Nis, the pattern of attacks in Novi Sad was repeated because a citizen took a photo of the members of informal security, which then targeted him and his vehicle. Escalation of the conflict was prevented only after the police intervened.

The television crew of Al Jazeera was prevented from filming the rally from the balcony of the building in the vicinity of the Serbian Parliament, which is another example of preventing the media from doing their job.

This overview of attacks and threats directed at journalists and the media workers in several cities is very worrying because they come from the highest authorities, directors of public companies and heads of state institutions and street thugs who enjoy the protection of the police and other authorities who should protect and not fuel the atmosphere of hatred and violence towards the media. If it continues, this negative trend could have unforeseeable consequences and therefore all the culprits must be prosecuted. Otherwise, impunity for attacks on journalists will lead to an unwanted escalation in a time of tension and division in society.