SARAJEVO, 17.10.2018. – The Steering Committee of BH Journalists Association protests strongly about the behavior of representatives of the “Optima Group”, towards journalists, media and the public, following a catastrophic accident that took place in “Oil Refinery Brod”.
The management of this company, based in Banja Luka, which operates a refinery, has today organized a press conference to which only certain media are invited, for which they have stated “they are interested” for statements of management on the accident.
At the press conference, neither the journalists nor the media, who had been following the events at the refinery from the very beginning and reported about the tragedy in which one worker was killed and 50 were injured were invited to the press conference.
We recall that the disaster, due to the tragic consequences and the impact on the environment and the fact that the refineries use natural resources, is a matter of first-rate public interest and that the public, not only in RS and throughout BiH, but also in neighboring countries, has the right to knows what the company did to prevent the accident and what further management steps would be.
It is absolutely inadmissible for such selection of media and journalists, as it is unacceptable for a socially responsible company to behave like this toward the public in a community within it operates.
The Steering Committee of BH Journalists Association
