“Plenković lectures journalists and media about what topics should be covered, he says we are creating hysteria, and when someone watches, reads or listens, that is, in a way, a green light,” said Croatian Journalists’ Association President Hrvoje Zovko in Telegram’s podcast Prvi glas, where he spoke about the position of journalists in today’s Croatia.
In its reaction to the attack on the N1 crew, the Croatian Journalists’ Association warned that it would organise protests if attacks on journalists continue. “We are called fake journalists, worm journalists, haters of everything Croatian, we are blamed for everything, we receive threats on social media. And what does the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, do? He lectures journalists and media about what the topics should be, he says we create hysteria, and when someone watches, reads or listens, that is, in a way, a green light,” Zovko said, explaining that this week’s attack on journalists, given the ominous atmosphere being created, was expected.
But it was not the only one. Since the beginning of the year, HND has recorded 24 attacks on journalists, both verbal and physical. This means that in 2025 an attack on a journalist in Croatia is recorded roughly every 15 days. These figures refer only to reported cases, and the real number is likely significantly higher.
Zovko stressed how bizarre the overall atmosphere in society has become. “It feels as if we are in a state of war, as if there is a siege, as if the Yugoslav Army and Serbian paramilitary units were standing in front of Zagreb or any other Croatian city,” the HND president said.
He also criticised attempts to legally protect the parliamentary Declaration on the Homeland War. “Everything Mr. Đakić is doing is actually the greatest devaluation of the Homeland War and the greatest insult to it,” Zovko said in Prvi glas.
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