The Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) and its branch in the Split-Dalmatia County strongly protest against the highly inappropriate behavior of the Mayor of Split, Ivica Puljak, who verbally attacked and insulted Slobodna Dalmacija journalist Damir Šarac during a public forum held late last week, and incited those present against him.
While Deputy Mayor Bojan Ivošević calmly responded to the journalist’s question regarding the City of Split’s role as co-owner of the company Luka d.d. in connection to the recent air pollution incident, Mayor Puljak reacted entirely inappropriately. He accused the journalist—who has been covering local affairs for over 25 years—of “stirring up trouble,” claimed he was “placing the blame for heavy metal air pollution on the current city government,” and reproached him for working at a media outlet “funded by HDZ.”
This outburst by the mayor incited the attending citizens, who wrongly assumed the journalist was a “provocateur” rather than a legitimate reporter, preventing him from completing his conversation with city officials.
Mayor Puljak has repeatedly accused journalists from this media outlet of being “directed by HDZ” whenever he disagrees with their editorial stance or when they point out potential irregularities in the conduct of his administration. By doing so, he publicly discredits journalists and aligns them with political factions—even though they are merely performing standard journalistic work, which applies equally to those in power or in opposition. This is especially troubling and offensive during the run-up to local elections, as it labels journalists and draws them into political conflicts, thereby restricting media freedom and impeding their ability to report impartially and inform the public with relevant facts.
We call on Mayor Ivica Puljak to immediately put an end to such behavior and instead simply answer the questions posed to him.
On behalf of the CJA Executive Board,
Hrvoje Zovko, President
On behalf of the CJA Split-Dalmatia County Branch,
Damir Petranović, President