PODGORICA May 3rd, 2021 – On World Media Freedom Day – May 3, the media freedom state in Montenegro, which has been generally weak so far, is further jeopardized by the fact that media workers have faced a series of attacks, insults and harassment in recent months, while the economic and social status a large number of employees are still poor, and incomes are below the national average and certainly far from the importance of our profession.

In the last two months alone, there have been as many as six cases of verbal and physical attacks or threats, insults, and humiliation of journalists and media workers, and in half of the cases, this happened while they were on work assignments where they were just doing their job. Some of these attacks are motivated by disagreement and open hatred towards the editorial policy of the media or the work of journalists, which shows a great lack of understanding of the role that the media and their employees play in a democratic society. Attacks are often the product of the heated political situation in Montenegro and we fear they could continue. That is why it is very important for the police to recognize the risks in the coming period and protect journalists and media workers while reporting from the event. It is also necessary for prosecutors and judicial authorities to do their part of the work efficiently so that these cases are fully solved and the attackers punished. We also demand that decision-makers urgently amend the Criminal Code in order to toughen penalties for attacks on journalists and prevent journalists from performing their professional tasks, and in order to protect media workers in a very difficult and challenging time for their profession. It is also necessary to finally start resolving from the deadlock the most difficult cases of attacks on journalists, such as the murder of Dusko Jovanovic, where we still do not know who the killers and masterminds are, and the attack on Olivera Lakic, where there are no indictments yet, although the authorities claimed that solved the case.

The poor state of media freedom in Montenegro is also complicated by the coronavirus epidemic, which has further degraded the economic and social position of some media workers, mostly in some local public broadcasters. The epidemic exposed the difficult situation in these media, where salaries are late for years, debts for taxes and contributions are accumulating, and some are threatened with bankruptcy. The biggest responsibility for that lies with the local self-governments that founded these media and then did not give them sufficient amounts from the budget to function, so many local public broadcasters became dependent on the will of political structures in power in municipalities, which endangered the editorial independence of these media. We believe that it is high time that we finally get the new Law on Audio-Visual Media Services this year and that it systematically resolves the situation in these media and ensures their financial sustainability and full independence in reporting.

The epidemic has led to a significant increase in the workload of employees in private media, and many of them are not adequately rewarded for this, although the Government and the Agency for Electronic Media have repeatedly financially supported private media through salary subsidies, direct grants, debt forgiveness or providing more favorable loans. Once again, we call on all private media owners who have not done so to adequately reward their employees for their work and labor during the epidemic, when many of them were exposed to the dangers of infection, just to perform their professional tasks.

In addition to these, there are numerous other problems such as: work restrictions and poor status of photojournalists, unsatisfactory level of self-regulation in the media, various pressures and unauthorized influences on the work of media and journalists, censorship and self-censorship, growing misinformation and fake news… Addressing these issues should be a priority for the media community and media employees. Despite all the differences, we must be united at least in the fight to improve our economic position and resolve attacks on journalists, but also strive to improve professional standards in order to meet the demands that the period ahead will bring. The solidarity of the media community, to which SMCG has been calling for years, may sound like a cliché, but without it, there can hardly be a better day for all, or at least most, media workers in our country.

PODGORICA, May 5th, 2021 – Trade Union of Media of Montenegro is participating for the ninth time in the regional action Five Minutes of Thunderous Silence, which is being organized on May 3, World Media Freedom Day.

We invite all our members, as well as all other colleagues, to join the action, which is planned for May 3, from 11:55 to 12:00, and the rules for its implementation are below.

PRESS

At 11.55 am, start protesting in the workplace and stop all work and communication until 12 noon. During the protest, a member of the Union should read aloud the proclamation on the occasion of May 3, World Media Freedom Day.

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RADIO

Colleagues in the radio newsrooms are asked to read the adapted text on the air and stop the program by 12 noon, or broadcast light instrumental music.

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TELEVISION

Colleagues in television are asked to read the adapted text from the screen and, if possible, interrupt the program until 12.00. Wherever possible, the image on the screen should be the appropriate text of the Union.

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PORTALS / AGENCIES

Colleagues in portals and agencies are asked to publish the announcement of  SMCG at 11.55 am and, if possible, not to post other news or comments until 12.00 pm.

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IN THE FIELD

All colleagues who find themselves on work assignments on May 3 at 11.55 am (especially at sessions of state and local government bodies, party and similar gatherings) are asked to stand up and thus join the action of SMCG, and by agreement they can leave the room for five minutes.

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With five minutes of thunderous silence, we need to clearly express our union and professional solidarity and determination in order to protect the rights that belong to us.

Thank you for your response and solidarity!

Main Board of SMCG

PRISTINA, 03.05.2021 – The Association of Journalists of Kosovo – AJK, in cooperation with and with the support of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, the United Nations Team in Kosovo and the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, today marks May 3 – World Press Freedom Day with the motto “Blackout May”. This motto serves as a call for all institutions to see what a day without media would look like.

On World Press Freedom Day, AJK in cooperation with its partners and this year with the support of the US Embassy in Kosovo, held a roundtable discussion on “Challenges of media freedom and security of journalists in Kosovo.”

Ambassador Michael Davenport – Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, through a video message, called on the media to combat misinformation by reporting correctly and with facts.

“The public relies on media professionals to provide accurate information and combat misinformation, based on ethical and fact-based reporting. Critical times like these call on media owners, editors and journalists to exert their influence with responsibilities and governments to create the right conditions for this “.

Ulrika Richardson – UN Development Coordinator, spoke about the important role of journalists in our society.

“Journalists have a very privileged role in our societies, they have the ear and trust of the people, and of course this comes with a great responsibility to be able to provide information impartially and independently as much as possible. “Now, with that comes the responsibilities of the institutions that have to ensure that the right conditions exist for journalists to do their profession, which is a noble profession.”

The Ambassador of the United States of America, Philip Kosnett, in honor of the World Press Freedom Day, came out with a statement saying that attacks on journalists are attacks on democracy itself.

“A vibrant, free press – informing the public, empowering different voices and holding public officials accountable – is a fundamental component of any stable democracy. Journalists deserve our respect and protection. Threats and attacks against journalistspresent attacks on democracy, itself”.

Lars-Gunnar Wigemark – Head of the European Union Rule of Law Mission during his speech said that media freedom should not be taken for granted, but should be protected as one of the main pillars of society.

“Media freedom is at the core of a democratic system and as such, it should never be taken for granted, but rather should be nurtured and protected as a building of a better society for all.”

Also in a livebroadcast was Ambassador Nancy Soderberg – Senior Director of NDI in Kosovo, who said that the media play a key role in democratic stability.

“Journalists are at the front line of defending democracy and you are definitely the fourth power …. You and the media have a key role to play in maintaining democratic stability and holding leaders accountable.”

The President of the Board of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, GentianaBegolliPustina, addressed the audience on the freedom of the media and the safety of journalists, emphasizing that the climate of journalism is continuing to worsen from year to year.

You have seen yourself how easily our colleagues are physically attacked, in the middle of the day, in the center of Prishtina. For most attacks by the judiciary we have the usual answer “investigations continue”, “we are on the right track to shed light on the case”, and so on. As long as we get the same answers from year to year, the climate of journalism is getting worse, and as this reality continues, we,the civil society, journalists, and international mechanisms operating in Kosovo, have nothing else left but to continue raisingour voice aiming to improve the climate of journalism. ”

On this May 3, were commemoratedthe journalists killed and missing during and after the last war in Kosovo, where the relevant institutions were asked to shed light on the truth as soon as possible, under the slogan “You have the truth before your eyes”.

In the discussion panel through the Zoom platform, also were present: Nancy Soderberg – Senior Director of NDI for Kosovo, Ricardo Gutiérrez – Secretary General of the European Federation of Journalists, ImerMushkolaj – Director of the Press Council of Kosovo, ArdianaThaçi – Journalist, BetimMusliu – Journalist, DarkoDimitrijevic – Journalist, FluturaKusari – Lawyer of media rights and other fellow journalists.

You can see the full virtual discussion on this link: https://fb.watch/5fOWSG5BIm/

The Press Council of Kosovo and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) have accepted with concern the reports that the Committee on Local Government, Regional Development and Media of the Assembly of Kosovo has mentioned the possibility of regulating online content of media by the Independent Media Commission (IMC).

The PCK, as a self-regulatory mechanism representing print and online media, and AJK, as an organization representing journalists, oppose any attempt or initiative by anyone to include online media content as part of a regulatory mechanism by state institutions.

The PCK is the only mechanism in Kosovo that deals with the ethics of print and online media (newspapers, online media, magazines, news agencies) and constantly decides on complaints from citizens and institutions regarding violations of ethics by print and online media. .

Therefore, PCK and AJK strongly oppose any attempt and initiative to introduce the ethics of print and online media as part of the IMC law. Such initiatives are in glaring contradiction with the international rules of journalism and the spirit of journalism installed in Kosovo for some time now.

Each of the print media (online or print) should be held accountable for their actions before state bodies, based on relevant laws, but initially no one can better assess their ethics than the media themselves, or professionals of the field.

The PCK through the mechanism of control and evaluation of the ethics of the print media is recognized by the Assembly of Kosovo, through the Law on Defamation and Insult and the decisions that the PCK makes for the parties and the media are respected and highly valued by local courts in cases where they decide for defamation and insult.

Initiatives to control and evaluate ethics for print and online media by a state organization are harmful and do not help the media and journalists.

SARAJEVO, April 20, 2021 – The Steering Committee of BH Journalists Association and the Free Media Help Line (FMHL) strongly condemn the threats made to journalist Eldin Hadžović by Vahid Hota, a member of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After Hadžović published an article on Prometej.ba portal on April 10 this year, entitled “How the mayor of Sarajevo failed the first exam: They are not Serbian criminals, but the RS Army”, which was later transmitted by numerous portals, the above mentioned Hota sent him a message via Facebook with extremely threatening content in which, with numerous curses and insults, he threatened Hadžović with “slapping” and “breaking his fingers with a hammer”.

By looking at Vahid Hota’s Facebook profile, it can be seen that he is a member of the Armed Forces of BiH, which makes this case of threatening a journalist even more shocking and serious.

The Steering Committee of BH Journalists and the Free Media Help Line consider that open threats by members of the AF BiH are inadmissible, endanger the safety of journalists and attack the freedom of the media, opinion and speech. It is worrying that people like Vahid Hota, whose professional duty requires them to equally protect all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, their rights and freedoms, use this kind of a vocabulary and openly threaten with physical violence against journalists, just because they disagree with their views and texts. Such behavior of individuals not only constitutes a criminal offense, but also tarnishes all members of the BiH Armed Forces who perform their work professionally, responsibly and in compliance with the law.

The BH Journalists Association and FMHL will inform the competent police authorities about this case with a request for an urgent investigation into the threats made to journalist Hadžović. We will also inform the representatives of the AF BiH about these threats, from whom we demand an investigation against Vahid Hota and a sanction against this member of Armed Forces who threatened the journalist with physical violence, thus endangering his safety and professional journalistic rights.

Steering Committee of BH Journalists Association/Free Media Help Line