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Ko je u Srbiji nadležan za borbu protiv govora mržnje u medijima?

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BEOGRAD, 25.11.2019. – Govor mržnje i agresivnosti svakodnevno je prisutan u medijima u Srbiji, i to u onim najčitanijim i najgledanijim, ali u javnosti se čini kao da u tim slučajevima niko ne reaguje. Niti je jasno ko je nadležan.

Najnovije istraživanje Centra za profesionalizaciju medija i medijsku pismenost (CEPROM) pokazalo je da osam dnevnih listova i 20 najčitanijih portala u zemlji samo u toku jednog dana objave u proseku 644 teksta koji sadrže neke od elemenata agresivne komunikacije, govora mržnje i senzacionalizma, što znači da svaki medij prosečno objavi 23 takva teksta samo u toku jednog dana.

Istraživanje pod nazivom „Komunikativna agresija u Srbiji 2019“ sprovedeno je u periodu od 15. septembra do 15. oktobra ove godine, a rezultati pokazuju da je u navedenom periodu od mesec dana u najčitanijim štampanim i onlajn medijima u zemlji objavljeno skoro 20.000 tekstova sa elementima agresivne komunikacije, govora mržnje i senzacionalizma.

U Ministarstvu kulture i informisanja ističu da ne pokreću prekršajne postupke kada je u pitanju govor mržnje. Kako navode, članom 75 Zakona o javnom informisanju i medijima propisano je da se idejama, mišljenjem, to jest informacijama koje se objavljuju u medijima ne sme podsticati diskriminacija, mržnja ili nasilje protiv lica ili grupe lica zbog njihovog pripadanja ili nepripadanja nekoj rasi, veri, naciji, polu, zbog njihove seksualne opredeljenosti ili drugog ličnog svojstva, bez obzira na to da li je objavljivanjem učinjeno krivično delo.

„Ovaj član Zakona ima načelan karakter s obzirom na činjenicu da za postupanje protivno navedenoj odredbi nije predviđeno vođenje prekršajnog postupka. Ako se objavljivanjem informacije, između ostalog, povređuje zabrana govora mržnje, moguće je pokrenuti tužbu kojom se može zahtevati: utvrđivanje da je objavljivanjem informacije povređeno pravo ili interes; propuštanje objavljivanja, kao i zabrana ponovnog objavljivanja informacije kao i uklanjanje ili uništenje objavljenog zapisa (brisanje video-zapisa, brisanje audio-zapisa, uništenje negativa i sl). Pravo na podnošenje pomenute tužbe ima lice koje je lično povređeno objavljivanjem informacije, kao i pravno lice čija delatnost ima za cilj zaštitu ljudskih prava u slučaju povrede zabrana govora mržnje (potrebna je lična saglasnost lica na koje se informacija odnosi)“, objašnjavaju u Ministarstvu.

Oni dodaju da Ministarstvo kulture i informisanja uvek osuđuje one tekstove u kojima je iskazan govor mržnje.

Na pitanje šta Ministarstvo radi na prevenciji govora mržnje u medijima, dodaju da u okviru konkursa za sufinansiranje proizvodnje medijskih sadržaja postoji mogućnost za podršku projektima koji se bave upravo istraživanjem prisutnosti govora mržnje u medijima.

Uloga REM-a i Zaštitnika građana

U Regulatornom telu za elektronske medije (REM) navode da su nekoliko primera govora mržnje u medijima analizirali u publikaciji „Medijska regulatorna tela i govor mržnje“ iz 2017. godine, kao i da od tada nisu imali pritužbe na medije po ovom osnovu.

„Pored slučajeva u kojima nacionalna regulatorna tela imaju zakonsku obavezu da upute određeni slučaj nadležnim organima, postoje i drugi načini saradnje. Uz njihovu stručnost i iskustvo, regulatorna tela mogu značajno da doprinesu usvajanju relevantnih zakona, strateških dokumenata i politika, izveštaja na međunarodnim forumima, itd, i to u oblasti govora mržnje i uvredljivog jezika. Imajući u vidu moć medija, posebno televizije i radija, kao i ulogu regulatornih tela da osiguraju nadžor nad primenom zakona i podzkonskih akata, uvid koji regulatorna tela imaju u tokove ponašanja medija može ukazati na ograničenja ili prednosti postojeće ili planirane/željene zakonodavne ili političke inicijative“, ističe se u publikaciji REM.

Konkretniji su u instituciji Zaštitnika građana, koja je pokretala postupke, i to zbog govora mržnje na društvenim mrežama. Oni kažu da Zaštitnik građana redovno prati i beleži medijske objave i priloge u kojima se uočava govor mržnje bilo na nacionalnoj osnovi, bilo zbog nečije seksualne orijentacije, bilo da su u pitanju mizogine i seksističke izjave.

„Institucija se više puta oglašavala saopštenjima, prilikom gostovanja u televizijskim emisijama, u godišnjim izveštajima, pred skupštinskim poslanicima, ukazujući da govor mržnje u javnom prostoru postaje sve učestaliji, i da to lako dovodi do nasilja. Stav Zaštitnika građana je da društvo, pre svega nadležne institucije, moraju odlučnije da se bore za njegovo iskorenjivanje. Mehanizmi za borbu protiv govora mržnje u javnom prostoru dati su normativnim okvirima, koji jasno kažu da govor mržnje nije dozvoljen u javnim nastupima. Važno je da nadležni organi prate poštovanje tih zakona i da sankcionišu svaki govor mržnje, a Zaštitnik građana je tu, da u okviru svojih nadležnosti kontroliše rad državnih organa“, navodi se u odgovoru iz kabineta Zaštitnika građana.

Oni navode da je Zaštitnik građana, primera radi, postupao u slučaju mizoginog sadržaja u emisiji „Novo jutro – Irina i Žika“ na TV Pink od 3. jula 2019. godine. Gosti emisije i voditelji komentarisali su novinske naslove, te je voditelj emisije izjavio „Pa kako samo ku*ve ove Srpkinje, čoveče, po crnogorskom primorju“, a jedan od gostiju: „pa ne, ku*ve su ajde da kažemo svih nacija“. Povodom tih izjava Zaštitnik građana uputio je zahtev REM-u da sprovede postupak kontrole i obavesti Zaštitnika građana o ishodu.

Ocena Saveta regulatora je da „u konkretnom slučaju postoji odgovornost pružaoca medijske usluge za povredu zakonske obaveze, ali da u konkretnom slučaju nije reč o namernom postupanju pružaoca medijske usluge zbog čega nije moguće utvrditi stepen ugrožavanja ili povrede zaštićenog dobra ili pak težinu posledice koja je povredom prouzrokovana“. Savet je na osnovu ove ocene odlučio da u konkretnom slučaju nema osnova da se pružaocu medijske usluge izrekne neka od mera predviđena članom 28 Zakona o elektronskim medijima.

„Imajući u vidu navode izjašnjenja REM-a, od tog organa Zaštitnik građana će zatražiti podatke o broju prijava za TV Pink, razlozima zbog kojih su podnete prijave i merama koje su izrečene ovom emiteru u toku 2018. i 2019. godine“, ističe se u odgovoru Zaštitnika građana.

Prema njegovim navodima, Zaštitnik građana reaguje na osnovu pritužbi građana i sopstvenom inicijativom na osnovu saznanja dobijenih iz različitih izvora, najčešće medijskih sadržaja. Podsećaju da će medijska platforma koju izrađuju sa kolegama iz medijskih udruženja i asocijacija beležiti sve vrste pritisaka i uvreda na račun novinara, između ostalog i one koje u svojoj osnovi imaju govor mržnje. Javna osuda ovakvih sadržaja, poziv nadležnima da reaguju i praćenje njihovog postupanja u pojedinačnim slučajevima, predstavljaće takođe snažan mehanizam u sankcionisanju govora mržnje, smatra Zaštitnik građana.

„Očito je da bi oblast društvenih mreža i komunikacija trebalo urediti na način koji će onemogućiti svaku vrstu govora mržnje. Svedoci smo svakodnevnih izjava anonimnih autora na društvenim mrežama koji sakriveni iza svojih tastatura promovišu agresiju, laž i neodgovorno ponašanje, a da za posledicu, pošto je u oblasti virtuelnog, ne snose odgovornost. Ovakve pojave su pogubne kako za pojedince, tako i za društvo u celini, ne doprinose demokratizaciji javnog prostora, naprotiv zagađuju ga. Umesto toga potrebno je razvijati direktan dijalog, koji će se zasnivati na poštovanju sagovornika i spremnosti da se za izrečeno snosi odgovornost“, napominje se u odgovoru Zaštitnika građana. 

Savet za štampu: Govor mržnje najprisutniji u komentarima čitalaca

Žalbi na govor mržnje u medijima bilo je i Savetu za štampu, ali generalna sekretarka ovog samoregulatornog tela Gordana Novaković objašnjava da se u Kodeksu novinara Srbije ista tačka odnosi na diskriminaciju i govor mržnje, pa je žalbi zapravo mnogo više na diskriminaciju, ali recimo da se oko deset odsto ukupnog broja žalbi koje dobiju odnosi na ovu tačku, što u suštini i nije mnogo.

„Na primer, u Bosni je 40 do 50 odsto žalbi vezano za govor mržnje. Nama su se na to najčešće žalile organizacije koje se bave zaštitom ljudskih prava, uglavnom u vezi sa diskriminacijom i govorom mržnje protiv LGBT osoba, Roma ili migranata. Takođe, žalbe se mnogo češće odnose na komentare nego na same tekstove, koje redakcije uglavnom, nakon što im pošaljem žalbu uklone, mada ne uvek. Recimo, primer u kojem nisu hteli da uklone komentare sa svoje Facebook strane je Blic, gde su na sasvim bezazlen tekst o tome kako se premijerka pojavila sa svojom devojkom na nekom prijemu objavljene na desetine najgorih uvreda na račun cele LGBT populacije“, navodi Novaković.

Ona dodaje i da je drastičan slučaj kolumna Bore Đorđevića u Srpskom telegrafu, u kojoj, između ostalog, kaže da bi sve “pedere” poslao u zemlje islama, jer je tamo za to predviđena smrtna kazna.

„Generalno, govora mržnje ima više u komentarima nego u tekstovima, s tim što je nekad, čini se, tekst napisan sa idejom da izazove takve reakcije, odnosno da čitaoci kažu ono što redakcija misli, a ne sme otvoreno da napiše, a nekad to i nema mnogo veze sa tekstom, ali se po spremnosti redakcije da reaguje kad joj se na to ukaže može da proceni da li je u pitanju previd moderatora ili namera“, ocenjuje Novaković.

Sudovi reaguju samo na najdrastičnije prekršaje

Predsednica Komiteta pravnika za ljudska prava YUCOM Katarina Golubović navodi da se govor mržnje očito prepoznaje i sudovi utvrđuju odgovornost za kršenje zabrane govora mržnje onda kada je ogoljen, kada je eksplicitan.

„To je slučaj kada neko targetira pripadnika neke manjinske grupe i iznese stereotipne uvrede. Novinari tabloida koriste takvu vrstu govora. Rame uz tabloide idu i elektronski mediji koji su predmet razmatranja REM-a. Slučaj Milomira Marića i targetiranje profesora zbog njegovog albanskog porekla je samo jedan od primera. Ogoljeni govor mržnje se često nalazi u komentarima čitalaca, a mediji je odgovoran za komentare koji se pojave na njihovoj stranici.

Da podsetim da je pre pola godine upravo Jukom vodio slučaj gde je utvrđena odgovornost urednika jer nije sprečeno objavljivanje komentara koji povećavaju tenzije među građanima Srbije, na taj način što se nacionalna manjina stavlja u nepovoljniji položaj. Reč je o stotinu stereotipnih komentara usmerene protiv albanske nacionalne manjine“, navodi Golubović.

Ona dodaje da je veoma bitno uočiti da se ovi komentari javljaju kao reakcija na tekst koji sadrži sofisticiran govor mržnje, kroz iznošenje nekih informacija koje često ne zaslužuju da budu vesti, a koje postaju atraktivne samim tim što se vezuju za aktere za koje se pretpostavlja da pripadaju nekoj manjinskoj grupi.

„Moram napomenuti da je apsurd da naše pravosuđe ne prepoznaje u ovim tekstovima govor mržnje, koji na sofisticiran način podstiču mržnju, a za šta su dokaz i komentari“, napominje Golubović.

Ona smatra da bi Poverenica za ravnopravnost i Savet za štampu, pored sudova, trebalo da budu efikasnije institucije. One, prema njenom mišljenju, skreću pažnju na slučajeve govora mržnje, i što je najvažnije, imaju mogućnost da šire poruku svim građanima, koje govor mržnje provocira da budu negativno i nasilno nastrojeni.

„Zato je bitno da upravo ova tela budu daleko vidljivija“, zaključuje predsednica Jukoma.

A workshop was held in Veles on the topic: “Safety of journalists and media workers and the restrictions of freedom of expression”

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SKOPJE, 25.11.2019 – The Association of Journalists of Macedonia in cooperation with the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors and the OSCE Mission to Skopje organized a workshop on “The safety of journalists and media workers and the restriction of freedom of expression”. The workshop was held from November 20-21 at the “Gardenia” Hotel in Veles.

Among the topics covered at the workshop were the security of journalists and restrictions on freedom of expression under the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights. It was also discussed about hate speech in the media and on the internet through domestic and international regulation and practices in Europe.

The event was attended by journalists, judges, public prosecutors and lawyers who follow and work on this issue. It was emphasized that judges, prosecutors and lawyers play an essential role in protecting media freedom and access to information. On the other hand, it was pointed out that the judiciary has an impact on the security of journalists in terms of prevention, protection and prosecution of crimes and attacks on journalists.

This workshop was led by Margarita Caca Nikolovska (former judge at the European Court of Human Rights), Ph.D. Snezana Trpevska (RESIS Institute), Emilija Petreska – Kamenjarova (Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services) and Ivan Breshkovski (lawyer).

This workshop was organized as part of the project “Safe Journalists for Credible Information in North Macedonia” implemented by the Association of Journalists of Macedonia and supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in North Macedonia and the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

Reform or formality: The functionality of the MRT Ethics Commission

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At a time when information has become a weapon and the media landscape is occupied with the interests of the business and political lobby, the necessity for professional and ethical standards is growing. It is that when the public service should show its highest performance and defend the interests of the citizens. But there is hardly any analysis or research on the domestic public service broadcasting that has shown no serious lack of objectivity, bias, honesty or truth in MRTV’s news coverage over the last two decades.

In order to mitigate the damage and start improving the standards, a public service Ethics Commission was created four years ago to act on violations of the then-newly created Code of Ethics. The code, good or bad, consists of ethical rules for reporting and employment rules not only for journalists but for all public service employees.

So far the outcome of this reform has been one suspension and one resignation. The commission, which is composed of two members of the Macedonian Television, two of the Macedonian Radio, one member of the MRT Directorate and one more of the MRT administration and MTV Syndicate, also received other complaints. But no one can be sure of how many complaints there are, where they are, or what is happening to them, because the commission currently does not have a president. On November 17th, 2019, at the request of the Ethics Committee, the president he was relieved of his duties. To date, the commission has not met to elect a new president, so there is no one to receive the commission’s mail.

“The fact is that in the MTV the situation is difficult, especially with staff. And I am telling you, both cases were investigated by all standards and the public found out it. Nothing serious happened that was not investigated and followed up. There are colleagues who are also trying to exercise this right against other colleagues for the sake of promotion or personal interests,” says Marjan Cvetkovski, director of MRTV.

Asked if he thinks the members of the commission were appropriately selected because there are no journalists but primarily of people from the technical service or people close to the directors, he says everything is in line with the Code, “but it should definitely improve performance”.

“At the beginning this reform was done only on paper. We were rushing to deliver at least a small success that there is hope for change in the public service. We had good intentions. However, could have it been done better, yes.”, he says.

However, the possibility of complaints is only in the hands of the Commission, while the citizens who pay and who are founders of the public service cannot do so. The explanation is usually that there is no rule for this. But the public broadcaster can tailor it itself, as the general ethical frameworks for any media outlet require journalists to consider the complaints of the audience in their work. How we got here and how after four years of work of the Ethics Commission, rather than higher standard, MRTV’s status remains the same.

Attempts for change

 

During 2014, SONK dissatisfied with MRT reporting on their activities will launch the first of a series of public uprisings against MTV. This will loudly raise the awareness that the media is a public good and that MTV belongs to the citizens, is funded by them and has a legal obligation to report ethically, professionally and impartially, for the benefit of and only for the public interest. In the next two years, a series of protests by civil society organizations, politicians, journalists and other dissatisfied movements will be organized in front of the public service building, which in the occupied public service do not see an ally in the interests of the citizens.

After that numerous scandals from financial to political follow MRTV. But the dimension of political pressure is manifested through two key events: the so-called black Monday when the opposition that opposed the budget adoption with journalists was forcibly ejected from the session by the police on December 24, 2012 and the beatings of the opposition and journalists when a group of protesters stormed and attempted to assassinate several officials, including SDSM leader Zoran Zaev, in order to prevent the change of the constitution in the Assembly. MTV did not report on these events.

“Things at MTV were so bad that they became the subject of the Przhino Treaty, first with the appointment of a technical editor-in-chief before the election, and in November a Code of Ethics was also announced at MTV where AJM worked with facilitator Peter Vanhoutte and the MTV leadership”, says former AJM president Naser Selmani.

Serviced and subscribers

“They must be kidding!”, This will be the reaction of longtime journalist and editor Zoran Dimitriovski when it is announced in 2015 that MTV has decided to adopt a Code of Ethics and establish an Ethics Commission.

“Do we really have to trust them now that if they adopt the code and post it on the MTV bulletin board, they will get rid of the party chains? They think that they have done their job only by stating in Article 4 of that letter that they have an obligation – “to promote the public interest and to respect the public interest” and “to contribute to the respect and promotion of fundamental human rights”, freedoms and democratic values ​​and promoting the culture of public dialogue”!? So who was preventing them of doing it before, with or without a code?”, Dimitriovski will write in a column.

With the adoption of the Code of Ethics, another novelty was introduced, namely the establishment of the Ethical Commission at MTV, before which proceedings could be initiated for unethical and unprofessional reporting. But few are aware of this, and among the uninformed are public service employees.

“Hi, we’d like to know more about the work of the Ethics Commission, and report a case you might be able to tell us how to do it,” we asked by telephone at MTV after failing to find any data or form on their website. “Do what?”, The Public Information Officer retorted in amazement.

After explaining what an ethics committee is and what we actually want to do, the person on the other end of the phone sighed “Oh, that.” He did not know who was on the Ethics Committee nor how exactly he was reporting.

“Write on a piece of paper what you think and bring it to the Central Office, and we’ll see what to do,” he said. “And can’t we apply online,” we asked, after what a laughter was heard on the other side of the phone.

“We have no option for such a thing, maybe by email, but who knows if anyone will read it,” the Public Information Officer replied.

We asked who the members were in order to talk to them. The Public Information Officer told us that he would need more time to find out this information and asked us to send a Public Information Request for any questions we have.

Until the day this story was published, this and other questions we sent about whether and how many complaints they received were unanswered. With again, an explanation that the Commission has no sitting president.

What has the Ethics Commission done until now

“We know the Code was created, only because of political pressure and nothing else, but that was all. No one has ever told us who is a member of that committee, nor do we know that it was formed. Nor did anyone consult us regarding the Code. At least most of us have no idea. The intentions were certainly not to expose television to grievances but to pretend that there something was fulfilled by the leadership. This place is still as miserable as it was when I first got employed, and that was a long time ago. You ask me why you can’t find the Code of Ethics on the website, and our website sometimes doesn’t even work, there is no online newsroom, and when there are weeks of vacations there is no news on it,” says the journalist who preferred to remain anonymous.

We wanted to know more about the Ethics Commission and how it works. We spoke with at least 10 people working in the public service. All of our sources first heard from us about this body. The colleagues we contacted offered to inquire more about the existence of that commission. Some less, some more successful, but all contributed with some knowledge. Everyone one of them suggested that this commission only existed on paper, and no one cared whether the citizens cold submit a complaint.

“There have been two cases in which the Ethics Commission has met, if it is the same thing we are talking about. Once when a public service journalist appeared drunk on live news and once when another journalist spread ethnic and religious hatred on social media.”, said our interlocutor and suggested that other cases may exist, “but usually such things are quickly spread in the newsroom and immediately spoken of as in any larger company”.

Asked if he thinks MRTV is reporting ethically and professionally, our interlocutor says that things have improved slightly, but not significantly.

“By inertia it is still thought that if you are reporting for government it should be positively, as if it is the state and that is what the journalists at MTV do even if that have not been asked, I think it is their culture, subordinate. Unlike three years ago when the news were full of propaganda from anonymous portals, now things are a little more decent. But this is not yet a public service for the citizens,” says the journalist.

The Association of Journalists strongly opposed the adoption of the Code of Ethics in a hurry, in December 2015. The public accused them of not only copying it from the Croatian Public Broadcasting Code of Ethics, but also misrepresenting it.

The Code is too general, confusing and has serious flaws. One such example is the special chapter prohibiting hidden advertising, the provisions refer only to goods and services, and not to covert political advertising. And criticism from media organizations will be particularly focused on the fact that the Code of Ethics never mentions a ban on political advertising, especially since it is precisely political influence that has been evaluated for years as the source of all public service disasters and as a problem that requires urgent resolution.

One of few examples

Greek Analyst: Gruevski ousted from Soros for failing to serve Western media”, “VMRO-DPMNE: Soros’s manipulations easily recognizable” or “Orban: EU and Soros guilty of refugee crisis” – these and similar headlines flood public service news after the change of power in 2017. The public accused that the public service was used as an instrument for these attacks.

Russian impact research project in the Balkans by the Corruption and Organized Crime Reporting Project will enlist the Macedonian public service in the media as part of a global anti-Soros campaign for which was revealed that is part of an organized effort to destabilize the country involving Russia and right-wing conservatives from the United States.

The commission has met for the second time since the public in 2018 began to exert strong pressure on them over their journalist spreading ethnic and religious hatred.

“Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia (CMEM) condemn what they say is an inappropriate address by an MRTV journalist who posted a call to mobilize during holiday Ilinden’s celebration on Mechkin Kamen.”, the associations will announce in a joint statement.

Only after that will follow the decision of the program editor to report the case to the Ethics Commission, which will give a resignation in the case of journalist Marija Kotovska, who has been secretly showing her party affiliation for years and was visible in her work on MTV.

The Dutch public service RTL is constantly receiving complaints from citizens. In their internal documents, they urge journalists to take into account the complaints of the public in their work. Complaints can be sent online through their website or by mail, and the public service responds to all of them. The pressure to be accurate, responsible and professional is immense, and for RTL News transparency is so important that journalists must attach their documents and other evidence and facts so that the citizen can understand how the news and articles were prepared.

If our public service responds to pressure and demands from citizens, standards will begin to rise. But for that to happen, MRTV has to offer this option in a transparent and innovative way.

An indignation that citizens are increasingly interested in the ethics in media is the number of complaints by citizens to the Ethics Council of Macedonia that it is growing year by year.

“I agree that MRTV Ethics Commission is not visible enough, and that is very important. The public service is extremely important in all countries with high standards in the field of media and journalism, and despite the control of existing guilds, it should also have its own mechanism for monitoring compliance with the Code of Journalists,” says the President of the Ethics Council. Katarina Sinadinovska.

 

This publication has been produced with the support of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED). Its contents do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of EED. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in this publication lies entirely with the author(s).

Photo: Tomislav Georgiev

Digitalno zastrašivanje kao metod pritiska

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BEOGRAD, 20.11.2019. – Uklanjanje dva videa istraživačkog medija BIRN sa Jutjuba, tehnički napadi na međunarodni portal Arms Wach zbog čega je on bio nedostupan nekoliko dana u Srbiji, te objavljivanje službenih mejlova novinara televizije N1, neki su od primera povreda digitalnih prava.

Fondacija Šer (Share), organizacija za zaštitu digitalnih prava i sloboda, zabeležila je 54 slučaja povreda digitalnih prava u Srbiji od aprila do septembra. U tom periodu najviše povreda digitalnih prava bilo je u kategoriji pritisaka zbog izražavanja i aktivnosti na internetu, što prati prethodne trendove.

Najmasovnija su bila kršenja potkategorija pretećih sadržaja i ugrožavanja sigurnosti i uvreda i neosnovanih optužbi. Mete ovakvih napada bili su uglavnom novinari, ali i aktivisti, javne ličnosti, političari i građani.

Trinest tužbi protiv jednog novinara

“Od 2014. godine, kada smo počeli da radimo monitoring, imamo čak preko 500 različitih povreda od manipulacija, iznošenja neistina o ljudima, uvreda, pretnji, tehničkih napada na sajtove, curenje podataka o ličnosti građana”, kaže Bojan Perkov iz Šer fondacije.

On navodi da je bilo i primera blokiranja i filtriranja sadržaja od strane velikih internet platformi kao što su Jutjub i Tviter.

“Recimo, bio je slučaj kada su bila uklonjena dva videa istraživačkog medija BIRN sa Jutjuba koji su se odnosili na visoke državne funkcionere. Ta videa su u komunikaciji sa Jutjubom vraćeni, ali često se dešava da vi kao građanin ili medij nemate načina da odreagujete na takve situacije i da sadržaj ostane blokiran”, navodi Perkov.

Navodi se i da je u ovom periodu monitoringa ostavljen značajan trag kada je u pitanju povreda prava većeg broja građana odjednom. Tako je zamenik gradonačelnika Beograda Goran Vesić objavio na svojoj zvaničnoj Fejsbuk stranici službene mejlove novinara N1.

Od aprila do septembra zabeležena su i dva narušavanja kategorije informacione privatnosti. Tako je u junu portal “Inđija kafe” bio meta tehničkih napada, nakon što je novinarka portala Verica Marinčić bila zastrašivana i na meti uvreda narodnog poslanika vladajuće koalicije, a u septembru je portal Arms Watch nekoliko dana bio nedostupan u Srbiji zbog tehničkih napada, neposredno po objavljivanju teksta o poslovima oca ministra unutrašnjih poslova Srbije Nebojše Stefanovića sa trgovinom oružjem, navodi se u šestomesečnom monitoringu Šer fondacije.

Desilo se i nekoliko pritisaka zbog objavljivanja informacija. Tako je bivši predsednik beogradske opštine Grocka, Dragoljub Simonović, protiv urednika portala Žig.info Željka Matorčevića u avgustu podneo 13. privatnu tužbu kojom je ukupno traženo 4.2 miliona dinara (oko 35.700 evra) za naknadu nematerijalne štete, navodi Šer fondacija.

Matorčević za Radio Slobodna Evropa (RSE) kaže da je sve tužbe protiv njega Simonović podneo od kada je izašao iz pritvora, početkom marta meseca, zbog optužbi da je naložio paljenje kuće novinara portala Žig.info Milana Jovanovića.

“On je faktički našao 13 tekstova koji su ga pogodili prethodnih godina i zbog toga je tužio. U novembru, mislim da je 20. novembar, imam jedno ročište sa njim od 9 do 11 sati, pa sledeće u pola 12. Kada ste izgubili dan za to, vi onda nemate više vremena da se bavite novinarstvom, odnosno istraživanjem bilo čega”, navodi Matorčević.

Mali broj sudskih epiloga

Petogodišnji presek stanja digitalnih prava, od maja 2014. godine do avgusta 2019, navode u Šer fondaciji, pokazao je da su novinari žrtve najtežih napada, dok su napadači u velikom broju slučajeva nepoznati, ali među njima takođe ima novinara, onlajn medija, građana, državnih funkcionera i drugih političara, kao i javnih ličnosti.

Veljko Milić, advokat i izvršni direktor Nezavisnog društva novinara Vojvodine (NDNV) kaže za RSE da su iz njegovog iskustva najčešća ugrožavanja prava na štetu novinara pretnje i uvrede koje dobijaju na društvenim mrežama.

“Nažalost, i pored toga što se sve te pretnje i uvrede prijavljuju, vrlo mali broj dobija sudski epilog, odnosno vrlo mali broj izvršilaca na kraju bude otkriven. Kada izvršioci budu otkriveni vrlo često se sa njima zaključuju sporazumi o priznanju krivičnog dela ili se čak primenjuje institut odlaganja krivičnog gonjenja gde ti ljudi uplate neki novac u humanitarne svrhe, pa se onda odbaci krivična prijava”, navodi Milić.

On ocenjuje da je digitalna prava novinara u Srbiji jako teško zaštiti.

“Kada su u pitanju krivična dela izvršena u onlajn okruženju na štetu novinara za to je nadležno Tužilaštvo za visokotehnološki kriminal. Međutim, veliki broj krivičnih dela izvršenih na štetu novinara se sada kvalifikuju kao neka krivična dela koja se gone po privatnoj tužbi. To znači da novinar sam mora da vodi istragu a ne tužilaštvo, da novinar mora da sazna ko se nalazi iza lažnog profila sa, na primer na Fejsbuku, preko koga novinaru stižu pretnje što je u praksi neizvodljivo jer novinar nema resurse da sazna ko se nalazi iza lažnih profila lažnih Fejsbuk stranica koje služe samo za targetiranje pojedinih novinara i pojedinih medija”, kaže Milić.

Analiza Šer fondacije petogodišnjeg perioda sažeta je u knjigu “Greška 404: Digitalna prava u Srbiji 2014-2019”. Pored ličnog svedočenja ljudi koji su bili na meti napada, knjiga sadrži analizu nekih od najznačajnijih slučajeva, kao i trendova u domaćim i međunarodnim okvirima bezbednosti na internetu.

Nedeljko Dukic, second suspect in the attack on journalist Kovacevic, now in custody

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Banja Luka, 20.11.2019. – Nedeljko Dukic, second suspect in the attempted murder of BN television journalist Vladimir Kovacevic, has surrendered to police and is currently in custody.

Dukic, for whom an international arrest warrant was filed, surrendered to the judicial authorities in the presence of his defense attorney, as confirmed by the Banja Luka District Public Prosecutor’s Office. They stated that on September 28 this year, they submitted a motion for custody of Nedeljko Dukic to the District Court in Banja Luka for the attempted murder offense.

The District Court of Banja Luka confirmed for Oslobodjenje daily that a month in custody has been imposed on the suspect for assaulting journalist Kovacevic. The Prosecution alleges that they continue to work on the said case, in accordance with the provisions of the RS Criminal Procedure Code.

BN television journalist Vladimir Kovacevic was attacked on August 26 last year in front of a building in Banja Luka.

Last year, Marko Colic from Banja Luka was sentenced to four years in prison for attempting to murder journalist Kovacevic.

Why do journalist tend to become censors of their own work?

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By: Mirsada Lingo Demirovic

Sarajevo, 20.11.2019. – Freedom of opinion and expression has been guaranteed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as by the constitutions and laws of both BiH Entities. Nevertheless, its implementation is rather a complex process in a country where everyone tends to keep media sources “on a leash” thus having full control over them.
It seems that those having political and governing power in BiH have been taught and instructed that they may rule by the use of “iron fist” in the first place, whenever they find this appropriate and they have managed to do quite well in their “ruling” so media houses in BiH have consequently been exposed to various types of pressures.

Freedom of expression is too expensive

When journalists write about corruption which indeed is one of the most crucial problems in BiH society, the pressure almost by default, comes from institutions that should protect public interests instead, fight against corruption, fine and sanction those responsible. However, when journalists or media sources discover and dare to post, share or public, that is, to publically release the news that potentially represents a great corruptive affair, like for instance, that there is serious possibility that the first men of judiciary system is bribed, then they (journalists or media sources) are exposed to pressure even by those that should be the first to react to such affairs; namely judiciary officials. Instead of using legal means and pursuant to existing laws, in and by applying common sense, in order to investigate the crimes and interrogate the perpetrators of such illegal actions (corruptive actions and other illegal operations), the officials of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH rather chose to talk about those that write about corruption and they even decide to interrogate journalists and check their sources.

Everything that has been happening to our colleagues who managed to discover bribery and write about corruption or similar criminal actions, has not given them any hope nor courage (including other journalists) to cope with “real” stories. We are under the impression that everyone tends to censure media space including, governing and judiciary officials, businessmen, football firms and the public that makes no exception especially when it comes to insulting, offensive and primitive comments in wide world of social media.

Freedom of opinion and speech in BiH therefore does exist, only that we have witnessed that this particular “freedom” bears certain consequences affecting media houses.

Media in BiH do not face typical censure which, one way or another, has always existed throughout this specific region. Nowadays, censure in BiH gets new forms and shapes which include the use of force, blackmailing, threats etc.

Most recent case of this kind of censure which included forcing the change of opinion in public, as a result of public denial of news, happened recently to our colleagues at RadioSarajevo.ba, when two persons, as they introduced themselves – members of local football firm, physically threatened journalists and their family members thus forcing them to delete the article (text) because they did not like the content of it.

This vandal, rather primitive deed, provided censure with new horizons, some kind of new dimensions conceived in some dark minds of those that fight against the truth and those who disliked the genuine truth. It was frightening that this recent assault and, to some extent, a call to all of those that, based on various reasons, did not comprehend what media had to release, to demonstrate in same way their disapproval and through some savage, uncivilized and above all, illegal way, request from journalists to make changes and alterations of their posts, texts or articles or to hide the truth that “hurts” them.

This is just another reason why the censure is on an increase line in media and amongst journalists; not so much because of fear from editing offices or editors; it derives from the fear for their own lives, but also the lives of family members and relatives.

How can we fight under such circumstances? How can we work in accordance with professional rules of journalism? How can we write about discrepancies and irregularities in society if we have to fear for our own lives and lives of our families, relatives and friends because the system would not and shall not protect them?

Besides all of the above listed set of problems, journalists do not oppose censure and auto censure and because of burden they have to face all the time, including monthly-based struggle for decent living existence, making for living etc. Although, some would call this “conformism”, it is indeed the fact that a number of our colleagues have been “forced” to auto censure and also they had to endure imposed censure because media in BiH mostly, particularly public broadcasting services have strong bounds and ties with official politics thus leaving the objective reporting and journalism to fade away. It seems that the amount of censure is more notable in public broadcasting services, that is, in media houses financed by public money, rather than in private media houses.
Journalists working at public broadcasting services have daily been imposed with pressures by people ordering them what they must and must not post, public or release. They are ordered which politics to defend support and back up on one hand, and, on the other hand, which politics they must offend, insult and criticize.

Consequently, apart from journalists, the general public have also been imposed to certain level of terror, because they are forced to listen to identical statements and announcements in radio news program and TV news programs and shows broadcasted by public service broadcasters, including watch at the same faces for years and often public have no alternative but to watch TV reports that are obviously unprofessional and apparently censured.

There are of course, private media sources that are often biased in their writing or they simply tend to overcome certain venue or event only because their “bosses” do not find personal interests in posting, writing or sharing such venues or events

Despite everything that has been happening in BiH, as far as media field is concerned, there is a number of media houses that desperately try to oppose and fight the censorship. On the other hand, the number of those that favor “all sides and parties” in their stories. Problem of current reporting for media and journalists in BiH represents the fact that they seem to have forgotten the fundamental principles that professional journalism is based on; they seem to have forgotten what news was and how it should be written and shared all because of some sort of exclusivity and “race” to be the first to release the information.

Politics is ruthless and so is society

It is hard today in Bosnia and Herzegovina to work as professional journalist and write without limits without being at risk of getting punished for that, but not punished by editing office superiors, but instead, getting punished from the society and various politics that impose their rules about absolutely everything, including media reporting. This is the situation caused by a complete absence of legal solution that would provide protection for professional journalism from verbal and non-verbal assaults and attacks that they have been exposed to continually.

Accordingly, journalists are often forced to censure their own work – even if they write about most simple topic or issue or when they deal with serious investigative work discovering cases of bribery and corruption, including other criminal deeds.

Additional encouraging thing is the fact that countless stories that manage to discover criminal activities, particularly those that included highly ranked politicians as main stars, instead of being posted on front pages, these stories often end up in manager’s desk drawers and they never get published or posted, while their authors, at the same time, are imposed with pressure and often have to back down and withdraw, or even leave their own country.

Censure and auto censure in media in BiH is more frequent and present today than ever before, because Bosna and Herzegovina is a “small swamp full of crocodiles” and working in such environment is very complex and difficult to attain and at the same, it is also difficult for journalists not to become their own censors as a result.

(The author is a journalist of “Nezavisne novine” daily; this article was originally published in E-journalist bulletin)

N1 chief producer: We’ve been attacked before, but never so brutal

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BELGRADE, 20.11.2019. – Igor Bozic, N1 Belgrade executive producer, told Cenzolovka, Serbia’s media watchdog website, on Tuesday that the TV was used to attacks and firing squads form pro-regime Pink television and tabloids, but that such a brutal showdown it had not experienced so far.

He referred to vicious insults on N1’s reporter Miodrag Sovilj which linked his question to Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic to the worsening of his health.

“It is shocking when a journalist is targeted and directly accused of jeopardising the President’s health, Bozic said in an interview.”

“They made several special programmes about our reporting on events and interpreted them ill-intentionally. All Insults, humiliations, labels that we work for someone’s political benefit, what is far from being true, were not enough. Now, they added a new element – conspiracy about a pre-prepared scenario to provoke President’s reflex reaction,” Bozic said.

He said one should look into arguments used by a pro-regime tabloid editor, a marketing expert and President’s media advisor – “they all speak about how Sovilj put a phone into President’s face to provoke him to react and push the phone away.”

“That all lift up a level to a conspiracy, and President’s advisor says she will change a protocol, like his life was endangered, only to add later: ‘No, I didn’t say Sovilj was quilty’,” the producer told the website.”

“They also said that neither the President, who was in a hospital then, nor any official linked Sovilj to Vucic’s worsened health. But, a high-ranking official of Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Goran Vesic directly linked Sovilj, speaking to the Belgrade Studio B TV, as did the editor and expert. And then, on Sunday night, the whole context was explained by the media advisor, again on Pink TV,” Bozic added.

Cenzolovka recalled that N1 had often been a target of smear campaigns in other media too, but a name of any N1 reporter had not been repeated so many times as Sovilj’s.

Bozic added that publishing an old photo from Internet’s ‘cellar’ showed “how those who have never been professionals are ready to destroy the profession.”

He referred to the publishing of a ten-year-old photo of Sovilj who was a student at the time, with the caption saying ‘drunk journalist.’

“They used fake photos showing sex with animals in propaganda before, so that Sovilj, as a teenager, didn’t do that bad. Everyone dealing with media knows how private photos are treated and that it’s clear to what extent the international code was violated. And, yes, that’s dangerous when journalists are accused of asking questions only to be a star on social networks,” Bozic said.

Asked how could N1 staff be safe while doing its job, not only on the ground but in the TV’s building which was a target of unknown perpetrators who threw leaflets into the yard, Bozic said they could not ignore that.

“But what can we do? To bring along soldiers like it’s done in Iraq? We are not in such a situation, fortunately. However, as people whose faces are known from TV, if they are targeted, everyone could recognise them and take ‘justice’ in their own hands. Who would be responsible then? Would those who mercilessly labelled our reporters feel responsible? Is this state capable of always protecting everyone everywhere? None state is, and that’s why it’s important what is said, especially if you hold or support those in power,” Bozic said.

“Vucic’s media advisor Suzana Vasiljevic interpreted to various European and journalists’ organisations a part of the dialogue (between Vucic and Sovilj) as an inappropriate address by a reporter and Sovilj’s sentence ‘let’s not playing around,’ translated as ‘don’t screw around with us.’ To us, this seems more than a usual spin by media advisors,” Bozic said.

He added that Miodrag Sovilj had the support of N1 audience, as well as all other reporters and camera people who were, as Bozic said, often praised by people.

“There are those who swear. That goes with the territory, but anything that crosses that line will be a call for an alarm. Such as those threats we receive on the Internet. We got some on Saturday, we reported them and will see what an outcome will be,” N1’s executive producer said.

Asked if the campaign N1 is exposed to influence the work in a sense that some refuse to talk to N1, Bozic says that a problem exists since the beginning.

“By refusing to be a guest at N1, Aleksandar Vucic has sent a message to other officials that it is not desirable. It has double effects. Firstly, to show that our reporting is not balanced and secondly to protect themselves from hard questions. For them, it’s a win-win situation. For us just a frustration, because as much as we try to get answers at news conferences, that is not always possible, and then the insistence on the answer made Sovilj a national issue number one. That wasn’t either his or our aim,” Bozic said.

AJM condemns Panchevski’s insults to journalists

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SKOPJE, 19.11.2019 – The Association of Journalists of Macedonia strongly condemned the inappropriate and aggressive speech and insults towards the editor and journalists of the “Sakam da kazham” portal (SDK.mk) by the former President of the Criminal Court in Skopje, Vladimir Panchevski for who in July this year was temporary removed from the post of judge by the Judicial council. 

“Such behavior does not resemble for a former high official and can be interpreted as a threat and pressure on the work of journalists in this medium. This aggressive speech to journalists by Panchevski could incite violence against our colleagues, and could further endanger their security and restrict freedom of expression.

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia encourages the use of self-regulatory mechanisms. Therefore, if Pancevski considered that the journalists had violated the Code of ethics in their work, he could have filed a complaint to the Council of Honor in AJM or the Council of Media Ethics in Macedonia (CMEM). Otherwise, his behavior is considered as direct pressure on the media”, reacted AJM.

N1 TV under attack again; journalist say it’s dangerous

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BELGRADE, 18.11.2019. – Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic left the Military Academy Hospital on Monday after three days of treatment following his cardiovascular problems and is expected to continue his daily work, but in the meantime, his associates and pro-regime media continued to accuse N1 TV and its reporter Miodrag Sovilj of indirectly engendering the President’s health by asking questions about the findings by the whistleblower Aleksandar Obradovic.

Obradovic published what he said were documents about some dubious arms trade deals at Serbia’s ammunition Krusik factory and the alleged involvement of Serbia’s Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic’s father. Obradovic is still at house arrest.

The editor of the pro-regime Informer tabloid Dragan J. Vucicevic told the live programme of Pink TV, also close to Vucic and the authorities: “I personally know how it was difficult to President Vucic about what we saw on television, because of that very interesting news conference at the Belgrade Waterfront, and because of some meetings he had with the European parliamentarians. We can talk about that later if you agree?” The anchor agreed.

But, the only issue was the news conference during which Vucic, following the opening of a boulevard at the Belgrade Waterfront, talked to reporters and answered, among other questions, to those related to the document that BIRN published almost a year ago and which showed that the Minister’s father Branko Stefanovic was a part of the GIM company delegation which visited the Krusik factory.

N1 reporter reminded the President about it.

“That college, to describe him like that, probably from N1, who put a phone into the face of the President of the Republic… where is that possible? The idea was to provoke an unwilling reaction of any man; any normal man would react to that. You and I as well; if someone were pushing a phone at us, 90 percent of us would at least pushed the arm (holding the phone). That was the idea to provoke such Vucic’s reflex reaction to make a chaos of that later.”

Nebojsa Krstic, a marketing expert, added: “To push a phone under the President’s nose… He Sovilj) says – have you seen this and pushes the phone; he (Vucic) tells him he doesn’t see well, I don’t have proper glasses, read me the document. He (Sovilj) reads him parts, and he (Vucic) says read me everything so that I know what is that about. He (Sovilj) tells him ‘let’s don’t play around!’ Watch that – you tell Serbia’s President something you can say to your friends when playing football or when drinking beer after the football.”

Anchor agreed, saying: “That is inadmissible.”

Goran Vesic, Belgrade Deputy Mayor: “You could see yesterday, several hours before the President was admitted to VMA… You had N1 reporter Miodrag Sovilj pushing a phone into his (Vucic’s) face and address him with (street language) slang. That’s really a shame.”

However, journalists warn that such an interpretation of the event endangers the safety of reporters and is pressure on media.

Filip Svarm, from the Vreme weekly, said: “Vucic has been used for years to those previously agreed questions. So has the public. In any case, a journalists’ professional work and the insistence for an answer is something these authorities don’t like; and it is dangerous in a way when you accuse N1 reporter that he has sent the President to the hospital; that he has upset him, provoked him, whatever – you’re sending a message that such questions, and the insistence to an answer, are not welcomed.”

Another journalist, Vesna Malisic, from the NIN weekly, added: “The most frightening things are the whole interpretation of that event and an attempt to accuse N1 of almost murdering the President. And that is so dangerous; I think we are entering a risky zone. I think there are smart people who will have to say – stop this, be reasonable, this will all explode because we never know how this can end. We have a bad experience with supporting and encouraging violence.”

Out of many cases of threats to N1 in the last five years, only one perpetrator received a suspended sentence, while the other was sent to a mental hospital.

And, here is the transcript of the conversation between President Vucic and N1 reporter Miodrag Sovilj.

Sovilj: “Have you seen this document?”
Vucic: I can’t see anything. I wear glasses. Read it for me.
Sovilj: Look.
Vucic: Well, you read it to me.
Sovilj: This a document from GIM company which shows that the father of the Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic was in the factory (Krusik) on 2017, to view the weapons as a member of that company. So, not at the Fair…
Vucic” So, he was…
Sovilj: Yes, in 2017. It’s written here…
Vucic: He was.. In what capacity? Read it to me.
Sovilj” It’s written here – as a member of the delegation…
Vucic: Read me what it says… Avoid those tricks, read me what it says
Sovilj: You haven’t seen this?
Vucic: No, I haven’t. Please read it to me.
Sovilj: You haven’t seen…
Vucic No. Please read it to me, I trust you… See how careful and patient I am.
Sovilj reading from his mobile phone: “We ask you to let us in on September 8 for viewing the merchandise for the following individuals (among others) Stefanovic Branko”
Vucic: No, no. Read me the document, please… Read me the document carefully. The whole document, please, for me to hear
Sovilj reading: Business partners from the Imperial Al Jazeera Riyadh from Riyadh and we send you..
Vucic: Which Riyadh now? Which Riyadh…
Sovilj: their passports in the attachment.
Vucic: Which Riyadh?
Sovilj: Was Branko Stefanovic in Krusik in 2017, and in what capacity?
Vucic: How I know that?
Sovilj: You haven’t seen this document?
Vucic How I know that? I’m not his mother or father to see if he was or not. And what if he was? What that proves? What if he was? I don’t understand…
Sovilj: That he was a part of GIM delegation…
Vucic: What it proves… if he has been…
Sovilj: That he was there representing GIM company…
Vucic: What proves that? Read me the whole document; you are hiding something from me… common, read me the whole text…
Sovilj: Mr Vucic, don’t, please. Here you are, read this (shows him the phone)
Vucic: I can’t see… There is an SMS sent to you what to ask me…
Sovilj: You can see that and can’t see the other…
Vucic: This (SMS) is in larger font, the other is in smaller.. read it to me, I trust you…
Sovilj: Mr Vucic lets’ not play around…
Vucic: I’m not playing around, I’m very serious
Sovilj: This is the document from the factory GIM that he was in the factory for viewing the weapons…
Vucic: that he was in the factory… And that is forbidden to be in the factory
Sovilj: Absolutely not. The issue is in what capacity?
Vucic: How I know in what capacity? Where is a crime there? Do you know? Tell me what…
Sovilj: You don’t see a conflict in interest there…
Vucic: Well, the conflict… Look now, dear friends, look, people, what happens always. They always say it’s a big crime, always. And when one corners them, when it’s exposed that they don’t have anything they always start talking about the conflict of interest… And by the way, I’m not laying to you; I can’t see well with these glasses. Those messages coming your way, they are in the larger font. And you see, I won’t say who is sending them and what they tell you to ask me… how fair and honest I’m. And, regarding this, in the end, people always ask is it a conflict of interest. I beg, if I can as the President of the Republic of Serbia since it’s not really clear to me either, I beg of the Anti-Corruption agency to deal with it so that we can establish if there was a conflict of interest or not. So, there is no big crime; it’s about whether we have a conflict of interest. That is extremely important to be established and then that I topple Nebojsa Stefanovic within the party, as, and rightly so, the political parties which dealt with this were saying. OK.