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EP on Montenegro: A leader in integration with a worrying state in media

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europaabgeordneter.de
EP building Strasbourg

BRUSSELS 29.11.2018. – Members of the European Parliament adopted a report on Montenegro for the past year, which states that Montenegro is making good progress in European integration, and that it remains the leading candidate for the next European Union member, and that it is a country with a disturbing media environment.

EP rapporteur for Montenegro Charles Tanok said that the biggest challenge for Montenegro is exactly in the area of media freedom and stated that the European Commission’s reports have not been showing progress in this area for 3 years. Also, the attack on journalist Vijesti daily Olivera Lakic is still uninhabited, Tanok recalled.

EP member of the Liberal Democrat group Jozo Rados from Croatia, in addition to attacking journalists, also underlined pressure on the Council of the Agency for Electronic Media. He also said that the working conditions of journalists in Montenegro are very bad, and journalists’ salaries are small.

“Local media are in a bad financial situation, and media ownership is non-transparent,” Rados concluded.

The adopted report states that the European Parliament is increasingly concerned about the state of media freedom and expression in Montenegro and condemns cases of intimidation, dirty campaigns and verbal and physical attacks on journalists. The EP is asking the Government of Montenegro to ensure that journalists are protected in their work.

The European Parliament is particularly concerned about the attack on journalist Olivera Lakic on May 8, 2018, and calls for a full investigation of the case. They also consider it unacceptable that there are no results in investigating older cases of assaults on journalists.

They also noted that the poor economic position of journalists reduces the level of professionalism in the media.

“The lack of financial independence of the media stimulates political pressures and their polarization,” the report said. The EP also calls for ensuring full transparency of state advertising in the media, and urges the government to consider alternatives to indirect financial assistance to the media in order to strengthen their independence.

The EP also regrets the financial and pressure on the editorial independence of the Public Broadcasting Service of Montenegro as well as the Agency for Electronic Media and underlines the need for RTCG and other media to be protected from political pressure. They also complain about changes to the RTCG Council and the dismissal of General Manager Andrijana Kadija and believes that premature shifts are only allowed in special circumstances.

Serbian TV reporting based on attitude of authorities

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BELGRADE, 29.11.2018. – Serbian TV reports on the European Union, United States and Russia are mainly shallow and not analytical and is based on the current attitude of the authorities, the Bureau for Social Research (BIRODI) said in a report published on Tuesday.

BIRODI’s report covered TV stations with national frequencies and the N1 cable station, analyzing 3,013 reports between August 1 and October 31.

Most reports on those topics were on TV Pink, TV Hepo and the state TV RTS, Birodi’s Zoran Gavrilovic said adding that journalists were more analytical in reporting on the EU and US than on Russia with President Aleksandar Vucic featured in every sixth report.

Gavrilovic said the most positive reporting on Russia was by N1 TV while other stations based their reports on Russia, the US and EU on the attitude of the authorities.

He said reporting on European integration processes was shallow, weak and with a minimum presence and has been marginalized by relations between Serbia and Kosovo.

AJM had meetings with representatives of the European institutions

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SKOPJE, 29.11.2018 – Representatives of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia were in a three-day visit to Brussels where they held several bilateral meetings with representatives of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), MEPs, representatives of the European Commission and other organizations working in the field of media.

At the first meeting, the President of AJM – Nasser Selmani, the Executive Director – Dragan Sekulovski and the communications coordinator – Deniz Sulejman met with the director of the European Federation of Journalists – Renate Schroeder and her colleagues whom they met several times in the rest of the period spent in Brussels. They discussed the current situation with the media in the country, the steps to be taken, as well as the possible future cooperation with the EFJ and the IFJ in order to increase the capacities of journalists and to increase the level of safety in their work.

efj

The second meeting, attended by the representatives of AJM, was the group meeting with the European Commission (DGNEAR) to discuss media reforms and the safety of journalists in the country and the region of Western Balkans, while later on the same day they held a bilateral meeting with the responsible persons for Macedonia.

During the visit, the representatives of AJM had bilateral meetings with several MPs from the European Parliament, such as Alojz Peterle, Ivo Vajgl and Tonino Picula, and after that, they attended a briefing where MEPs Tanja Fajon and Knut Fleckenstein spoke to the Western Balkan journalists.

At all meetings it was pointed out that the fact that in the latest version of “Plan 18” of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia the part concerning the reform of the media was deleted. Also, a special accent was placed on the high level of impunity for attacks against journalists whose percentage is still very high. Another topic which was discussed was the need for changing the disputed parts of the Electoral Code for which the Association of Journalists of Macedonia alarmed at the very moment of its adoption, and in that direction was emphasized the need to unblock and finally pass the Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, which has been stuck in the parliament for a long time.

This visit was organized as part of the activities undertaken by the AJM in the area of advocacy and lobbying for the safety of journalists and media freedom in Macedonia. As a result of the meetings, MP Ivo Vajgl stressed the importance of the media in a democratic society at yesterday’s plenary session of the European Parliament. He said Macedonia would need to provide space for free and pluralistic media, it should protect journalists in the country and fight the organized crime in a more effective way.

vajgl

Politička nezavisnost medija u Srbiji pod visokim pritiskom

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photo: pixabay

29.11.2018. – Novinari i drugi medijski radnici se suočavaju sa nizom pretnji i napada (fizičkih i digitalnih) u nekoliko evropskih zemalјa, pokzuju rezultati istraživanja „Monitoring medijskog pluralizma“ za 2017. godinu.

Ove izveštaje je objavio Centar za medijski pluralizam i medijske slobode (The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom – CMPF), obuhvatajući 31 zemlјu Evrope (28 zemalјa članica Evropske unije i države kandidata: Makedonija, Srbija i Turska).

Izveštaju o Monitoringu Medijskog Pluralizma za Srbiju 2017 je utvrđeno da Srbija po nekoliko indikatora potpada pod visok rizik, kao što su politička nezavisnost medija, mediji i izborni proces, nezavisnost javnog servisa, pristup medijima za manjine, rodna ravnopravnost u medijima, dok se za većinu drugih indikatora kotira kao srednji rizik za pluralizam medija. Osnovni zaključak je da postoji solidan pravni okvir za većinu indikatora, dok je najveći problem primena propisa, te je jedna od glavnih preporuka hitna primena postojećeg regulatornog okvira od strane svih relevantnih institucija.

Kada je reć o globalnom nivou, rezultati pokazuju ili opštu stagnaciju ili pogoršanje u svakoj od četiri oblasti obuhvaćene MPM: Osnovna zaštita; Pluralizam tržišta; Politička nezavisnost i Društvena inkluzivnost. MPM 2017 je potvrdio nalaze prethodna tri kruga monitoringa – da nijedna zemlјa koja je analizirana nije potpuno oslobođena rizika za medijski pluralizam. Povećanje nivoa rizika, posebno u oblasti osnovne zaštite – koja procenjuje neophodne uslove za slobodu izražavanja, pristup informacijama i bezbednost novinara – je dodatni izvor zabrinutosti koji poziva na neodložnu reakciju.

Događaji koji imaju značajan uticaj na medijske slobode i medijski pluralizam u Evropi su obeležili 2017.-tu godinu. Najtamniji momenat je bio mučko ubistvo istraživačke novinarke i blogerke Dafne Karuane Galicije, na Malti, u oktobru 2017. godine.

Među glavnim zaključcima su i da se radni uslovi novinara pogoršavaju, izlažući novinare spolјašnjim i neopravdanim pritiscima u njihovom profesionalnom radu u većini analiziranih zemalјa. Takođe, zaštita uzbunjivača je još uvek slaba u Evropi.

Koncentracija medijskog vlasništva i dalјe predstavlјa jedan od od najvećih rizika za medijski pluralizam i smatra se da stvara prepreke za raznovrsnost informacija i različitih stanovišta, a mediji koji proizvode vesti nastavlјaju da budu ranjivi na politički uticaj, posebno kada su ekonomski uslovi nestabilni.

Nedostatak političke nezavisnosti javnih servisa, posebno u Centralnoj i Istočnoj Evropi, i dalјe predstavlјa razlog za zabrinutost.

Nedostatak rodne ravnopravnosti na menadžerskim pozicijama i onim gde se kreira sadržaj u evropskim medijskim organizacijama predstavlјa jedan od najvećih rizika uočenih u okviru ovog Monitoringa.

Kako se navod i u izveštaju, mali ili nikakav napredak je zabeležen u vezi medijske pismenosti u okviru Evropske unije. 

Monitoring o medijskom pluralizmu, sproveden od strane Centra za medijski pluralizam i medijske slobode, istražuje rizike za medijski pluralizam u okviru četiri tematske oblasti: osnovna zaštita, pluralizam tržišta, politička nezavisnost i društvena inkluzivnost. Rezultati se zasnivaju na 20 indikatora, pet u okviru svake oblasti, i na balansiranoj proceni relevantnih pravnih, ekonomskih i društveno-ekonomskih uslova. Nacionalni istraživači sprovode prikuplјanje podataka i izrađuju izveštaj jedne zemlјe. Osim toga, kako bi se osigurali tačni i pouzdani nalazi, grupa nacionalnih eksperata u svakoj zemlјi je recenzirala odgovore na posebno evaluativna pitanja. Metodologija je detalјno predstavlјena u drugom delu konačnog izveštaja, dok izveštaj svake zemlјe sadrži listu nacionalnih istraživača i eksperta.

Finalni izveštaj i izveštaji pojedinačnih zemalјa se mogu naći OVDE.

Inspektor: Ćuruvija je za DB bio “neprijatelj broj jedan”

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BEOGRAD, 27.11.2018. – Novinar Slavko Ćuruvija je bio predmet obrade Službe državne bezbednosti (DB) i vodio se kao “državni neprijatelj broj jedan”.

Navedeno je da svojim javnim kritikama i aktivnostima “ugrožava porodicu” i urušava državnu vlast, rekao je, u Specijalnom sudu, inspektor Dragan Kecman koji je vodio radnu grupu za rasvetljavanje slučaja Ćuruvija i podneo krivičnu prijavu protiv optuženih u ovom postupku.

On je kao svedok Tužilaštva, na suđenju za ubistvo nekadašnjeg vlasnika i urednika Dnevnog telegrafa i Evropljanina, rekao da je to video u dosijeu o Ćuruviji i iz naredbe za sprovođenje tajnih mera nadzora nad njim, kao i da je Aleksandar Tijanić bio označen kao državni neprijatelj broj dva.

Govoreći o rasvetljavaju ubistava Ćuruvije, on je istakao da su preduzete brojne operativne mere, kao što je uviđaj, veštačenje i da je obavljeno “minimum” petsto informativnih razgovora.

Odbrana je, iznoseći primedbe posle njegovog svedočenja, tvrdila da je Kecman došao na kraj postupka da održi “medijski nastup i spinovanje jer nama dokaza”.

Tokom tri sata svedočenja, Kecman je detaljno govorio o saznanjima do kojih je došao, navodeći da je listing sa baznih stanica mobilne telefonije pokazao da su nekadašnji pripadnici DB Ratko Romić i Miroslav Kurak, optuženi kao neposredni izvršioci, bili “na samom mestu ubistava Ćuruvije” u vreme kada se desio zločin.

“Došli smo do saznanja da je organizator ubistava Radomir Marković”, rekao je Kecman, govoreći o tadašnjem šefu DB, koji je prvooptuženi na suđenju.

On je govorio i o tajnoj pratnji Ćuruvije na dan ubistava koju je, tvrdi Tužilaštvo, mimo procedure naložio tadašnji šef beogradskog centra DB, optuženi Milan Radonjić, da bi informacije zloupotrebio i dao izvršiocima. Tužilaštvo navodi da učesnici pratnje nisu znali za takve namere Radonjića.

Kecman je rekao da su se pripadnici pratnje, nakon što su povučeni sa zadatka, okupili na Kalemegdanu, kao zbornom mestu i naveo da su “delovali izgubljeno, shvatili su šta se desilo”.

Kecman je rekao da su nakon toga oni otišli u beogradski centar BD, koji se tih dana nalazio na izmeštenoj lokaciji zbog bombardovanja.

“Rekao bih nešto ako dozvolite jer zvuči vulgarno. Neki ljudi su im rekli ‘dupe uza zid, niko ništa da ne priča'”, rekao je Kecman.

Kecman je, govoreći o operativnim radnjama koje je preduzimao, naveo da je imao informativni razgovor sa dežurnim načelnim u beogradskom centru DB na dan ubistva Cvijetinom Milinkovićem, koji je vodio dnevnik, ali predsedavajuća veća Snežana Jovanović nije dozvolila da govori o sadržini njihovog razgovora.

Pozvani ste da govorite samo o tome koje ste radnje preduzimali ne i o sadržaju razgovora, rekla je Jovanović, koja je slično upozorenje ponovila u više navrata, uz opasku da Kecman dobro shvata šta mu kaže.

U objašnjenju optužnice, navedeno je da je Milinković, koji je u međuvremenu preminuo, u dnevnik dežurstva beležio kontakte sa Radonjićem i njegovu naredbu da se pratnja prekine u 16:25 minuta.

Tužilaštvo navodi da se ubisto desilo u intervalu 16:38 i 16:45, 11. aprila 1999. na Uskrs, i da je Radonjić povukao pratnju kako njeni pripadnici ne bi videli izvršioce.

Advokat Dušan Mašić, branilac Markovića, rekao je da će sve novine “sutra pisati da je Ćuruvija bio državni neprijatelj broj jedan, iako to nismo videli tokom suđenja”.

“Kecman je bio ostrašćen kao svedok ali bez dokaza”, reka je Mašić.

On je tvrdio da je Kecman još uvek u kontaktu sa predsednikom radne grupe za rešenje slučajeva ubistva novinara Veranom Matićem, iako je istraga odavno završena, za kojeg je rekao da “sprovodi pritisak na sud i sve nas” svojim javnim istupima.

Advokat Zora Dobričanin Nikodinović, branilac Romića i Radonjića, rekla je da Kecman nije svojim svedočenjem davao izjavu za sud već za medije i da je ponavljao “nebuloze” iz nekih medija i “političkih kampanja”.

“Kecman se trudi da mu ne propadne životno delo, da optuži Slobodana Miloševića i Službu državne bezbednosti”, rekao je Marković.

Predsedavajuće veća sudija Jovanović zakazala je nastavak glavnog pretresa za 6. decembar, kada bi mogao, kako očekuje, da se završi sa dokaznim postupkom i počne sa iznošenjem završnih reči.

AJK: Threats must stop against sources of journalists

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PRISTINA, 26.11.2018 – The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) is concerned about the notification of director of University Clinical Hospital Services, Basri Sejdiu who demanded to find and sanction the employee that cooperated with a media that published a video of floods inside the central pharmacy of the institution, in which bad conditions are shown in storing and protecting the medicines.

This fact presents censorship and violation of the rights of employees and affects directly the work of media causing this way an obstacle in receiving information at the time when institutions continue to be more and more closed for public.

Also, this act is in opposition with the Law on Protection of Whistleblowers which is recently approved in Kosovo’s Assembly and it is expected to enter in power within eight days. This law protects whistleblowers and obliges Kosovo’s institution to offer guarantees for them. In contrary, not respecting the law consists of sanctions for all.

AJK supports strongly professional work of all institutions and believes in basic principles of profession and it is engaged to secure safe and secure environment for journalists in their work.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo hopes that this concern will be understood clearly and rightly from all parties.

Kontroverzne odluke sudskog veća u slučaju Ćuruvija

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BEOGRAD, 26.11.2018. – Vest da je sudsko veće koje je 2015. oslobodilo Luku Bojovića optužbi za ubistvo svojim odlukama kršilo zakon, izazvala je reakcije u javnosti. Ne zbog spekulacija da bi se sudije Snežana Jovanović, Vladimir Mesarović i Dragan Milošević mogli naći pod proverom, već zbog činjenice da isto veće sudi u kontroverznom procesu za ubistvo Slavka Ćuruvije.

Da li sudsko veće koje sudi optuženima za ubistvo Slavka Ćuruvije radi na otkrivanju istine ili oslobađanju od odgovornosti nekadašnjih pripadnika Državne bezbednosti. To pitanje ponovo postavlja predsednik komisije za istraživanje ubistva novinara Veran Matić koji je već javno upozoravao na odluke tog veća.

„Mislim da bi to sudsko veće trebalo da traži izuzeće iz procesa bez obzira koliko to teško bilo, ali način vođenja je takav da je pored kršenja odredaba Krivičnog zakona ima tu dosta poteza koji su govorili više o tome da je proces vođen da bi se oslobodili, a ne da bi se ustanovila istina“, kaže Veran Matić.

Spornim smatra odluke veća da:

– dvojicu optuženih pusti iz pritvora u kućni pritvor, čime im je omogućena komunikacija sa optuženim koji je u bekstvu, ali i omogućen uticaj na svedoke
– pokuša da izbaci iz dokaza deo izveštaja sa baznih stanica mobilne telefone, kojima se utvrđuje komunikacija između optuženih u vreme ubistva i njihovo kretanje
– i pokuša da izbaci iz dokaza svedočenja inspektora koji se bavio slučajem Ćuruvija i dežurnog u centru Državne beznednosti koji je tvrdio da mu je Milan Radonjić naredio prekid praćenja neposredno pre ubistva.

Novinar i urednik Cenzolovke Perica Gunjić ta svedočenja smatra ključnim.

„Njemu je Milan Radonjić javio da prekine odmah to praćenje, tj. da javi ljudima na terenu da to praćenje odmah prekinu. Prema iskazu koji je on tada dao, njemu je Radonjić rekao da će možda biti primenjene druge mere“, rekao je Gunjić.

Gunjić smatra da nijedna vlast nije imala volje da rasvetli ubistvo Ćuruvije i podseća da je istraga pokrenuta godinu i po nakon ubistva, a prvi dokazi i svedočenja prikupljani godinama kasnije.

„Ono što je rađeno u međuvremenu, da su pritiskani svedoci, da su menjani iskazi, da su mnogi uplašeni, dan danas se preti svedocima, dakle neko iza scene, neka mračna sila koja izgleda ima veze sa državom je zainteresovana da utiče na ovaj proces“, naglašava Gunjić.

A koja je to mračna sila, ne pominje se ni u optužnici. U njoj se navodi da su tadašnji rukovodioci i radnici Državne bezbednosti Radomir Marković, Milan Radonjić, Ratko Romić i Miroslav Kurak odgovorni za ubistvo, ali ne i ko im je dao nalog za to.

Slavko Ćuruvija ubijen je na 11. aprila 1999. godine. Likvidaciji je prethodio tekst „Ćuruvija dočekao bombe“, koji se smatra nekom vrstom najave tog ubistva.

Urednik koji je taj tekst odobrio bio je Đorđe Martić, koji je, nakon više decenija, ponovo uzbrukao duhove. Ovoga puta potpisao je tekst „Psi su pušteni“, u kome je napao više nezavisnih medija, ali i onaj u kome se Ljiljani Smajlović, slično Ćuruviji sa kojim je radila, crta meta na čelu.

„Mislim da se osećaju da su dobili nekakav signal preko kontraverznih odluka sudskog veća i očigledno vođenja ka oslobađajućoj presudi i onda su rešili da pomognu kroz nekoliko tekstova u Ilustrovanoj politici takvu atmosferu. I ono što je opasno je što to nije samo pitanje kompromitovanja ovog procesa, već crtanje meta na druge ljude“, kaže Matić.

Suđenje četvorici bivših pripadnika Državne bezbednosti za ubistvo Slavka Ćuruvije biće nastavljeno u ponedeljak, ali ne završnim rečima, čiju mogućnost sudsko veće najavljuje mesecima, već daljim ispitivanjima svedoka.

Video prilog televizije N1 pogledajte ovde.

OSCE: Parliament should appoint General director of RTCG

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PODGORICA, 26.11.2018. – The Director General of Radio-Television of Montenegro (RTCG) should be appointed by the Parliament with a qualified majority, OSCE experts said in an analysis of the Draft Law on Media and Public Service.

The director of the Directorate for Media in the Ministry of Culture, Željko Rutović, whose ministry is also the commissioner of the analysis, do not agree with such a proposal. He believes that such a solution leaves the possibility of political influence.
“I consider that it is necessary to define very precisely the solutions that will not give the possibility of any form of political interference. The proposed position of the OSCE expert on the election of the general director in parliament, in my opinion, leaves that space and that possibility of influence,” said Rutovic.
OSCE Representative for Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir and Head of Mission of OSCE in Montenegro Maris Davie recently presented to the Montenegrin authorities a legal analysis of the Draft Law on Media and on Amendments to the Law on National Public Broadcasters. As announced by the OSCE Mission, the drafting of legal analyzes was imposed on the request of the Montenegrin Ministry of Culture.
It is stated that the legal analysis of the two draft laws was prepared by Davor Glavaš, an experienced media expert with a great knowledge of the legislative framework of Montenegro.

Expert suggestions refer to the need to replace the “cascade” model with a “dual governance” model that would include the Council and the Supervisory Board, and that the Director-General should be appointed by a qualified majority in Parliament.
Rutović believes that in the event that the General Director of the RTCG chooses the Assembly, “the supervisory role and purpose of the RTCG Council is questionable, ie, the participation of the broadest entities of the society in the process of representing their legitimate public interests.”

“The main points highlighted in the document dealing with the Draft Law on the Media include, inter alia, the establishment of a fund to support media pluralism, the need to explain the criteria for granting financial support to the media, and the implementation of the provisions on transparency of ownership,” the statement said.
Davie presented the analysis to the Minister of Culture Aleksandar Bogdanovic.

“Desir and Davie have confirmed their willingness to continue to provide assistance and support to the local government on all issues related to the media, including changes in the law,” the statement of OSCE concludes.

Journalist’ safety and media freedom still worrying in the region

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PODGORICA 23.11.2018. – The situation regarding the safety of journalists in the Western Balkans is still very worrying, said the president of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Mogens Blicher Bjerregard on the second day of the conference “Freedom of the Media and Safety of Journalists in the Western Balkans”, held in Podgorica.

Bjerregard said that the  media freedom situation in the region is bad and that it is therefore very good that journalists’ associations and trade unions in the Western Balkans have joined in defending media freedoms in the region.

Representative of the Council of Europe, Lejla Dervišagić, said that prevention, protection, launching of investigations and promotion of all this are the key recommendations of the Council of Europe to member states for strengthening the safety of journalists.

Dervišagić said that the Council of Europe, through its platform, has been recording cases of attacks on journalists in Europe for several years and analyzes the possibilities for their resolution.

“The goal is for Member States to change their current situation,” Dervisagic said. She also said that 122 cases of attacks on journalists in Europe and, unfortunately, 4 murders, were recorded over the Council of Europe platform this year.

The president of the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro, Marijana Camovic, said that the Government of Montenegro ignored the SE platform and that it needs up to 10 months to respond to the Council of Europe for questions about attacks on journalists.

“The Government has even asked that three cases of assaults on journalists in Montenegro should be removed from the SE platform, although they have not been judicially finished”, Camovic said. She also assessed that it was a great disgrace that the Montenegrin police and the prosecution allowed the time-barring of the attack on journalist Mladen Stojovic.

A member of the Montenegrin Commission for Investigating the Investigation of Attacks on Journalists Dalibor Tomovic said that at the beginning of next year will be time-barred in 3 cases of attack on the editorial staff and the assets of the newspaper Vijesti. Tomovic said that the Commission has so far adopted 5 reports of attacks that have been searched.

“The reports, with recommendations, were adopted by the Government and we are now waiting to see if these recommendations will be applied,” Tomovic said.

The main state prosecutor in Podgorica, Ljiljana Klikovac, denied that in some cases attacks on journalists would soon be represented by the statute of limitations, referring to the prosecution’s data. She also said that joint police, prosecutorial and journalists’ seminars would help improve the safety of journalists and speed up the attack.

Naser Selmani, president of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia, said that last year, 18 attacks on journalists were recorded in his country, and these 6 and that the situation is somewhat better than the change of power.

“What is worrying is the policy of impunity because most of the cases from the previous period have not been resolved,” says Selmani.

He also claims that the police in Macedonia hide attackers against journalists in some cases.

The conference in Podgorica, in two days, gathered around 100 participants, and it was organized by the Regional Platform of the Western Balkans for advocating the freedom of the media and the safety of journalists, whose memder is also Trade Union of Media of Montenegro.