SKOPJE, 19.04.2018 – Yesterday in Skopje, a training was held dedicated to the integrity of the police. On this training, senior police officials, representatives of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia and the Helsinki Committee had the opportunity to be part of.
At the opening of the training, the Minister of Interior, Oliver Spasovski, said that eradicating corruption requires a systematic approach by raising the professional dignity and integrity of the police officers.
At the promotion of the training, the President of the Association of Journalists, Naser Selmani, said that this event has a symbolic significance because it sends a strong message that the police wants to improve its work in order to increase the public confidence.
Selmani stressed that the media have a huge influence in the creation of public opinion on the integrity of the police, and therefore it is necessary to build honest and professional relationship.
“With the right, the police expects the media to report accurately and honestly, but the police should be transparent in its work. When there is openness and confidence, then the media will try to be honest and responsible in their reporting, “Selmani said.
Selmani criticized the policy of impunity for violence against journalists “Over 50 assaults on journalists have occurred in the last five years, and none of the violators has been brought to justice,” he said.
“We can not talk about freedom of expression and freedom of the media if journalists are exposed to attacks, threats and pressures, we institutions do not react quickly to protect them,” Selmani said, adding that silencing journalists is an attempt to silence the truth.
According to him, the European Commission’s report speaks of the presence of the policy of impunity, which calls for zero tolerance of attacks and threats against journalists.
“Our cooperation in the fight against impunity has been noted in the report by the EC. It should be an additional motivation, but also an obligation to work more in order to make the investigations more effective. The attacks will not stop until the perpetrators are punished,“ Selmani said.
According to Selmani, the policy of impunity violates the country’s image in the world because a large part of the cases against Macedonia in front of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg are being won due to police brutality.