The Coalition for Media Freedom believes that the presence of the police in Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) is another form of pressure on public broadcasting services and calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to urgently withdraw its units from the building of the provincial public media service.
The unions “Nezavisnost” and the Professional Union of the Public Media Institution Radio-television of Vojvodina sent an open letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dačić in which they raised questions regarding the presence of the police in RTV:
– Why are numerous police forces stationed in the RTV building in Novi Sad for more than a month?
– On whose invitation and on what basis did the Ministry of Interior of Serbia hire police officers to stay day and night in the premises of the provincial public media service?
– Is the safety of the employees at risk, by whom and why were the employees not informed about it?
– On what legal basis can members of the Ministry of Interior limit the work of television studios and assess when certain shows can or cannot be recorded?
– On what legal basis and under what circumstances can members of the Ministry of Interior stay in technical television rooms that are important for broadcasting programs?
The Coalition for Media Freedom supports the RTV unions and expects Minister Dačić to answer the questions raised, as well as for the police to leave the RTV building.
We believe that the presence of the police in the building of the provincial public media service is absolutely unnecessary and that it represents pressure on the employees of that media house.
We emphasize that it is particularly worrisome that members of the Ministry of Interior are allowed to stay in technical rooms and to limit the work of television studios, which is a direct illegal interference in the regulation of the work of the public service.
The Law on Public Media Services clearly defines institutional autonomy and editorial independence and prohibits any kind of illegal influence, which the presence of the police in the technical premises certainly represents.
The Coalition for Media Freedom
Belgrade, March 5, 2025
The Coalition for Media Freedom: the Association of Media, the Association of Online Media (AOM), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Business Association of Local and Independent Media “Local Press”, the Slavko Curuvija Foundation and Branch Trade Union of Culture, Arts and Media ‘Nezavisnost’
