United Media (UM) strongly condemns the shameful and dangerous statements made by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during his visit to Paris, where he directly targeted protesting students and referred to UM as a “platform for perpetrating violence.”
UM questions how the president of a country can call independent media outlets, which operate in accordance with the law and in the public interest, a source of violence. How can they openly threaten students and journalists simply for not accepting his version of the truth?
“We view such statements as a call for the lynching of the unlike-minded—both students and journalists and editors working within United Media. For over a decade, President Vucic has been conducting a continuous campaign targeting anyone who is not part of his propaganda machinery, and now this narrative has escalated to the level of open, institutionalized violence. For years, President Vucic has hidden behind political immunity, believing he can escape responsibility for the lies, slanders, and dangerous falsehoods that he promotes. United Media calls on him to waive immunity, to stop abusing his office as a shield for personal political showdowns, and to take responsibility for everything he says and does. Unlike him, we do not hide. United Media and all our individual media outlets are always ready to account for their work, which is based on the highest professional and ethical standards. We urge the president to show the same—to stand behind his words without the protection of his office and to respond to everything he will, sooner or later, have to answer for,” said United Media in statement.
The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia clearly states that the President of the Republic shall express state unity, uphold the Constitution, and ensure legality and respect for human and minority rights, United Media said.
“Aleksandar Vucic does the opposite—he incites divisions, he insults, threatens, and targets citizens and media. This is not just an attack on United Media—this is an attack on every free-thinking citizen of Serbia,” the statement says.
United Media calls on the domestic and international public, and on all relevant institutions, to unequivocally condemn such threats, which are a brutal violation of fundamental democratic values, the right to information, and freedom of thought.
“The president of the country must not be a source of fear—but a guarantor of rights, law, and freedom,” said UM.
Source: N1
