N1 Television strongly condemns the statements made by the Minister for Public Investment, Darko Glisic, who, while speaking on a national television network, made a series of serious, unfounded and inflammatory accusations against our newsroom, directly claiming that we incite violence and that we “media-recruited” the individual who carried out yesterday’s armed attack in central Belgrade.
Such statements are not only false and extremely irresponsible — they are dangerous. When a minister in the Government of Serbia uses a national platform to target journalists and accuse them of fabricated crimes, this can only be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate, create a hostile atmosphere, and incite hatred against free media.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that ministers from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party have used such rhetoric and conducted open campaigns targeting independent media with the support of pro-government tabloids.
In the past year, during mass protests by students and citizens demanding justice following the Novi Sad tragedy in which 16 people were killed, more than 40 attacks and threats have been recorded against our journalists and reporting crews.
We remind that ministers in the Government of Serbia do not represent only the supporters of one political party, but all citizens of this country — including those who do not share their political views. When a government official publicly targets journalists and accuses them of inciting violence, he not only abuses his position but directly endangers the safety of those whose job is to inform the public.
Due to the seriousness of these accusations and their potential consequences for the safety of journalists, we call for an immediate institutional response. We urge the Prime Minister, the competent public prosecutor’s office, and the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) to initiate proceedings within their legally mandated competencies to establish the responsibility of Minister Glišić and prevent the further spread of disinformation and incitement to hatred against the media. State institutions are obliged to protect the public interest and provide conditions in which journalists can perform their work without fear of retaliation or public targeting.
The alarming state of media freedom in Serbia has also been recognized by the international community. In its most recent resolution, the European Parliament clearly stated that the situation of media freedom in Serbia is deteriorating.
We call on the Prime Minister and relevant institutions to clearly and unequivocally distance themselves from the statements made by Minister Glišić, to protect journalists and the public interest, and to put an end to the systematic targeting of independent media.
Threats, attacks and pressure will not deter us. N1 will continue to report freely, professionally, and in the interest of the citizens of Serbia.
Source: N1
