The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) strongly condemns the statement of Srđan Simić, a member of the Serbian Progressive Party, in which he labels local journalists in Bački Petrovac who report from the protests as political subjects. We also condemn the latest video that appeared on social networks, targeting numerous journalists and other public figures as part of the “fake Serbia”.
The former president of the Municipality of Bački Petrovac, Srđan Simić, was a guest on the local Radio Petrovec on February 6 and targeted local journalists reporting from the protest.
“There is no such thing as objective journalism.” You have a portal in Bački Petrovac, which is the opposition portal 1/1, like N1, like Nova S. They report from the protests, they are the first at the protests, only they don’t have a whistle in their hands and a megaphone. So what’s the difference between you, let’s say journalist, you’re not objective, I can’t say you’re objective, and someone who’s at the protests. If you have your political ambitions, then leave the journalism profession, go out there, protest, run for office and pretend to be in power. Don’t do it from this side”.
He praised Radio Petrovec, which does not report from public meetings, and assessed how it objectively carries out its journalistic work.
The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia strongly condemns Srđan Simić’s statement and calls on him to publicly apologize to the journalists in Bački Petrovac who report from the protest.
Simić’s assessment that journalists who report from public meetings are political subjects is wrong. IJAS has repeatedly pointed out that reporting on protests initiated by students is of exceptional public importance and that the media should objectively and impartially report and inform the public about all related events.
We point out that ignoring the current events in Serbia and keeping the facts silent is unprofessional journalistic work.
Another case of targeting appeared on the Princip_shop Instagram page. The latest video targeting numerous public figures and media workers, including Jelena Obućina, Zoran Kesić, Marko Vidojković, Željko Veljković, Ivan Ivanović, Marko Stepanović and others, appeared on the mentioned page. The video consists of excerpts of their statements, which were taken out of context and adapted to the narrative of “Serbia’s enemies”, i.e. marking them as representatives of “fake Serbia”.
IJAS warns that this way of targeting is extremely dangerous and endangers the safety of people whose statements are purposefully taken out of context in order to fit into the desired narrative.
We would like to emphasize that since the beginning of 2025, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia has recorded four physical attacks on journalists, seven verbal threats and 16 other pressures.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS)
