REACTION
THE PRESS COUNCIL IN BIH
CONDEMNS THE VERBAL ATTACKS AND THREATS AGAINST THE JOURNALISTS FROM GLAS SRPSKE AND RTRS
Disregard of the journalists from RTRS and “Glas Srpske” through misogynistic verbal attacks from the Minister of Security of BiH, Dragan Mektic and the Deputy Chief Auditor of the BIH Institutions’ Audit Office, Dzevad Nekic, represents intolerable pressure against the free work and coverage of these media.
In the name of the democratic right of the public to know - the media and journalists have the right to transfer negative information and critical opinions about the work of political figures and public officers
Journalists have the duty towards the public to professionally cover and present facts about events or persons. Equally, persons who feel that they were written about in an inappropriate manner or that they were defamed, have the right to seek moral satisfaction, by requesting the correction of false statements and the publication of a denial, providing arguments against the originally published statements; they also have the right to protection from the court and eventual compensation of damages, if the court, having understanding for the freedom of coverage, established that the truth was violated.
In BiH, the institutions of the Press Council in BiH and the Regulatory Communications Agency of BiH exist, which are at the service of all citizens, including politicians and public officers, if they wish to submit a denial or reaction regarding inaccurate media coverage. These are civilizational, democratic methods of the right to reply and the right to a denial.
Unfortunately, instead of resorting to these methods, insults to journalists are more and more present, especially against female journalists, through discriminatory and misogynistic speech and threats, if certain public figures are not satisfied with their questions at press conferences or reports published in the media.
The Press Council in BiH reminds public figures about Article 1 of the “Declaration on Freedom of Political Debate” of the Council of Europe, which states that “Pluralistic democracy and the freedom of political debate require the public to be informed on issues of public interest, which implies the right of the media to transfer negative information and critical opinions about political figures and public servants, as well as the public’s right to know them.”
The same Declaration also notes, in Article 4 - “Public Oversight of Public Servants”, that “Public servants must accept that they will be subject to public oversight and criticism, especially through the media, due to the manner in which they have or will have performed their functions, because it is necessary for ensuring transparency and responsible performance of these functions.”
The Press Clipping of media publications relating to the Reaction may be read here.
Board of Directors of the Press Council in BiH
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