11. 11. 2003

LAWSUIT BROUGHT BY MIHAJLOVIC ARE ATTACKS ON MEDIA

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly protests against numerous lawsuits that the Minister of Interior Affairs and President of the Liberals' Party of Serbia, Dusan Mihajlovic, has brought or announced against media organizations and journalists.

In their official statement dated November 11, 2003, it is stated that Mihajlovic has brought lawsuits before the District Court in Belgrade against the editors of the dailies "Glas javnosti" and "Kurir", Slavoljub Kacarevic and Djoko Kesic, as well as against Aleksandar Timofejev, editor of the B92 Television, which is a member of ANEM. Mihajlovic had demanded in his lawsuits that the Court ordered those dailies and television station to broadcast his replies to the information that the media had disseminated, which were, according to his opinion, false. New lawsuits by the Minister of Police against Radio B92 and B92 Internet Site have been announced, in which he would ask for right to broadcast replies and compensation for non-material damage.

ANEM considers that the demands that had been stated in the Minister's lawsuits are contrary to the Articles of the Public Information Act, and thus that it is unacceptable to demand that media organizations inevitably broadcast replies to the information that, by their nature, do not represent facts but certain people's opinions. Likewise, after broadcasting a material in which, in line with the top professional standards, opinions of both the sides had been presented, no one is entitled to demand that the replies of either side be broadcast again. Thus, ANEM supported the decision of B92 to embrace the opportunity presented in the Public Information Act, and to refuse to broadcast replies, whenever there is a legal potential to do so.

ANEM stressed that Dusan Mihajlovic would soon, by the number of lawsuits brought or announced, outpace the former secretary of the Government Communication Bureau, Vladimir Popovic, and that his lawsuits also presented an attack against media organizations and journalists.

ANEM appealed to the judiciary to consistently apply the legal regulations and to contribute to defence of media rights to inform the general public on the conflicts in the political scene without taking sides.

Slobodan Stojsic
Chairman of ANEM Managing Board