09. 06. 2014

OSCE WILL NOT APOLOGIZE TO VUČIĆ

09. 06. 2014 (Beta, Mondo) - Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Раula Тhiede said last night that that the organization will not apologize to Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić and assessed that there are problems with media in Serbia.

Раula Тhiede said for TV B92 that media in Serbia are now facing a serious problem. "Nobody asked us to apologize, nor can we offer something like that," she said.

Vučić demanded an apology from OSCE last week, claiming that there was no basis for the assessment by the organization that there is censorship in Serbia.

In an open letter to the OSCE representative for media freedom Dunja Mijatović, Vučić accused representatives of the organization for waging "the dirtiest campaign" against him, publishing lies about Serbia and lying, and asked for an apology or evidence that the Government is carrying out censorship and blocking internet sites.

Раula Тhiede added that she expects that the situation with the media in Serbia will soon change for the better.

"We work within our mandate to strengthen media freedom and in this regard we work with the Government of Serbia, as well as with non-governmental organizations and journalists' associations. The Government has pledged to adopt three important pieces of legislation, and I expect that we will soon see that there will be improvement of media freedom," said Раula Тhiede.