Civic Alliance strongly condemns the attack on journalists and photojournalists in Gornje Zaostro, which was carried out while, in the interest of the public, they were reporting on the attempt to remove the illegally installed monument to the war criminal Pavlo Đurišić.
In addition to being an unequivocal violation of legal regulations, such attempt undermines basic civilizational principles such as freedom of expression, right to work, freedom of movement and inviolability of physical integrity. Journalists, who performed a duty of undoubted public importance, were denied the possibility of unhindered work, threats and insults were sent to them, they were physically prevented and humiliated, and their professional equipment was destroyed. This is a direct attack on the foundations of the democratic order and society based on the rule of law.
We remind that the highest state officials, from the President of the State, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers, to the President of the Municipality of Berane, only a day before condemned the installation of the disputed monument and called for its removal. Despite such an attitude among state officials, the impression is that there are individuals who put themselves above the law, imposing their own will and undermining the authority of institutions.
In this context, we demand the Police Administration to urgently, impartially, and fully transparently investigate whether police officers were present at the scene of the incident and did not take the measures provided for by law to protect the attacked journalists and preserve public order and peace. If such misconduct is found, we expect appropriate disciplinary and criminal proceedings to be initiated against the responsible officers.
The role of church dignitaries is of particular concern, who, instead of contributing to calming tensions with their authority, further fueled intolerance with their statements and actions in recent days. Religious leaders are expected to promote peace, dialogue, and the rule of law, and not become instruments of destabilization.
An attack on journalists is an attack on the public’s right to know, but also an attack on freedom of expression and media independence guaranteed by the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Any attempt to prevent public information by means of physical force, threats or humiliation must be adequately sanctioned in the shortest possible time.
Locking people in improvised facilities and physically preventing them from doing their work in the 21st century, on European soil, is a civilizational defeat. Therefore, today, for the umpteenth time, Montenegro is faced with the choice of whether to be a state of law, where rights and freedoms are protected equally for everyone, or a space where violence, political pressures and historical revisionism shape social reality.
