The Centers for Civil Initiatives (CCI) on principle condemn any threat to freedom of public speech as the basis of a democratic society, and certainly consider dangerous situations when threats come from institutions of governance or when institutions tolerate or support threats to freedom and violence against the media.
The CCI believe that government institutions are obliged to secure a social framework in which freedom of public speech is unquestioned, and are obliged to protect reporters in performance of their professional duties.
They stress that governments must sanction any attempt to threaten freedom and acts of violence against reporters.
In this context, the CCI does not consider satisfactory only the filing of an appeal to the Municipal Court and returning matters exempted in the search of the Klix.ba portal, but rather demands a confirmation of responsibility of all those were involved in this case of blatant abuse of power and threatening of human rights and media freedom, which was the case with the attack on the media editorial staff, who were only doing their jobs in the public interest.
“Only thus will we be able to believe that such happenings will no longer occur and that all structures of government and society as a whole will draw from this scandal the lesson that will enable a positive step forward in the further democratization of the country,” the CCI said in a statement.
(Source: Oslobodjenje)
