I Joined Montenegro’s War on ‘Enemy’ Media
Nidzara Ahmetasevic
At a media congress in Montenegro, I saw how easy it is to be sucked – unwittingly - into the official demonization of 'enemy' journalists.
Having a different opinion, expressing it freely and debating it in the Balkans today is less possible in 2013 than it was back in the Nineties.
The media are exposed to new and different types of pressure, and journalists who try to resist risk threats and intimidation. Almost every day I hear somebody has decided to leave the profession.
Can we overcome this crisis, or are we reaching the point of no return?
We all know the stories from Macedonia about the media that were shut down under pressure, and from Bosnia and Herzegovina about physical attacks on journalists. In Serbia, the media wage a constantly battle for their freedom, while in Montenegro the media are exposed to violence and pressure as well.
This week, by accident, I was made an unwilling accomplice of those who are putting pressure on and intimidating the media in Montenegro.
I was a participant at the conference titled “Rijeci, slika i neprijatelj” (“Words, pictures and the enemy”). In the end, it became clear that the enemy in the title was us journalists.
The conference was supported by a number of international and local organizations, and organized, among others, by the Institute for the Public Policy, the Association of the Independent Electronic Media, Media Council for Self-regulation, and the Association of Journalists of Montenegro.
I thought the conference would be an opportunity to meet colleagues from the region, talk about the situation with the media and freedom of the press, as well as other topics, and do that in country where the freedom of the media is endangered according to numerous independent sources, regional and international. It looked like a very challenging opportunity.
A number of well-known media experts participated, together with prominent journalists, and students from Podgorica.
However, some of those who can witness best about the pressures that the media in Montenegro face on a daily basis were not there, like journalists from the opposition and other critics of the government.
Furthermore, I learned later, they were banned from coming, denied accreditation, and those that attempted to join one of the events held in one of the faculties in Podgorica were physically prevented from doing so.
As one of the participants, I was not aware of this at the beginning. But I became suspicious during the opening ceremony while listening to some of the speakers who were talking about other people and the media, instead of the topics they were supposed to talk about.
It was much the same on the second day of the conference, which was held under tight security measures that are not very usual for this type of event. Police, security staff and journalists are not a good combination. It made me feel uncomfortable and even a bit annoyed, having to show my accreditation all the time, and being under the constant watch of the guards or police, with every step I took.
Finally, the closing ceremony was an example of official intimidation directed toward one section of the media in Podgorica.
An exhibition entitled the same as the conference was opened especially for the participants with the Prime Minister himself present.
As we entered the Art Pavilion we found the walls covered with the front pages of “enemy” media in which they mentioned the Prime Minister and other politicians from Montenegro in a negative context.
These media were presented as the enemy of the state, as trying to undermine the law and elected officials, as questioning the independence of the state, and as manipulating the public.
It was shocking to see it and be there. The presence of the Prime Minister made it worse. It felt wrong. But we could not do anything, or, did not know what to do since nobody had expected anything like it.
I fear this was not a unique situation in Montenegro. I am also afraid something like this could happen in my country, or any other in the region very soon. I also fear something worrying could happen to any journalists in Montenegro who criticised those organizing that exhibition.
I wonder if we can resist this type of constant pressure that is exerted on freedom of speech in the region. You have to be very determined to do so. Some already gave up. And while the global media community discusses the overall future of the media, whether it is online, or this or that, we are forced to think if we have a future at all as a free people with a right to talk.
The most ironic thing is that, since the break-up of Yugoslavia, millions of euros have been poured all over the region into the process of media assistance. This process was aimed at strengthening the media and helping the public strive towards greater democracy. The results look poor, in the absence of a space genuinely open for dialogue and an exchange of ideas.
What, then, is left for those of us from the Balkans who believe in freedom of speech? It looks as if we will have to fight our battles alone, believing in the power of our words and in our right to freedom of expression. As for serious change in societies we live in, that will hardly happen without free and responsible press.
izvor:
www.balkaninsight.com
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