The public hearing was opened by the Chairperson of the Culture and Information Committee, Vesna Marjanovic, who greeted the participants saying that by organising the public hearing the National Assembly has proved that it does react to encroachments on media freedom. She reminded them that the MPs, at the intervention of journalism associations, have struck from the Law on Public Enterprises the provision enabling local self-government to found media, and defamation was removed from the Criminal Code, while the criminal offense of threatening the safety of journalists has remained.
“Besides the money, media or information market, media or any other type of capital, our priority should be the establishment of a market of ideas. Only a free pluralist society, open to different ideas provides the proper framework for a healthy democratic system", said Vesna Marjanovic. According to her, the freedom of speech is often in conflict with the right to privacy, personal dignity and reputation, as well as the society’s need to maintain order and moral and ethical values. Therefore societies must seek mechanisms and forms of protection from hate speech and extreme examples of safety threats, but limiting the freedom of speech is a delicate issue and it is difficult to establish the boundary and criteria when deciding on their need, concluded the Chairperson of the Culture and Information Committee.

Minister of Culture and Information Bratislav Petkovic, President of the Journalist Association of Serbia (UNS) Ljiljana Smajlovic, President of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) Vukasin Obradovic, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Rodoljub Sabic, professor at the Faculty of Political Science Rade Veljanovski and Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic also spoke in the introductory part of the proceedings.

In his speech, Bratislav Petkovic stressed that everybody has the right to information, adding that the state is there to provide assistance to the media, an assistance that would be available to everybody. He announced that the adoption of laws in the sphere of information is imminent as is a public debate on the topic.

Ljiljana Smajlovic said it was good that legislation was being passed which would suit the politicians even when they are not in power, which is why professional press is just as necessary as independent judges. She reminded the participants that the Serbian Government is still to discuss the report of the President of the Anti-Corruption Council, Verica Barac, on corruption in the media, even though the ruling coalitions had promised it.

According to Vukasin Obradovic, the issues of the freedom of the media and freedom of speech outweigh party interests, which is why the debate on media freedom mush not turn into inter-party bickering, but should result in answers to issues of general public interest. He stressed that the National Assembly taking a public stance on the threats to and attacks on the media and pointing out how dangerous they are is much more effective than bans and similar administrative measures. He said that the MPs are expected to decisively call for responsible media and an open democratic society where no one should fear to express their opinion or their ethnicity.

Rodoljub Sabic deemed that three things are vital for the regulation of the media scene in Serbia: the state should withdraw for media ownership, the ownership structure of the media should be made transparent and the journalists themselves should practice self-intervention so as to prevent reports containing hate speech or indecent communication. He also said that public criticism does not mean threatening or compiling lists of undesirables, adding that hate speech is not the only problem - so is the violation of laws which ban the mentioning of ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Sasa Jankovic said that the freedom of speech is a democratic imperative, but it has to have its limits, for example in cases when said freedom is used to veil untruths or insults. He stressed that the representatives of the government should make sure the laws are implemented, asking for a more active role of the state in proscribing and practicing what is acceptable and processing that which is unacceptable, as well as urging the journalism associations to advocate the implementation of the professional code.

The participants of the public hearing were also addressed by Dragana Solomon, Head of the Media Department of the OSCE Mission to Serbia. She said that the Government of the Republic of Serbia is expected to prevent verbal abuse threatening the safety of journalists especially if it stems from a difference in opinions or ethnicity. As she said, the OSCE Mission believes that a long-term sustainable solution should be found for the funding of both public services and the commercial media.

Concluding the public hearing, Vesna Marjanovic stressed that the discussion has shown support for and adherence to the principles of freedom of speech and freedom of the media as cornerstones of democracy and a pluralist society.

She stressed that the participants have proved themselves committed to protecting media freedom in line with the standards and obligations assumed by the ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights and other relevant international documents, as well as the guarantees set out in the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and legislation in force. She condemned all threats to and attacks on journalists and independence of the media and editorial policy.

Chairperson Vesna Marjanovic invited the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia to take into consideration today’s remarks and remain true to its promise that it would, within the announced deadline, pass and harmonise the necessary media laws based on the adopted Media Strategy.

“The debate has shown that there are many sensitive issues when it comes to the journalist profession and the position of the bearers of public office. Just as the politicians must be aware that they are more than just citizens, that they have a wider responsibility, so the journalists must also understand that public office bearers are not just citizens, but that they also represent the democratically elected institutions, and its is therefore our joint responsibility to protect those institutions”. She suggested that the National Assembly should host a debate on the media in Serbia, yearly, on 3 May – World Press Freedom Day, to monitor the progress achieved in the standards for the protection of press freedom.