B92 journalist reacts to controversy

B92 journalist Olja Beckovic says that daily Kurir is leading a relentless witch hunt against her by branding her son a drug dealer. In a written statement entitled “My Son Luka Visnjic“, the journalist explains that she has decided to respond to Kurir after the tabloid accused all those who had tried to protect her family of shielding drug dealers. B92 journalist reacts to controversy “Calling my son is a downright, monstrous lie. The truth is that my son was caught smoking marijuana with a few other boys in the schoolyard. The boys were taken to Stari Grad police station after a member of the public called the police. The duty inspector interviewed the boys, a transcript was taken with all their statements and the quantity of marijuana confiscated. Everything that was written in the official document would have been enough to disturb a sane mind, but not Kurir. They needed a lot more.“ Beckovic says that Kurir, quoting sources from the police station, had published a series of lies. “I cannot for the life of me understand why Stari Grad police station withheld the truth by concealing the transcript, which repudiates all the published allegations. That is why I must speak up. My son has not done anyone any harm. Everything he did, he did to himself. The rest was done to him.“ “In its fight against drug dealing, Kurir nailed a child to a pillar of shame, proclaiming him a drug baron. Now the genuine drug dealers, whose victims are my son and many children in school yards, can breathe easily.“ “All the parents of children who attend the Rudjer Boskovic school can also breathe easily. Their children will be spared from having anything to do with those criminals. Quicker to believe Kurir than good sense in their pedagogic mission, the school authorities have felt more bound to child-killers, than to children themselves. The same day that prestigious paper uncovered a drug dealer, the school’s headmaster informed me that we should terminate our contract for the sake of the school’s reputation,“ she explains. “They expelled him, seven days after enrolling him... We believe there are schools that are concerned about children’s futures. The only thing that has been written off is me ever finding out the truth about what the background is to that crime, who came up with the idea of punishing me by punishing my son and what kind of ransom he is after,“ Beckovic’s statement concludes. Olja Beckovic (B92, archive) Attackers target B92 journalist Unidentified assailants slashed the tires on B92 journalist Olja Beckovic’s car yesterday morning. It comes just a day after a group of youths threw a firecracker in front of B92’s building. Beckovic, the presenter of B92’s flagship political affairs program “Impression of the Week”, had the tyres on her car slashed yesterday morning, after which police were called. “Following the media witch hunt via Kurir and after a firecracker was thrown at B92’s front door, the tyres on Olja Beckovic’s car, which was parked outside the building where she lives with her son, were slashed,” said B92 Editor-in-Chief Veran Matic. “B92 calls on the authorities to protect B92’s employees, members of their families and the buildings where they work. Experience tells us that media witch hunts are often a forerunner to very drastic forms of violence, where even assassinations are committed,“ he warned. “When no reaction or condemnation from the authoritiesor the system’s institutions are forthcoming, the resulting lynch atmosphere assumes drastic proportions. That’s why we call on the authorities to prevent all forms of lynch or violence, regardless of the target, be it members of the public, politicians or media representatives,” said Matic. “Democratic forces as independent media were not stopped, not even in much more dramatic periods. That makes new calls to violence and retribution, like violence itself, an even greater social disgrace,” said the B92 editor-in-chief. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said yesterday that the police would be conducting an investigation into whether anyone from the police was “in any way” mixed up in reports in certain media that Beckovic’s son's was arrested last month for being found in possession of cannabis. Dacic said that it was regrettable that a minor had been the subject of malpractice, stressing that the law and his right to anonymity had to be respected. Deputy Police Chief Zeljko Nikac said that he did not believe that the information about the case had been leaked by police sources, regardless of Kurir’s claims to the contrary. Speaking to B92, he added that the target of the attacks seemed to be the child’s mother and B92, and pledged that the police would see to it that nothing illegal happened. “There’s always a chance that information leaks out, but I don’t think it’s from our people. That case has been with us some time, about 25 days, so it could been leaked 25 times so far,” said Nikac. “We have licensed people. The man on the case is licensed and very understanding. He’s a parent himself. There was an order for the case to be investigated, and if the minister decrees, internal affairs could also be brought in. NGO: Tabloids breaking law In protesting against the articles run by the Kurir tabloid, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia has reminded the authorities that the country has signed up to the first binding international convention in the domain of human rights–the Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by all UN member-states. In a press release the NGO states that: "This is neither the first nor an isolated case where Serbia’s media refer to children in a manner that is explicitly prohibited not only by this most authoritative document in the area of the rights of the child, but by also by domestic legislation. The NGO calls for "all available legislative, administrative and other measures to protect children from arbitrary and illegal interference in their privacy and attacks against their honor and reputation" to be taken. It adds that "those measures are crucial for Serbia’s media sphere and the state’s duty to make sure that journalists respect the professional code that protects children." The Helsinki Committee "welcomes the strong public protests the 'Kurir case' has provoked in Serbia and joins the civil sector’s clear-cut call to put an end to such practice. This case may also provide an opportunity to draw attention to other victims of media libel and defamation, grounded on fabrications and tendentiously presented information, but also to the responsibility for public discourse in a society that constantly calls for 'traditional' morality."

B92 journalist reacts to controversy

“Calling my son is a downright, monstrous lie. The truth is that my son was caught smoking marijuana with a few other boys in the schoolyard. The boys were taken to Stari Grad police station after a member of the public called the police. The duty inspector interviewed the boys, a transcript was taken with all their statements and the quantity of marijuana confiscated. Everything that was written in the official document would have been enough to disturb a sane mind, but not Kurir. They needed a lot more.“

Bećković says that Kurir, quoting sources from the police station, had published a series of lies.

“I cannot for the life of me understand why Stari Grad police station withheld the truth by concealing the transcript, which repudiates all the published allegations. That is why I must speak up. My son has not done anyone any harm. Everything he did, he did to himself. The rest was done to him.“

“In its fight against drug dealing, Kurir nailed a child to a pillar of shame, proclaiming him a drug baron. Now the genuine drug dealers, whose victims are my son and many children in school yards, can breathe easily.“

“All the parents of children who attend the Ruđer Boškovic school can also breathe easily. Their children will be spared from having anything to do with those criminals. Quicker to believe Kurir than good sense in their pedagogic mission, the school authorities have felt more bound to child-killers, than to children themselves. The same day that prestigious paper uncovered a drug dealer, the school’s headmaster informed me that we should terminate our contract for the sake of the school’s reputation,“ she explains.

“They expelled him, seven days after enrolling him... We believe there are schools that are concerned about children’s futures. The only thing that has been written off is me ever finding out the truth about what the background is to that crime, who came up with the idea of punishing me by punishing my son and what kind of ransom he is after,“ Bećković’s statement concludes.

Attackers target B92 journalist

Unidentified assailants slashed the tires on B92 journalist Olja Bećković’s car yesterday morning.

It comes just a day after a group of youths threw a firecracker in front of B92’s building.

Bećković, the presenter of B92’s flagship political affairs program “Impression of the Week”, had the tyres on her car slashed yesterday morning, after which police were called.

“Following the media witch hunt via Kurir and after a firecracker was thrown at B92’s front door, the tyres on Olja Bećković’s car, which was parked outside the building where she lives with her son, were slashed,” said B92 Editor-in-Chief Veran Matić.

“B92 calls on the authorities to protect B92’s employees, members of their families and the buildings where they work. Experience tells us that media witch hunts are often a forerunner to very drastic forms of violence, where even assassinations are committed,“ he warned.

“When no reaction or condemnation from the authoritiesor the system’s institutions are forthcoming, the resulting lynch atmosphere assumes drastic proportions. That’s why we call on the authorities to prevent all forms of lynch or violence, regardless of the target, be it members of the public, politicians or media representatives,” said Matić.

“Democratic forces as independent media were not stopped, not even in much more dramatic periods. That makes new calls to violence and retribution, like violence itself, an even greater social disgrace,” said the B92 editor-in-chief.

Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said yesterday that the police would be conducting an investigation into whether anyone from the police was “in any way” mixed up in reports in certain media that Bećković’s son's was arrested last month for being found in possession of cannabis.

Dačić said that it was regrettable that a minor had been the subject of malpractice, stressing that the law and his right to anonymity had to be respected.

Deputy Police Chief Željko Nikač said that he did not believe that the information about the case had been leaked by police sources, regardless of Kurir’s claims to the contrary.

Speaking to B92, he added that the target of the attacks seemed to be the child’s mother and B92, and pledged that the police would see to it that nothing illegal happened.

“There’s always a chance that information leaks out, but I don’t think it’s from our people. That case has been with us some time, about 25 days, so it could been leaked 25 times so far,” said Nikač.

“We have licensed people. The man on the case is licensed and very understanding. He’s a parent himself. There was an order for the case to be investigated, and if the minister decrees, internal affairs could also be brought in.

NGO: Tabloids breaking law

In protesting against the articles run by the Kurir tabloid, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia has reminded the authorities that the country has signed up to the first binding international convention in the domain of human rights–the Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by all UN member-states.

In a press release the NGO states that: "This is neither the first nor an isolated case where Serbia’s media refer to children in a manner that is explicitly prohibited not only by this most authoritative document in the area of the rights of the child, but by also by domestic legislation.

The NGO calls for "all available legislative, administrative and other measures to protect children from arbitrary and illegal interference in their privacy and attacks against their honor and reputation" to be taken.

It adds that "those measures are crucial for Serbia’s media sphere and the state’s duty to make sure that journalists respect the professional code that protects children."

The Helsinki Committee "welcomes the strong public protests the 'Kurir case' has provoked in Serbia and joins the civil sector’s clear-cut call to put an end to such practice. This case may also provide an opportunity to draw attention to other victims of media libel and defamation, grounded on fabrications and tendentiously presented information, but also to the responsibility for public discourse in a society that constantly calls for 'traditional' morality."