PM and NGOs disagree on range of issues

PM and NGOs disagree on range of issues

"We expressed our concerns regarding the rule of law, especially in the entire case with Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic. The prime minister said that he has a different stance, but he took note of everything we said," Popovic told the Beta agency.

He added that Vucic "does not think this is about an organized campaign against the ombudsman" and that others have the right to ask Jankovic questions - while representatives of civil society said that the events represented "abuse of records from the past in order to defame the institution of the ombudsman."

According to Popovic, the situation in the media was also a topic, but "our views have not been reconciled there, either."

"The prime minister says he does not control the media. We believe that the situation in the media is not good and that the executive authority bears a good part of the responsibility for that," said Popovic, who is director of the Practical Policy Center, one of the founders of the Human Rights House.

He stressed that the group's representatives "insisted that the state and civil society collaborate better and more often," and that Vucic "announced he will soon organize such discussions with other NGOs as well."

The government said in a statement on Monday that Vucic met with representatives of the Human Rights House and discussed the promotion of cooperation between the government and civil society.

Vucic "stressed the importance of better cooperation and greater involvement of non-governmental organizations in the work of state bodies," according to the statement.

Civic Initiatives NGO Director Maja Stojanovic "thanked the prime minister for the invitation and said that meetings with representatives of civil society can contribute to remedy a lack of understanding of the role of NGOs."

"Civil society representatives deal with the same problems as the Serbian government and we are here to help the country to work better. We can be a constructive partner to the government of Serbia in implementing reforms," she said.

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Director Milan Antonijevic pointed out the importance of cooperation between the government and civil society to strengthen institutions and the process of rapid adoption of systemic laws in the area of ​​justice.

Vucic suggested that representative of civil society take part in the process of negotiations with the EU, and "heard proposals of representatives of the Human Rights House about the level of cooperation with the Office of the Ombudsman."