B92 journalist reacts to controversy

The sooner Serbia gets over its obsession with "narkomani", the better it will be for everybody. This incident should never even have reached the police station, let alone the newspapers. So some teenagers smoked a joint - so what?

Poor woman should never have to face this sort of intimidation. I have seen her work and she seems very good and professional.

In the true style of the lowest tabloid 'news reporting' these people who are not worthy to call themselves journalists have used her child to get at her.

Wow, so he smoked some dope at school! Big deal. I am certain that much harder drugs can be found in the murky offices of various media outlets. Perhaps there should be an 'investigation' about that?

I think that Olja was absolutely right to publish that statement about her son, although she should not have had to. The police should have come out with a much stronger statement themselves to put all of this in perspective.

Keep doing a good job, Olja, and don't let these idiots and bullies affect you if at all possible.

I can hear the violins

Imagine the poor boy who goes to school only to smoke pot and is hauled off to the evil police station.

The boy is called a victim by his mother and through her tears she blames the police for something that may not have happened with more attentive parenting.

How will he ever learn to be a man if his mother downplays his unacceptable behavior. The boy should have been expelled from that school and lost the year but instead someone called him a mean name.

Meanwhile in Carton City Mayor Dragan Đilas nocks down the homes of Roma just before Easter and In Kosovo the Gorani's loose their schools to seperatist bulldozers (because they did not have a permit).

B92 does not publish articles
with the opinions of the people who lost their homes and schools because it is more interested in something else:

Specifically avoiding accountability for the select few wealthy and powerful Belgraders while the rest of Serbia can fend for itself

Who ever called this a boy a drug dealer was mean. Whoever pretends he is a victim is willfully blind.

I think it is an assult to all other newspapers in the world to call Kurir a newspaper. Kurir is nothing more than a communication channel nationalists and those with a lot of money in Serbia use to blackmail their opponents.

Every one in Serbia should be concerned about Kurir being the largest newspaper. I can't believe why Serbs find this newspaper interesting, maybe it is because of the many articles about Ceca but it should be the responsibility of the clean intellectauls of Serbia to confront this sad reaity.

If the lawmakers of Serbia want, they can ban this newspaper since the newspaper.

the boy is just the tip of the problem.What do are children want to become drugged up idiots like americans?As for human rights watch ,dont let this uppet dictate policy and law to our people or country.God bless Serbia and our holy church!

Marko - The point is that teenagers do this sort of thing, and yes, they should be warned by the appropriate people if caught (although it's very unrealistic to think that most teenagers don't try smoking dope at some point or another - parents can only hope that they're not trying something a lot worse).

This boy is not being let off the hook or treated differently in a positive way. He is being singled out in an attempt to besmirch his mother, in a case which has been twisted into something far worse than it is. This whole event would have been a private matter for most people.

BTW, if all the kids who ever tried dope at our school (and you're talking a nice state school in a nice area) had been expelled there would be no-one left to teach. At most being caught smoking dope would have led to suspension - not expulsion (unless you were selling the stuff).

As far as my moral judgement be reminded that the law is not the moral maxim of society but rather the standard for social minimum compliance. The mother of the boy assured that this is not a private matter, her article has given her plight an international audience.

My acusations are no more than the facts established by the mother. I accpet as fact the following:
-the boy smoked dope at school
-that his behavour made this a police matter
-the boy is not a dealer
-the boys reputation has been attacked.

What i do not accept is that the boy is the victim. There are literally hundreds of thousands of victims in Serbia; perhaps millions and this boy is not among them.

I also do not accept the manner that this journalist seeks redress through the indulgences of her employer. This makes for shoddy journalism. Her complaints belong before a court of competent jurisdiction-

not everyone in Serbia gets to write an article on the B92 when their reputation is attacked or even in the cases I mentioned yesterday when homes and schools were lost to wanton lawlessness.

There is no excuse for going to school and using drugs even if the drug in question is very common and probably less dangerous than getting drunk.

Absolutely the best use of our taxes are schools. School is a place where we expect young people to learn basic life skills,civil and personal responsibility and to introduce them to the marvels of knowledge and academia. You can't do that for people who only go there to get their buzz on.

It is horrible to me that If this boy is not taught about accountability and remains an unaccomplished pothead ten years from now, then he will be a victim.

The truth is that my son was caught smoking marijuana with a few other boys in the schoolyard.


Oh c'mon marijuana isn't a dangerous drug. It should be OK to smoke marijuana not only in Serbia but the rest of the world as well. I've heard many times that too many people use it as painkiller. The bottom line is that people young or old should not be bothered if they want to smoke marijuana. It has to be available on the shelves at the store. Don't bother that boy because that's not a crime.

Marko I could also hear the violins playing during your comment.

For your moral judgement about a kid smoking a joint I could give you a moral judgement about a Roma kid sniffing glue from a plastic bag. Frankly why bother?

If you want to talk about real issues, and I agree with you, then do so and don't concern yourself with other people's chidren and their choices.

If the kid had hurt somebody else that is a different matter, otherwise this is a matter for his parent(s), not for the media.

Bgannon I do not know what the legal age for purchasing tobbaco is. I hope it is 18, but I am absolutely terrified and convinced that you will tell me that it is less.

It was you who said that the politicians in Serbia are asleep at the wheel and I agree completely

Wouldn't it have been better if the B92 wrote stories about this instead of just coddling their own.

Last year a radical kid was beaten by the police during the demonstration against the extradition of Karadzic. This is a violation of human rights and the B92 concentrates on writing article after article about the b92 journalist who was beaten up by some idiots. It is as if the very few wealthy and influential people in Serbia think that they are Serbia and nothing else and no one else is important.This sense of entitlement is a very comfortable road to personal and social perdition.

The B92 was once a beacon of activism against communist demagogues. Now they perpetuate the establishment and continuance of a new elitist plutocracy. This is a sordid fall for grace

Marko what you say is true of course - according to the law in Serbia. But I would remind you that this law

But my point (and I thought yours too) is that there are many, many more important issues than this.

Thus I am completely uninterested in condemning a kid smoking a joint, whether he broke the law or not.

In Serbia (and elsewhere) there are plenty of people doing much, much worse and they are not charged for it.

Therefore in a way, yes the boy is a victim - because others should be in the firing line. Bringing me to another point - if this boy had been anybody else but Beckovic's child would it have even been in the newspapers? Would those boys have been charged?

But lets get a bigger issue. Do you know what is legal age to smoke in Serbia?

The sooner Serbia gets over its obsession with "narkomani", the better it will be for everybody. This incident should never even have reached the police station, let alone the newspapers. So some teenagers smoked a joint - so what?

Poor woman should never have to face this sort of intimidation. I have seen her work and she seems very good and professional.

In the true style of the lowest tabloid 'news reporting' these people who are not worthy to call themselves journalists have used her child to get at her.

Wow, so he smoked some dope at school! Big deal. I am certain that much harder drugs can be found in the murky offices of various media outlets. Perhaps there should be an 'investigation' about that?

I think that Olja was absolutely right to publish that statement about her son, although she should not have had to. The police should have come out with a much stronger statement themselves to put all of this in perspective.

Keep doing a good job, Olja, and don't let these idiots and bullies affect you if at all possible.

I think it is an assult to all other newspapers in the world to call Kurir a newspaper. Kurir is nothing more than a communication channel nationalists and those with a lot of money in Serbia use to blackmail their opponents.

Every one in Serbia should be concerned about Kurir being the largest newspaper. I can't believe why Serbs find this newspaper interesting, maybe it is because of the many articles about Ceca but it should be the responsibility of the clean intellectauls of Serbia to confront this sad reaity.

If the lawmakers of Serbia want, they can ban this newspaper since the newspaper.

I can hear the violins

Imagine the poor boy who goes to school only to smoke pot and is hauled off to the evil police station.

The boy is called a victim by his mother and through her tears she blames the police for something that may not have happened with more attentive parenting.

How will he ever learn to be a man if his mother downplays his unacceptable behavior. The boy should have been expelled from that school and lost the year but instead someone called him a mean name.

Meanwhile in Carton City Mayor Dragan Đilas nocks down the homes of Roma just before Easter and In Kosovo the Gorani's loose their schools to seperatist bulldozers (because they did not have a permit).

B92 does not publish articles
with the opinions of the people who lost their homes and schools because it is more interested in something else:

Specifically avoiding accountability for the select few wealthy and powerful Belgraders while the rest of Serbia can fend for itself

Who ever called this a boy a drug dealer was mean. Whoever pretends he is a victim is willfully blind.

the boy is just the tip of the problem.What do are children want to become drugged up idiots like americans?As for human rights watch ,dont let this uppet dictate policy and law to our people or country.God bless Serbia and our holy church!

Marko I could also hear the violins playing during your comment.

For your moral judgement about a kid smoking a joint I could give you a moral judgement about a Roma kid sniffing glue from a plastic bag. Frankly why bother?

If you want to talk about real issues, and I agree with you, then do so and don't concern yourself with other people's chidren and their choices.

If the kid had hurt somebody else that is a different matter, otherwise this is a matter for his parent(s), not for the media.

The truth is that my son was caught smoking marijuana with a few other boys in the schoolyard.


Oh c'mon marijuana isn't a dangerous drug. It should be OK to smoke marijuana not only in Serbia but the rest of the world as well. I've heard many times that too many people use it as painkiller. The bottom line is that people young or old should not be bothered if they want to smoke marijuana. It has to be available on the shelves at the store. Don't bother that boy because that's not a crime.

As far as my moral judgement be reminded that the law is not the moral maxim of society but rather the standard for social minimum compliance. The mother of the boy assured that this is not a private matter, her article has given her plight an international audience.

My acusations are no more than the facts established by the mother. I accpet as fact the following:
-the boy smoked dope at school
-that his behavour made this a police matter
-the boy is not a dealer
-the boys reputation has been attacked.

What i do not accept is that the boy is the victim. There are literally hundreds of thousands of victims in Serbia; perhaps millions and this boy is not among them.

I also do not accept the manner that this journalist seeks redress through the indulgences of her employer. This makes for shoddy journalism. Her complaints belong before a court of competent jurisdiction-

not everyone in Serbia gets to write an article on the B92 when their reputation is attacked or even in the cases I mentioned yesterday when homes and schools were lost to wanton lawlessness.

There is no excuse for going to school and using drugs even if the drug in question is very common and probably less dangerous than getting drunk.

Absolutely the best use of our taxes are schools. School is a place where we expect young people to learn basic life skills,civil and personal responsibility and to introduce them to the marvels of knowledge and academia. You can't do that for people who only go there to get their buzz on.

It is horrible to me that If this boy is not taught about accountability and remains an unaccomplished pothead ten years from now, then he will be a victim.

Marko - The point is that teenagers do this sort of thing, and yes, they should be warned by the appropriate people if caught (although it's very unrealistic to think that most teenagers don't try smoking dope at some point or another - parents can only hope that they're not trying something a lot worse).

This boy is not being let off the hook or treated differently in a positive way. He is being singled out in an attempt to besmirch his mother, in a case which has been twisted into something far worse than it is. This whole event would have been a private matter for most people.

BTW, if all the kids who ever tried dope at our school (and you're talking a nice state school in a nice area) had been expelled there would be no-one left to teach. At most being caught smoking dope would have led to suspension - not expulsion (unless you were selling the stuff).

Marko what you say is true of course - according to the law in Serbia. But I would remind you that this law

But my point (and I thought yours too) is that there are many, many more important issues than this.

Thus I am completely uninterested in condemning a kid smoking a joint, whether he broke the law or not.

In Serbia (and elsewhere) there are plenty of people doing much, much worse and they are not charged for it.

Therefore in a way, yes the boy is a victim - because others should be in the firing line. Bringing me to another point - if this boy had been anybody else but Beckovic's child would it have even been in the newspapers? Would those boys have been charged?

But lets get a bigger issue. Do you know what is legal age to smoke in Serbia?

Bgannon I do not know what the legal age for purchasing tobbaco is. I hope it is 18, but I am absolutely terrified and convinced that you will tell me that it is less.

It was you who said that the politicians in Serbia are asleep at the wheel and I agree completely

Wouldn't it have been better if the B92 wrote stories about this instead of just coddling their own.

Last year a radical kid was beaten by the police during the demonstration against the extradition of Karadzic. This is a violation of human rights and the B92 concentrates on writing article after article about the b92 journalist who was beaten up by some idiots. It is as if the very few wealthy and influential people in Serbia think that they are Serbia and nothing else and no one else is important.This sense of entitlement is a very comfortable road to personal and social perdition.

The B92 was once a beacon of activism against communist demagogues. Now they perpetuate the establishment and continuance of a new elitist plutocracy. This is a sordid fall for grace