B92’s Matić on commission on murder of journalists

BELGRADE B92 Editor-in-Chief Veran Matic has said that a commission set up to consider facts in probes into murders of journalists in Serbia will help solve the murders. When asked whether Vesna Malisic's resignation even before the commission started its work would have any effect on the Commission, Matic said that it would not. B92’s Matic on commission on murder of journalists “Vesna Malisic’s resignation will not affect it, because the reason for her resignation was a misunderstanding about the nature of the Commission. I believe Vesna will help us. She simply did not want to be a part of the Commission set up by the government,” he told daily Blic. “She will be replaced by Vukasin Obradovic, the Independent Association of Journalists (NUNS) president. The Commission’s mandate is to investigate reasons why investigations thus far have given no results and to give guidelines how to push the investigations in the best possible direction so we could have results we all want – to discover murderers, those who issued orders and convictions for crimes. Of course, journalists will not perform investigations and make arrests but they can take part with the help of domestic and foreign experts in various fields in analyses of oversights made thus far and the public will be informed about it once the Commission has completed its work,” Matic added. He said he was convinced that the Commission would help create an atmosphere and pressure aimed at solving the murders, adding that the cases were “a part of a global trend in combat against impunity in cases of murders of journalists because the UN noted last year that the increase in the number of murders of journalists and unrevealed murderers was a growing problem”. “I have been proposing that the Commission be formed for three years now and it is wrong to interpret it as anyone’s initiative because I am aware that we are party to blame for the fact that these murders have not been solved. I spoke about the initiative as a possible model at numerous international conferences,” the B92 editor in chief was quoted as saying. He explained that the Commission needed to be founded by the government in order to be efficient and have enough freedom and resources. “Commission is international and it says in the Article 4 of the Decision on the foundation: ‘The Commission can, in order to perform its tasks more efficiently, form permanent or provisional working groups and include in its work domestic and international experts, i.e. international organizations that have experience related to the Commission’s tasks’. Each of these cases is different and requires involvement of different experts and institutions. We expect institutional help from OSCE, Council of Europe that has already helped a similar action in Ukraine, the Wiesbaden Institute, the International Federation of Journalists, Committee for Protection of Journalists, etc,” Matic explained. When asked to comment on Democratic Party (DS) deputy leader Miodrag Rakic’s statement that the case of murdered journalist Slavko Curuvija could be solved rather quickly since there were key witnesses, the B92 editor in chief said: “I have already partially answered this question. I have so far also received such information but nothing happened. The Commission should determine why. Mr. Miodrag Rakic will, I am sure, help us get the best possible insight in what was done at the time and I am sure that he will give us very useful guidelines for the Commission’s further work but also the work of investigators. I would be more than happy to find the killers as soon as possible and what is more important to prove it in court and to get verdicts. I do not have information if the prosecution can do this now or not. Collection of the entire documentation and evidence from courts and prosecutions that worked on the murders until now, from BIA, VBA and the Criminal Investigations Police Administration will begin next week. We will also request documentation from foreign services or governments, if they have any knowledge. Only once we have gathered the documents we will be able to, with the help of independent experts, assess if there is enough evidence or if we need to collect something else in order to have the desired epilogue. We, the journalists in the Commission, can fight for these goals only with the public and this is a pretty powerful force and I am sure that we will use it in order to solve the murders, even if we notice any form of obstruction of the Commission’s work and experts teams that will be formed,” Matic underscored. Commenting on Curuvija’s partner Branka Prpa’s statement that this was just a “populist show” that “is insulting the victims”, he said: “Like I have already pointed out, the idea to form the Commission was exclusively mine, I have been proposing it for several years and it has been accepted positively but it has never gone any further.” “The claim that the Serbian government formed the Commission and dragged journalists in it in order to have an excuse for something that has never been done is unfounded. On the contrary, we have dragged the government in the whole story and that way ensured that we finally get access to all documents that will clearly show us what information and evidence have been withheld, hidden and so on. Of course, it is clear to everybody that killers have not been found because the system protect individuals and this is exactly I believe that it is a great success that we now have an opportunity to look at everything from the inside. This government has agreed to it and this should be seen as the first victory against the system,” the B92 editor in chief noted. He said that the Commission would stand up to anyone who tried to interfere or obstruct its work. “Members of the Commission will not get any fee for their work. I am convinced that we will have great difficulties in our work. But I am under the impression that everybody is aware of that and that they accept the risk as an integral part of the fight to achieve the goals of the Commission. Everybody is entitled to their own interpretation, just like me and my colleagues who agree with me have the right to have another try, the one that no one has made so far,” he added. “I think that daily politics and private and professional issues caused an unnecessary debate that should not affect the institution that was formed in order to deal with the unsolved murders that happened many years ago. Debates are useful if they are constructive but here I see more of advocating the status quo and passiveness. I am always surprised how denial and suspicion motivate us easier than a wish to make a step in the right direction. Besides, you can always give up but we should try. Veran Matic (file) Blic

B92’s Matić on commission on murder of journalists

“Vesna Mališić’s resignation will not affect it, because the reason for her resignation was a misunderstanding about the nature of the Commission. I believe Vesna will help us. She simply did not want to be a part of the Commission set up by the government,” he told daily Blic.

“She will be replaced by Vukašin Obradović, the Independent Association of Journalists (NUNS) president. The Commission’s mandate is to investigate reasons why investigations thus far have given no results and to give guidelines how to push the investigations in the best possible direction so we could have results we all want – to discover murderers, those who issued orders and convictions for crimes. Of course, journalists will not perform investigations and make arrests but they can take part with the help of domestic and foreign experts in various fields in analyses of oversights made thus far and the public will be informed about it once the Commission has completed its work,” Matić added.

He said he was convinced that the Commission would help create an atmosphere and pressure aimed at solving the murders, adding that the cases were “a part of a global trend in combat against impunity in cases of murders of journalists because the UN noted last year that the increase in the number of murders of journalists and unrevealed murderers was a growing problem”.

“I have been proposing that the Commission be formed for three years now and it is wrong to interpret it as anyone’s initiative because I am aware that we are party to blame for the fact that these murders have not been solved. I spoke about the initiative as a possible model at numerous international conferences,” the B92 editor in chief was quoted as saying.

He explained that the Commission needed to be founded by the government in order to be efficient and have enough freedom and resources.

“Commission is international and it says in the Article 4 of the Decision on the foundation: ‘The Commission can, in order to perform its tasks more efficiently, form permanent or provisional working groups and include in its work domestic and international experts, i.e. international organizations that have experience related to the Commission’s tasks’. Each of these cases is different and requires involvement of different experts and institutions. We expect institutional help from OSCE, Council of Europe that has already helped a similar action in Ukraine, the Wiesbaden Institute, the International Federation of Journalists, Committee for Protection of Journalists, etc,” Matić explained.

When asked to comment on Democratic Party (DS) deputy leader Miodrag Rakić’s statement that the case of murdered journalist Slavko Ćuruvija could be solved rather quickly since there were key witnesses, the B92 editor in chief said:

“I have already partially answered this question. I have so far also received such information but nothing happened. The Commission should determine why. Mr. Miodrag Rakić will, I am sure, help us get the best possible insight in what was done at the time and I am sure that he will give us very useful guidelines for the Commission’s further work but also the work of investigators. I would be more than happy to find the killers as soon as possible and what is more important to prove it in court and to get verdicts. I do not have information if the prosecution can do this now or not. Collection of the entire documentation and evidence from courts and prosecutions that worked on the murders until now, from BIA, VBA and the Criminal Investigations Police Administration will begin next week. We will also request documentation from foreign services or governments, if they have any knowledge. Only once we have gathered the documents we will be able to, with the help of independent experts, assess if there is enough evidence or if we need to collect something else in order to have the desired epilogue. We, the journalists in the Commission, can fight for these goals only with the public and this is a pretty powerful force and I am sure that we will use it in order to solve the murders, even if we notice any form of obstruction of the Commission’s work and experts teams that will be formed,” Matić underscored.

Commenting on Ćuruvija’s partner Branka Prpa’s statement that this was just a “populist show” that “is insulting the victims”, he said:

“Like I have already pointed out, the idea to form the Commission was exclusively mine, I have been proposing it for several years and it has been accepted positively but it has never gone any further.”

“The claim that the Serbian government formed the Commission and dragged journalists in it in order to have an excuse for something that has never been done is unfounded. On the contrary, we have dragged the government in the whole story and that way ensured that we finally get access to all documents that will clearly show us what information and evidence have been withheld, hidden and so on. Of course, it is clear to everybody that killers have not been found because the system protect individuals and this is exactly I believe that it is a great success that we now have an opportunity to look at everything from the inside. This government has agreed to it and this should be seen as the first victory against the system,” the B92 editor in chief noted.

He said that the Commission would stand up to anyone who tried to interfere or obstruct its work.

“Members of the Commission will not get any fee for their work. I am convinced that we will have great difficulties in our work. But I am under the impression that everybody is aware of that and that they accept the risk as an integral part of the fight to achieve the goals of the Commission. Everybody is entitled to their own interpretation, just like me and my colleagues who agree with me have the right to have another try, the one that no one has made so far,” he added.

“I think that daily politics and private and professional issues caused an unnecessary debate that should not affect the institution that was formed in order to deal with the unsolved murders that happened many years ago. Debates are useful if they are constructive but here I see more of advocating the status quo and passiveness. I am always surprised how denial and suspicion motivate us easier than a wish to make a step in the right direction. Besides, you can always give up but we should try.