The government and RTS in a joint effort to abuse the public word – the Society

The increasingly frequent appearance of hate speech in the Serbian National Assembly, as well as the insults directed by the deputies at dissidents, including the media and prominent personalities who are not part of the political arena, as well as the broadcast of these sessions in the public service, they have become propaganda tools. the achievements of democracy are abused and public space is contaminated.

Photo: BETAPHOTO / EMIL VAS

This is how Danas’ interlocutors value the insults and hateful messages directed against H1 and Nova S televisions in a live broadcast on RTS, with which the deputies of the ruling majority began the autumn session.

This raises the question of the responsibility of the national radio and television station of Serbia for the live broadcasting of parliamentary sessions in which hatred is ignited.

Media experts point out that any restriction on RTS broadcasts could be labeled censorship, but that there are ways, such as broadcasting on a special channel for parliamentary sessions from which RTS and other broadcasters would download and edit content, to avoid “propaganda “. authorities ”affects public opinion in this way.

Snjezana Milivojevic, a professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Political Science, told Danas that the main generators of hate speech are government politicians and that public television is the main platform they have at their disposal to broadcast that speech.

– The joint effort of the government, which broadcasts hate speech in parliament, and public television that broadcasts it directly, is devastating. Society must find a way to stop this. “Live broadcasts are a hard-won democratic achievement, but under these conditions, the question arises whether they have a role when politicians are alone in parliament and directly violate pluralism with that speech,” Milivojevic said.

He also pointed out that it is possible to preserve publicity for the work of parliament and not abuse public television.

– Perhaps to begin with, it would be good if the parliamentary broadcasts were made on the parliamentary channel, and it would show that public television is not based on the parliamentary majority, he says.

Tanja Maksić from the Association for Online Media (AOM) also cites this example of the introduction of a special parliamentary channel, but emphasizes that the greatest responsibility lies with the parliament and that we cannot seek a solution in the media.

– Now we are putting the media in an abnormal situation: censoring and controlling the speech of the deputies. If we were a democratic country, of course, the parliament should be public, but the people who sit there have no democratic capacity or courage. Greater pressure should be exerted on parliament, emphasized by Danas.

The speech of the deputies in the Assembly, as well as the broadcasts on RTS, opposed democracy, notes journalist Djordje Vlajić.

– It is a mere platform and one-sided for political propaganda. Parliament serves to appease political opponents and attack all those who criticize the government. They are a voting machine that raises its hand to the bell and will support whatever Supreme Ruler Vučić sends them through the Government. Broadcasting is a legacy of democracy in Serbia, but even that has become its own opposite. There is no longer an opportunity to hear different opinions and it is seriously questionable whether there is a need to transfer parliament, he said. Vlajic adds that it is a “fragile hope” that the RTS reports will somehow change, because the ruling majority will not allow it.

The journalist Vukasin Obradovic believes that it would be a mistake to hide the atmosphere of hatred and insult that prevails in the Assembly before any extra-parliamentary measure.

– That is the true image of Vučić’s Serbia because we must not be fooled. This government, inside and outside the Assembly, wants to strengthen the climate of fear and disorder with such behavior in response to the growing discontent of society. So these are not isolated incidents, but rather designed government policy. With the insults and hate speech, the deputies want to silence all the voices of resistance and that is why this behavior is consciously tolerated, he said, adding that the government uses “enemies”, “Sholak” and “Djilas” to cover their inability to combat the crisis of the crown.

Grbović: RTS to allow a response to the attack targets

Pavle Grbović, president of the Free Citizens Movement, told Danas that the RTS leadership is obliged to explain whether it considers that there is a public interest in disseminating the statements of parliamentarians that use “more vampiric rhetoric of the last century”. “. “They are also obliged to explain to the citizens who pay the subscription why they did not give a single second of space to respond to those who are the target of these attacks, taking into account that hundreds of thousands of viewers can see the insults at their expense. Grbović said. He points out that it is reasonable to expect the broadcast to stop the moment the displays exceed all lines of decency.

Parliamentary speech is “burning”, Bujošević is silent

We have not been able to obtain any comment from the RTS authorities on what kind of editorial policy will lead to hate speech in the Assembly. We asked Dragan Bujosevic, acting CEO of RTS, if it is possible to limit parliamentary broadcasts or in some other way prevent hate speech on the national frequency, but like many previous questions, we received no response.

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