Serbia needs wisdom, composure, developing dialogue, and by no means inciting conflicts and engaging the media machinery for these needs, says the draft of the text of the resignation sent by the journalists' associations to the Minister of Information, Dejan Ristić.
Representatives of journalist associations, associations and trade unions submitted on August 2 to the Minister of Information and Telecommunications Of Serbia To Dejan Ristic the draft of his resignation, written in such a way that it would be enough for Ristić to sign it simply and without much thought, which would certainly be the most significant decision he has made since taking office.
With the resignation draft sent to him, the journalists helped Ristić in many ways to understand the mistakes he had made in his short but infamous ministerial career so far, thus showing perhaps an undeserved understanding of the misconceptions that Ristić diligently cultivated, unaware of the responsibility he had ministerial position brought.
The text of the resignation submitted to Ristic by the representatives of journalistic associations, associations and unions is reproduced in its entirety:
"I wanted to preserve professional journalism..."
"Dear Prime Minister,
Due to the latest media hunt on FoNet journalist Tamara Skrozza, I consider it my moral responsibility to resign from the position of Minister of Information and Telecommunications.
As a person who advocates for the preservation of the concept of freedom of speech, I believe that this type of media harassment is unacceptable, and I express my regret that I contributed to it. In my haste, I didn't get enough information and told her what she didn't say. I consider that my responsibility.
I use this opportunity to apologize to Tamara Scrozza, but also to other media professionals who stood up for her and then were exposed to media vilification.
The hunt for Tamara Skrozz: The birth of Minister Ristic from the spirit of the regime's tabloids
By coming to this position, I had a great desire to try to contribute to freedom of expression, information in the public interest, calming tensions in the public space and dialogue, which I promised to the public, as well as journalistic and media associations, at the beginning of my mandate. I wanted us to stand together to preserve professional journalism and preserve information in the public interest. Unfortunately, in these slightly less than 100 days of my ministry, the REM passed regulations that are not in accordance with the Law on Electronic Media and the Strategy for the Development of the Public Information System in the RS (2020-2025), abuses in the field of project co-financing continued, the new Action Plan for the aforementioned Strategy has still not been adopted, nationally licensed television stations spread fear and spread hate speech every day, which is punishable in a number of laws in Serbia, tabloids as well, and the number of serious threats to journalists is higher than in the entire previous year, and to a large extent it is a consequence of the chases that are conducted precisely in the media that do not adhere to professional customs.
"As a responsible and educated man..."
Because of all that, as a responsible and well-mannered person, professional in the performance of all previous public duties, and in accordance with Article 23 of the Law on Government, I made the only rational and honorable decision in these circumstances.
I submit my irrevocable resignation from the position of Minister of Information and Telecommunications in the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
I feel a moral and professional obligation to sincerely thank my colleagues for our unfortunately short work.
Serbia needs wisdom, composure, development of dialogue, no incitement of conflicts and engagement of media machinery for these needs, no matter from which side they come.
Resignation is a personal act".
The text of the draft resignation was sent to Ristic by representatives of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia, the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina, the Media Association, the Coalition for Media Freedom and the "Slavko Ćuruvija" Foundation, the Online Media Association, Local Press and the "Nezavisnost" Trade Union.
It would be both professional and humane for Ristić to put aside delusions about his infallibility and sign the resignation draft without changing anything in the text, with thanks to the professional journalists who made an effort to make his departure from the ministerial position completely decent.
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