03.04.2020.
Minister Vulin: Causing panic is mean, even when unpunished
- I do not know why Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic needs to mention Serbia in her every statement, but I do know that President Vučić has never denied a single journalist in Serbia the right to ask a question or get the answer. It is true that he did not allow shouting at press conferences, especially not at women, and the call for a decent tone does not seem to conflict with free speech. Everyone has the right to information in Serbia, but no one has the right to knowingly publish lies and intentionally cause panic and distrust in healthcare and the state - the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin said today in response to a statement by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović , that “cases have been reported of journalists prevented from attending press conferences in the Czech Republic, Serbia and Italy."
He added that "he admires the peaceful manner in which Commissioner Mijatović and numerous spokespersons of the European Union institutions explain that, at the time of a pandemic, false news about Serbia should not be a reason for the state's reaction, and I wonder how long they would remain silent if someone published lies about them, their families or the situation in the departments they run.“
- Experience has taught us that criticisms at the expense of European Union officials have been declared dangerous anti-European attitudes and may jeopardize our long and far-off European path. Commissioners should know that they have not been given the power to decide for us, to regulate our lives and the rules by which we live. I do not know about Europe, but I know that in Serbia causing panic deliberately is mean and dangerous, even when it remains unpunished - Minister Vulin said.
