English

Radenovic: We are having hard time because we dared to enter the area reserved for Vijesti

DN: Pink M TV was attacked again on Wednesday night. Do you believe that the relevant national authorities will respond more efficiently this time? Do you expect new pressures on your media outlet?

RADENOVIC: No, I don’t! I believe that we live in a mature democratic society in which there are democratic and media freedom. I believe that the prosecutors are truly independent and that there are no privileged entities or individuals, as they always repeat. Therefore, I believe that this hooligan, this shame for Montenegro, this hireling will be arrested as well as those who ordered the attack. Then I believe that the highly independent judicial system of Montenegro, as the president of the Supreme Court Vesna Medenica claims, will sentence the perpetrators of both the attack in October and this one to the maximum penalty stipulated by the law. That would be an example to everyone in Montenegro that dissatisfaction should not be expressed with the stones, knives, guns… If we are at the gates of the European Union and NATO, then we likely left our bags with stones and knives at the beginning of our path.

DN: You’ve presented the persecution your TV is exposed to to the president of the state, the speaker of Parliament and the minister of culture. What was the response?

RADENOVIC: Unfortunately, neither the president of the state nor the minister of culture found it necessary not to respond in writing to the letter! They even failed to order one of their officers to formally respond! I must tell you that all Pink employees have a huge dilemma about what is going on, since we are targeted and pressured just because we unreservedly support this country, its policy, orientation and institutions.

Therefore, we wonder why the president and the minister are loudly silent, thus sending a message that one media outlet which use all its resources to support national policies is not protected by these two important institutions. Particularly when we know how quickly they respond when journalists and other media, including those who attack state policy, should be protected.

DN: You have published data that as many as 42 complaints against are against Pink M TV have been submitted by NGOs associated with the Vijesti media group. In your opinion, should the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) have responded and how?

RADENOVIC: Of course it should! And we said that at a meeting with leaders of AEM. Anyone can see what is going on when it comes to Pink. We dared to enter the fenced media area that was reserved for Vijesti. They had a monopoly to reveal affairs through the media, to accuse, to read who steals, who is good and who is bad. When we started to report on the research project of then Pobjeda newspaper on multi-million robbery of CKB bank, it was followed by a shock in the Montenegrin public! How has this happened, who the Pink M has obtained permission from to do this? Is anyone in Montenegro allowed to do this in addition to Vijesti? The reply came soon – owner of Vijesti filed €600,000 worth lawsuit, which was rejected, of course, because it was absurd. But we had to spend two years in court and listen to political tirades of Ivanovic and Perovic, who bombarded a public with lies about Pink!!! The same thing happens every time.

DN: Well, that’s the answer to questions who is bothered by Pink M and why?

RADENOVIC: Of course. When we publicly announced that Vijesti has not paid taxes for years, while accusing others for the same thing and that someone within the authorities allows it to do so, the media group began to submit requests to AEM. The requests are made in one place – the political kitchen run by the owners of Vijesti, for which the leaders of media parties, so-called media experts, members of councils, NGOs are working. Meaningless letters to AEM are aimed at prohibit Pink M from broadcasting, as they wrote in their tabloid. This is a textbook example of pressure against the media and our editorial policy and an attempt to forbid our reporting on the illegalities performed by the owners of Vijesti in cooperation with someone from the state authorities! The stoning of Pink M building happened after we published the secret price list of their TV, by which they tried to avoid paying taxes again!

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