Bakir follows his mentor's example, pressures media

The pressure that Bakir Izetbegović, member of the Presidency of BiH and deputy president of the Party of Democratic Action, is exerting on the management and editorial board of the BiH news agency Patria (NAP), forcing Patria's journalists to move out of the 'Energoinvest' premises at Ćemaluša number 6, continues to draw sharp criticism from the public.

Emir Suljagić, DF's candidate for the Bosniak member of the Presidency of BiH, condemned any attempt to limit freedom.

"I condemn any attempt by Bakir Izetbegović to limit the freedom and independence of the media. I support media freedoms, which I consider one of the main characteristics of a democratic society, unlike Bakir and his mentor, who is trying to ban the use of social networks Youtube and Twitter," Suljagić said in a statement to Patria.

We remind you that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while serving as Prime Minister of Turkey, banned his citizens from accessing Twitter and Facebook, and later the use of the popular video-sharing channel Youtube.

It is known that Izetbegović is close to Erdoğan, whom he sees as his mentor, and he even copied his election promotional spot from Erdoğan.

Otherwise, on October 1, 2014, the News Agency Patria received a letter from the director of 'Energoinvest' stating that the 'contract for the use of premises is unilaterally terminated' and that Patria must URGENTLY vacate the space it had been using by October 29, 2014, at the latest.

The management of 'Energoinvest' did not have a valid reason for such a decision, and the editorial board was told that the decision to terminate the contract was 'ordered from above'.