BH journalists: Konaković abused the space of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his ministerial position, must stop targeting the media

(Patria) - The Management Board of the BH Journalists Association and the Journalist Help Line most strongly condemn the inappropriate statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH Elmedin Konaković and the targeting of journalists and the media at yesterday's press conference in Sarajevo.

"Abusing the public space of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH and his own ministerial position, Konaković, without argument or evidence, attempted to criminalize a number of media outlets and journalists, calling them 'part of the media-judicial mafia,' solely because they reported on the police-judicial operation arresting individuals suspected of various criminal offenses and connections to the 'Tito and Dino' drug cartel.

Konaković stated that certain media outlets and journalists are trying to 'pin connections' on him with the aforementioned criminal group, and that their reports are 'endangering the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina.'

The Minister further lectured the media on how they should report on individuals arrested in the police operation and later questioned in court, thereby resorting to unacceptable political pressure on journalists and direct interference in their work.

The Management Board of BH Journalists recalls that Konaković has, for years, from various public office positions, verbally and each time brutally clashed with the media, particularly attacking those journalists who write critically about his decisions and the ways in which he performs public duties.

In doing so, Konaković politically misleads the public, especially through social media, interpreting criticism directed at him as a public official as an attack on state institutions and/or the state of BiH and its European path.

For the Management Board of BH Journalists, it is particularly telling that Konaković, in no reaction to unprofessional work by journalists and the media, has used legal and legitimate means such as denials, requests for corrections, filing complaints with independent (self-)regulatory bodies, or through defamation lawsuits.

The Management Board of BH Journalists once again publicly condemns Konaković's behavior yesterday, considering it an inappropriate attack on media freedoms and the professional integrity of journalists, staged with the aim of criminalizing the media and undermining their reputation in the public eye, including minimizing the contribution of BiH media in exposing this international criminal ring.

In this context, BH Journalists warn Minister Konaković that they will initiate a system of legal protection due to violations of the right to freedom of expression, if his pressure on the media and journalists does not stop," stated the Management Board of BH Journalists.