Eugen Jakovčić shocked by Ivana Petrović's award: Her reporting is on the verge of inciting hatred

ZAGREB, (Patria) - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) awarded its annual awards for 2017 on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day in Zagreb, writes Index.hr.

The Marija Jurić Zagorka award for television journalism was given to Ivana Petrović, a commentator for Nova TV, for her reporting from The Hague during the sentencing of the six Bosnian Croat generals. '

- The jury chose colleague Petrović because they believe that on a very tragic day, when General Slobodan Praljak's suicide was witnessed live, every additional piece of information was crucial. And that is precisely what Ivana Petrović did with her reporting from The Hague. She clearly reported minute by minute in her sharp and analytical style what was happening there. She was the first to break the exclusive news that General Praljak died in the courtroom, not in the hospital. She explained the context of the proceedings, including its correctness and shortcomings - it was stated at the award ceremony.

Eugen Jakovčić from Documenta, in a statement, criticized the awarding of the prize to Ivana Petrović for, as he wrote, reporting that was on the verge of inciting hatred.

- On the occasion of May 3rd, World Press Freedom Day, the Croatian Journalists' Association, at a ceremony in the Journalists' Home, awarded its annual prizes to journalists for 2017.

Given that Documenta – Centre for Dealing with the Past, a civil society organization, has been monitoring war crimes trials before courts in Croatia, the countries of the region, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague for years, we were unpleasantly surprised by the fact that the Marija Jurić Zagorka award for television journalism for 2017 was given to Nova TV editor Ivana Petrović, for her reporting from The Hague in December 2017, during the sentencing of the six in the Prlić et al. case.

The award justification speaks of Ivana Petrović's "analytical and impeccable reporting" and that too "on a very tragic day, when General Slobodan Praljak's suicide was witnessed live." The exclusivity of Ivana Petrović's reporting is particularly emphasized, as she was the first to report "that General Praljak died in the courtroom, not in the hospital.".

Unfortunately, in her reports during the sentencing in the Prlić et al. case, as well as during the trial itself, Ivana Petrović never provided her viewers with an analytical and objective overview of the numerous facts presented during the long-term judicial proceedings. Her reports, which are easy to verify, completely omitted the testimonies of victims during the long trial, the description of their suffering, documentary footage illustrating that suffering, and evidence supporting their testimony.

Through Ivana Petrović's reports, the audience of Nova TV was deprived of an objective picture of the suffering of innocent civilians, Bosniaks and Croats (Central Bosnia), all those who suffered crimes, deportations, and torture in camps within the 30 municipalities of so-called Herceg Bosna.

A large group of camp inmates and victims from Mostar and other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, some of whom testified in this case as important witnesses, were present in The Hague during the sentencing in the Prlić et al. case. Despite their presence, which I personally witnessed, the Nova TV editor did not include any representatives of the victims in her reports and live broadcasts. For a professional journalist, this is a completely unacceptable oversight. And if it is not an oversight, then it is propaganda, not journalism.

We cannot speculate on Ivana Petrović's intentions, but journalistic reports on trials that a priori deny the arguments of the prosecution, the testimonies of victims and court experts, and only consider and convey the arguments of the defense, are professionally deficient, and in the case of such trials, socially harmful because, by denying crimes that actually happened, they prevent society from freeing itself from the politics that led to those crimes.

Ivana Petrović concludes her reporting on the guilty verdict and General Praljak's suicide during the sentencing with a passionate and inflammatory comment unworthy of a journalist: "... if it continues like this, who will guard this narrow strip of border from Split to Prevlaka for us? According to this verdict, probably returning mujahideen from Syria."

All of the above makes, in my opinion, the awarding of this year's Marija Jurić Zagorka journalism award to Ivana Petrović a misstep by the HND, a devaluation of the award itself, and an insult to numerous professional journalists.

All journalists who report in this manner bring their media houses to the brink of what the Criminal Code calls public incitement to violence and hatred, especially Article 4, which speaks of the denial, downplaying, or public approval of crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression, and war crimes - wrote Jakovčić.