Kebo: Alija opposed media censorship even during the war, Bakir persecutes journalists in peacetime

The pressure that Bakir Izetbegović, member of the BiH Presidency 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, has drawn sharp criticism from a large number of public figures in the country.

Mirsad Kebo, vice president of the Federation of BiH and an independent candidate for the Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency, stated that the founder and first president of SDA, the late Alija Izetbegović, was a staunch opponent of media censorship, which he did not allow even during the fiercest conflicts in the country.

We remind you that on October 1, 2014, the news agency Patria received a letter from the director of "Energoinvest" unilaterally terminating the lease agreement for the premises, demanding that Patria vacate the space it had been using urgently, by October 29, 2014 at the latest.

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

The editorial office of the news agency Patria has been located in the "Energoinvest" building in Ćemaluša since the agency's inception, where many other companies, organizations, practices, and political parties, including BPS Sefer Halilović and SNSD Milorad Dodik, also have offices.

Irfan Ljevaković and Aljoša Čampara, close associates of Izetbegović, attempted to buy and take over Patria for their own purposes a few months ago. They confirmed that they had the approval of the member of the BiH Presidency, Bakir Izetbegović, for this endeavor – the purchase of Patria – and that "money is not a problem." As they did not succeed, we have strong suspicions that they organized several hacker attacks on Patria's website, for which reports have been filed with the Federal Police Administration (FUP).

Just a few days before the General Elections in BiH, Patria's editorial board suddenly received an eviction notice from the premises they had been using.

- This is a very ugly pressure that will not only affect Patria but also the entire atmosphere in society – said Kebo.

- This sends a message about how Izetbegović will deal with dissenters if he wins the elections.

During the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kebo said, he was in the office of the president, the late Alija Izetbegović, when the president stated that media censorship should not be introduced in BiH and that they must be allowed to report freely.

- During the war, we sat with President Alija Izetbegović in the BiH Presidency when someone suggested introducing media censorship, as is done in countries at war. He said – no! Freedom of the media, Izetbegović said then, is what makes Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite being at war, a democratic country, which the whole world sees and recognizes – Kebo recalled.

- Alija Izetbegović's message from that meeting was – let people write freely – said Kebo.