Vienna, 12/11/2014
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was concerned to learn that the Croatian Minister of Health Sinisa Varga allegedly made discriminating accusations against some Croatian journalists.
While making a guest appearance on a TV channel N1 show, Minister Varga was asked to comment on claims regarding his conflict of interest, mentioned in several articles and investigative stories.
He not only disregarded the statements, but also added that there are „enough indicators“ to safely say that a group of journalists are motivated to write critically because of bribes they receive.
SEEMO strongly condemns this type of pressure made on the media, and is reminding political representatives and authorities to be cautious in their choice of words. „Statements like these cause harm to the society and the media scene, they endanger journalists, and they put a tremendous amount of self-censorship pressure upon them.“ SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said.