N1’s Bozic: Govt inconsiderate towards protesters, N1 to report as usual

N1

The Serbia Against Violence protest is atypical in comparison to the protests held so far because its demands do not include the dismissal of the Serbian Government, President, and it is unbelievable that, in spite of this, the authorities are failing to show any consideration for these people, but rather seem to be “tacticizing” and waiting to see how many will turn up this Friday, next Friday, N1 Program Director Igor Bozic told the Nova S TV show Wake Up.

He noted that the Stop to Bloody Shirts protest of 2018 also started over violence, but that, because of the then rhetoric of the President, turned into the One of Five Million protest. Bozic said it was unbelievable that the pro-government media are trying to play down the importance of the Serbia Against Violence protest, or to “make a mountain out of a molehill” by creating a parallel reality.

“There was a situation in which, during the blockade of the Gazela Bridge, two men were seen verbally clashing, and a drama was made out of that. If you were watching Pink TV, you couldn’t see that it was a verbal conflict but chaos, violence, everything was exaggerated. And that is a paradox, especially now, at such a sensitive moment. The media need be accurate and precise, especially now, rather than have people watching television stations with national coverage seeing an explosion of verbal violence towards the people who are protesting,” Bozic explained.

When it comes to reporting on the anti-violence protest, Bozic gave another example of the creation of a “parallel reality.” He said the pro-regime media were given permission to use drones for aerial footage, but that, despite the fact that it sent a request in a timely manner, N1 TV never received a reply.

“Some crews got permission, we know which ones, and they used the drones to take footage before the protests started and then they replayed it and so misinformed the public, instead of informing the people on the actual situation. This was noticeable at the two previous protests and, for me, this speaks best about how prepared some are to throw dust in the public’s eyes, to show photos and comment on something that never happened,” said Bozic.

N1 reporters will be on the streets of Belgrade both today and next Friday, and report, to the very last detail, on what is happening at the protests, said the N1 TV Program Director.

“People turn to N1 reporters viewing them as people who will hear them out, and our reporters haven’t had a single unpleasant situation so far, and this, more than anything, shows that their reporting is good. N1 will also be on the streets of Belgrade next Friday if the parallel protest is held, and we will report from it. We don’t avoid reality, we don’t create a parallel reality, and we never engage in showdowns, with anyone,” said Bozic.