Ivanjica councilors condemn Informer's reporting, citing conscience

The Municipal Assembly of Ivanjica recently issued a unanimous condemnation of the local newspaper Informer's reporting tactics against political adversaries. The vote, which included support from both the opposition and the ruling SNS and SPS parties, addressed Informer's targeting of local activists and citizens critical of its coverage.

“

The Municipal Assembly of Ivanjica recently condemned the reporting of Informer against local political opponents – unanimously, with votes from the opposition and the ruling majority (SNS and SPS).

The issue arose during a debate on public media funding. The Association of Independent Electronic Media had previously identified Informer and Alo as recipients of the largest amounts of public funds, despite consistently violating media regulations. This context fueled the discussion in the Ivanjica assembly.

Ivan Jovićević, a councilor from the New Face of Serbia party, described how Informer targeted students and local figures, including Dr. Brana Čojbašić, Dr. Vojin Dramićanin, lawyer Mihajlo Marković, and himself. Jovićević stated he was particularly targeted as an alleged "organizer of an attack" on the home of Dragan J. Vučićević, Informer's editor-in-chief, a claim he vehemently denies.

“

The question of Informer's reporting on respected Ivanjica residents – critical activists and citizens – was on the agenda of the local assembly, following a discussion on public contests for project financing of media.

Jovićević noted that Informer has been targeting the opposition in Ivanjica for over six months. He expressed surprise at the strong condemnation from the assembly, suggesting that the ruling parties' inability to control the opposition's serious approach to sessions led them to rely on pro-government media. He believes that even members of the ruling parties have credibility and that 12 SNS-SPS councilors voted for the condemnation due to a sense of conscience.

“

I was targeted the most, as one of the 'organizers of the attack' on Dragan J. Vučićević's house, which is absolutely not true. None of the listed people were even in the village of Šarenik that day.

"I think their conscience kicked in," Jovićević said. "They know this will pass, and we will continue to use the same streets, schools, kindergartens, and hospitals. They realized they shouldn't build a dam that neither we nor they can cross tomorrow." He added that Snežana Plavšić of SPS proposed the vote, and Informer has since targeted her. Jovićević believes that Plavšić and another colleague acted rationally, not to side with the opposition, but to foster the development of Ivanjica, a behavior he wishes to see more widely adopted across Serbia instead of blind adherence to central party directives.

“

I think their conscience kicked in. They know this will pass, and we will continue to use the same streets, schools, kindergartens, and hospitals. They realized they shouldn't build a dam that neither we nor they can cross tomorrow.