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Roma Party President: Pink TV enabled hate speech against Roma

Roma Party President: Pink TV enabled hate speech against Roma

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Serbian Roma Party President Srđan Šajn accused Pink television of allowing hate speech against Roma people.
  • Šajn stated that contestant Stanija Dobrojević used derogatory terms like "gypsy work" and "gypsy town" to demean her Roma rivals.
  • He questioned Pink's owners, Željko and Milica Mitrović, about their stance on such behavior and whether they report such incidents to prosecutors.

The president of the Roma Party, Srđan Šajn, has accused the television station Pink of enabling hate speech against Roma people. Šajn stated that contestant Stanija Dobrojević was allowed to downplay her previous insults directed at Roma individuals.

When Stanija Dobrojević, in an effort to humiliate her Roma rivals, uses expressions like "gypsy work," "gypsy town," and "cardboard city," which present Roma as a symbol of something less valuable or socially undesirable, it is not freedom of language use, but the spread of hate speech, which is equally dangerous in all languages of the world.

— Srđan ŠajnŠajn explaining why he considers Dobrojević's language to be hate speech.

According to Šajn, Dobrojević used phrases such as "gypsy work," "gypsy town," and "cardboard city" to demean her Roma rivals. He argued that such language is not freedom of expression but rather hate speech, which is dangerous regardless of the language used. Šajn distinguished these statements from artistic expressions, citing Federico García Lorca's use of the word "gypsy" in his poetry.

Šajn raised further questions for Pink's owners, Željko and Milica Mitrović, asking if they approve of such behavior and what actions they have taken to prevent it. He also questioned whether Pink has reported similar incidents of ethnic or religious slurs to the relevant prosecutor's office, beyond imposing fines on participants.

First question is one that Željko and Milica Mitrović, as "big bosses," must answer - do they approve of such behavior and what are they prepared to do to prevent it, or what have they done to prevent it.

— Srđan ŠajnŠajn questioning the owners of Pink television about their responsibility.

The Roma Party noted that Dobrojević's case has already been reported to the Republic Broadcasting Agency (REM).

Is it that when someone insulted the Serbian, Roma, Bosniak people or any people, or members of any religious or other vulnerable community, did Pink television, in addition to imposing fines on participants, report all these cases to the competent prosecutor's office?

— Srđan ŠajnŠajn questioning Pink television's reporting practices regarding hate speech.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.