Mancevski: Attack on media freedom is an attack on the rule of law and human rights


 Free, safe, independent and responsible media are the foundation for the development of a democratic society. They represent an important part of a developed country, contributing to its social and economic progress, says Minister of Information Society and Administration Damjan Mancevski in his message on World Press Freedom Day-May 3.

“Attack on media freedom is an attack on the rule of law and human rights. Let this day be a reminder of our efforts for media freedom in recent years, but also a day when media workers remind themselves of the key role they play in society. The public must continually control the authorities. The importance of media is enormous, especially in the fields of justice and rule of law. Therefore, is it of great importance to have transparency in political processes, media independence and media literacy, but most importantly accountability of state institutions towards the public,” stresses Mancevski.

According to him, changes in the law on audio and audiovisual media services, made in collaboration with all stakeholders, guarantee an environment for professionalization of media bodies and enable free and independent operations of media in Macedonia.

“Most importantly, they give a chance to politicians to remove their hands from media. The media community should assume control over the media sector. This law provides for additional self-regulation mechanisms,” adds Mancevski.

He says media should also do their job in getting and maintaining the citizens’ trust.

“We witnessed for a long time the practice of biased, unfair, unbalanced and false reporting. Today anyone can publish anything by using a wi-fi connection or a smartphone. But this is not journalism. When journalists and editors ignore their responsibility of corroborating their stories and report by using exact information, then they undermine the integrity of their profession and the citizens’ trust,” stresses Mancevski.

He says media should not only report, but also motivate people to continually correct the authorities.

“Good governance and media freedom are mutually dependent. It is only when journalists get the chance to work freely, monitor, ask questions and report, free of pressure and intimidation, that citizens can be certain that decision-makers abide by the highest standards,” underlines Minister Mancevski in the message on World Press Freedom Day.