Giaufret: Violent Language Being Used in Serbia Against Politicians

Emanuele Giaufret (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

EU Delegation in Serbia chief Emanuele Giaufret said in Belgrade on June 20 that the polarization of society in Serbia has deepened during weeks of peaceful protests against violence and that "the language of violence used to grapple with political representatives is concerning."

At the start of the 15th meeting of the parliamentary committee on stabilization and association of the EU and Serbia he pleaded with official Belgrade to enable every form of political debate between all political sides to unfold freely in parliament.

"The freedom of the media is our key concern. Serbia must take measures to stop the anti-European narrative. The appearance of war criminals on television is also very concerning," Giaufret said at the meeting in parliament.

Swedish Ambassador to Belgrade Annika Ben David said that Serbia needed to take steps to protect the human rights of all groups and enable the smooth operation of parliament and debates in it while avoiding political polarization and hate speech.

"The priorities are freedom of expression, including the freedom and independence of the media. Serbia must actively take steps to confront the dela with disinformation and the manipulative use of information," she said.

Marinika Tepic, who co-chaired the session of the parliamentary committee, voiced regret that for the first time the joint committee would not bring a joint declaration because Serbia had not introduced sanctions against Russia, as well as that, for the first time, the meeting would not be attended by representatives of the civil sector i.e. the National Convention on the European Union because they were not allowed to on June 20 by the majority's MPs.