Now that the local elections in North Macedonia have wrapped up and politicians have lowered their tones, it’s the journalists’ turn to speak up. Cases of verbal and physical abuse against reporters due to growing tensions during the recent electoral campaign weren’t few.
Journalists Xhumadije Ibrahimi and Furkan Saliu were amongst those that fell prey to verbal attacks by politicians as well as party supporters.
“In my case, my name, dignity, and my work as a journalist have been violated. This was the reason that prompted my reaction. The reason for my silence earlier was the fact that we were going through a campaign and the candidate in question, was running for mayor in Tetovo,” – says Xhumadije Ibrahimi, reporter at Klan.
Euronews Albania’s journalist, Ferikan Iljazi has also been a victim of verbal abuse by police officers as well as members of the electoral commissions, during election day.
“What happened during the electoral campaign, but also the day of elections is extremely concerning for us journalists in North Macedonia because these small incidents can very soon turn into full-fledged physical attacks. This is the reason we felt inclined to raise the alarm in such a manner. Authorities should look into each case as soon as possible and make an example by condemning such acts and all those that have the courage to assault reporters,” – said Ferikan Iljazi, journalist at Euronews Albania.
Impunity for assaults against journalists and media personnel seems to be the main reason behind these repeated acts of verbal and physical abuse.
“We are entering the most nerve-racking phase of the campaign, which is why we are warning you to put a stop to this trend of personal attacks. MPD and the prosecution should react and prove that attacks on free speech and opinions won’t be tolerated. When the elections are over, us journalists, won’t fall to sleep and accept that until yesterday, during the elections, everything was fair game, whereas, after the elections, all of the sudden democracy comes back to the scene,” – said Mladen Cadikovski, head of AMJ (Association of Macedonian Journalists)
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