The ministry is calling for an urgent response from the state regarding the words of a minor boy, while remaining silent about the promotion of violence on television.

After RTS 1 aired, and subsequently RTS 2 canceled the rerun of the program "Important Things," in which a minor boy speaks about students fighting "for justice" and "for our future," the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications and the Protector of Citizens Zoran Pašalić condemned the "exploitation of a child for political purposes." At the same time, the Chairman of the RTS Management Board Branislav Klanšček convened a board meeting despite not being allowed to interfere in editorial policy.

"I am not surprised, as this is the latest in a series of examples of the brutal exploitation of children for political purposes, and all our appeals and calls for accountability have been ignored or met with condemnation at least from part of the public, and even the profession," said Pašalić, adding that he is "appalled at how far things have gone."

He also emphasized that "calling for professional ethics makes no sense anymore," which is why he urged "all relevant institutions and authorities to urgently respond to the violation of the rights of minors in this specific case, as there are norms in place, along with clearly defined sanctions for such violations."

The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications (MIT) stated that this is a "scandalous political exploitation of children."

"The ministry appeals for RTS to return to informing the citizens of Serbia in a complete, impartial, and objective manner, respecting ethical codes. By airing this program, RTS grossly violated Article 66 of the Law on Electronic Media and Article 24 of the Rulebook on the Protection of Minors' Rights in the Provision of Media Services, which explicitly prohibit the use of minors in programming content for political purposes. In this way, RTS has once again, and in an even more insidious manner, positioned itself on one side in the political upheavals in our country."

The MIT is demanding an "urgent investigation into all circumstances" and requires "the prompt reaction of the relevant state institutions."

The ministry reacted swiftly, just as it does when it disapproves of content aired by N1, while programs on national television or Informer, which incite violence, threaten, curse, conduct campaigns, and spread disinformation, propaganda, and conspiracy theories – do not disturb them in the slightest.

Management Board Meeting on the Position of RTS

The Chairman of the RTS Management Board Branislav Klanšček announced that he is "carefully monitoring the developments at RTS and in the media scene as well as in society as a whole, which culminated after the airing of the children's program 'Important Things,'" reports Tanjug.

Klanšček also stated that he has scheduled a board meeting to "thoroughly consider the position of RTS under the current conditions":

"On the one hand, the board cannot interfere in editorial policy, but on the other hand, it is obligated to oversee the legality of operations. The board will take a position in accordance with the powers prescribed by the Law on Public Media Services."

The Association of Journalists of Serbia has protested against the campaign that was launched in tabloids against the editor of the Children's Program of RTS, Jelena Popadić Sumić, following the airing of the controversial episode. Popadić Sumić told UNS that the series "Important Things" consists of authentic statements from children and that in that sense it is "a mirror of society and the world we live in." "This episode, which has been labeled controversial in public, was produced according to all professional standards of the series and according to the rules and protocols of the project license, just like all other episodes," she stated, emphasizing that "any editorial intervention and manipulation of children's statements would be considered a politically unacceptable act or self-censorship, which, as a human being and a professional, I cannot accept." The Editor-in-Chief of the Cultural-Artistic Program of RTS, which includes the Children's Program, Vladimir Kecmanović stated that it is "his moral obligation to stand in defense of the people from the Cultural-Artistic Program, regardless of where the attacks on them come from," adding that this also applies to defending those within RTS.

Support from RTS Colleagues

Employees of Radio-Television of Serbia, gathered this winter in the initiative "Our Protest" to support student protests, appealed to the RTS management to react and protect Jelena Popadić Sumić from the campaign being waged against her by tabloids.

"Who has that sentence offended? Does anyone want to prohibit all of us from speaking? Will RTS remain silent in the face of vile insults directed at one of us, for not censoring a statement that someone is fighting for a better future, a sentence that should not offend anyone in the world?" asked part of the RTS staff.

The "Our Protest" initiative called on citizens to gather in front of the RTS entrance at Takovska 10 on Tuesday, September 30, at 2 PM.

"Come to support our colleague Popadić and say NO to censorship, because important things are happening," they announced on their Instagram profile, adding:

"Today it's Jelena, tomorrow it could be any one of us."

Production: Children Talk About Issues That Matter to Them

The production "Sense," which realizes the series "Important Things," rejected claims of coaching children and called on the public service to act and protect the participants in the production of this program from insults and targeting.

"The series 'Important Things' is produced under the license of a Dutch format. The concept explicitly defines how children are treated and communicated with, from casting, through filming, to airing the program. Children talk about issues that are important to them. Any instruction from the authors or hosts is not allowed and is not practiced. Additionally, parents are present during filming, when they can note in a form if any part of the recorded material should not be used in the program," the production stated, as reported by RTS.

Vučević: RTS Has Lost Legitimacy

The President of the Serbian Progressive Party, Miloš Vučević, emphasized that the management of RTS has "lost legitimacy" and that they "should resign."

He stated for TV K1 that the intention of the protests and blockades over the past ten months is to drive the state into a state of madness and added that, unfortunately, "someone from Radio-Television Serbia is participating in this, and in a perfidious way," as the public service reports.

Supporters of the SNS protested in front of the Radio-Television of Serbia building on Saturday, dissatisfied with its reporting. The so-called "Citizens Against Blockades" declared that they "will not pay party parasites, the yellow trash elite, and their violent programs," demanding the dismissal of the RTS management and "criminal, financial, and disciplinary accountability for all those who, although paid by the citizens, participated in attempts to disrupt and hinder the normal functioning of the national public service," reports Danas.

Source Cenzolovka