Rakocevic: CEC decision marks the collapse of all institutions, the minimum of democracy has been abolished

President of the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS), Zivojin Rakocevic, described the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) to deny accreditation to media outlets reporting in the Serbian language for coverage of the elections in Kosovo as the largest and most extensive ban on journalistic work in peacetime conditions. He added that this represents an unprecedented act and the fundamental collapse of all institutions that should embody at least a minimum of democracy, UNS reported.

“If you are capable of imposing such a mass ban on Serbian media in a completely undemocratic manner, you have effectively abolished the Serbian language at its most basic level. You have abolished the minimum of democracy—not only the right to information but an entire entity. This is a total collapse of common sense, something that doesn’t happen even in wartime. Even warring sides show understanding for the role of the media and for these processes. With this decision, the electoral process in Pristina has failed completely,” Rakocevic told Newsmax Balkans.

He stressed that such decisions are not made even in wartime conditions, calling this CEC ruling a complete systemic breakdown.

“Members of that commission demand that journalists be interrogated about whether they recognize the Republic of Kosovo, and they call on the police to verify it. Journalists and media outlets—especially local ones—have survived in the most difficult conditions for 25 years, preserving a minimum awareness of the need for other and different voices to be heard. From these media, you have never heard what can be heard on the other side—hate speech. You have never heard that Serbian media endangered anyone,” Rakocevic said.

He emphasized that there is no point in appealing the decision, as such an appeal would be meaningless.

“You can’t appeal this. An entire media community, a group of outlets, an entire media entity has been expelled. How can we appeal? It’s as if someone hits you over the head in the presence of court and police officials and then tells you to file a complaint. No, there is no appeal here. It makes no sense,” he remarked.

Rakocevic added that any appeal would legitimize a decision that is not only discriminatory and exclusionary but also nullifying.

“That is why the international community must urgently react and change the way decisions are made—so that a given political climate no longer determines how the media will live and work. On Sunday, we can expect to continue doing our job from within our ghetto, even more isolated, but we will still report normally and tell people: ‘If you believe we do not exist, our work will prove that democracy does not exist—and neither do you,’” Rakocevic concluded.

As a reminder, following yesterday’s session, the CEC announced which media outlets were approved—and which were denied—accreditation to monitor the October 12 elections and the Commission’s activities. Among those prohibited from covering the voting are journalists from Serbian editorial offices, as well as several Albanian and regional media outlets.