Jankovic: Some citizens’ rights are being seriously violated

BELGRADE - There are citizens in Serbia whose civil rights have been seriously violated, but despite the protector of citizens giving a warning about this situation, nothing has been done to have it corrected, Serbia’s Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic says in his 2013 report.

Presenting before MPs the report he submitted to the Serbian parliament today, Jankovic spoke about failures by public enterprises, the Serbian government, the Tax Administration, the media, inspection services, failure to take measures against domestic violence, and pointed to the Roma as still the most vulnerable minority community.
“If the Ministry of Defense is carrying out the recommendations and redressing the oversights that I established 100 percent, and MUP (the Interior Ministry) and the Security Information Agency are doing it almost as much, you should know that zero public enterprises are doing the same,” Jankovic said in parliament.

Speaking about administrations within ministries, the protector of citizens said that the Tax Administration was behaving like “a state within a state,” pointing to earnings by women in pregnancy, which, by rule, were arriving late, as an example.

Turning to weaknesses of the judiciary, the Ombudsman said that the court fees were still too high and that the law on free legal aid had not yet been enacted.

When it comes to media manipulation, Jankovic said that media tabloidisation, which he had pointed to in his 2012 report, had become even more harmful to society over the previous year.
“Facts, evidence and investigations that should be hidden are always pushed out through the same media, including half-truths and sometimes outright lies ... decisions on these matters are no longer made by...