The Commissioner for Protection of Equality has established that Informer Daily violated the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination by calling the Albanians “Shiptars”.

During October 2014, after the football match between Serbia and Albania and visit of the Albanian Prime Minister to Serbia, Daily Informer published texts “Spider Shiptar Caught” and “Edi Rama Shiptar With No Shame”. On that occasion, Praxis filed a complaint to the Commissioner for Protection of Equality, stating that by using the word “Shiptar”, the members of the Albanian nationality are insulted, stereotypes and prejudices are spread and discrimination is encouraged. Therefore, the term “Shiptar” is pejorative and used with an aim to insult and humiliate the members of the Albanian national minority.

To remind, on the same occasion Praxis and 13 other non-governmental organizations filed an appeal to the Appeals Commission of the Press Council. The Appeals Commission adopted the appeal and reached the decision that Informer Daily has violated the Code of Ethics of Serbian Journalists, precisely the Item 1 of the Chapter IV, according to which a journalist shall oppose all those who violate human rights or who advocate any kind of discrimination, hate speech or incitement to violence, and Item 4 of the Chapter V according to which a journalist must be aware of the danger of discrimination that can be spread by media and shall do everything to avoid discrimination.

The Commissioner for Protection of Equality reached the opinion that the above-stated texts violated the provisions of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. It is stated in the opinion that calling the Albanians “Shiptars” is pejorative and insults the members of this national minority, and the use of this term, especially in conflict situations may incite intolerance towards the Albanian community. After the football match and visit of the Albanian Prime Minister, some media largely contributed to creating sense of fear among the members of the Albanian national minority living in Serbia. Media are an important tool in spreading of tolerance, fostering the right to equality and combating discrimination, and the Commissioner for Protection of Equality expresses hope and expectation that Informer Daily will tend through its articles to develop awareness about equality.

The Commissioner for Protection of Equality recommended that Dragan J.  Vucicevic, the editor-in-chief of Informer Daily do, not publish the articles insulting the dignity of the members of the Albanian national minority and contribute with published texts to the change of patterns, customs and practice that condition stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination against members of the Albanian national minority, and take care through its regular activities not to violate the regulations on prohibition of discrimination.

Download: Opinion of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality