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Czech President's remarks aggravate Journalists' Syndicate

15 March 2013
2 minute read

The Czech Journalists’ Syndicate (Syndikát novinářů) is alarmed by the fact that Czech President Miloš Zeman compared some of the Czech media to neo-Nazi militants and organized crime in his inaugural address and has sent an open letter to him in response. "This downgrading of a significant part of the Czech media is all the more striking because it is our firm conviction that the better part of the Czech media are precisely those who have steadfastly, systematically pointed out the dangers linked to the infiltration of organized crime into politics and the threat to democracy in the Czech Republic posed by extremist movements," reads the letter, which is signed by Syndicate chair Adam Černý.

In his inaugural address, Zeman labeled a significant portion of the Czech media as one of three "islands of negative deviancy", saying that they focus on brainwashing, manipulating public opinion, and media massage. "We therefore consider it necessary to fundamentally object to your generalized accusations against the Czech media, which did not include any specific arguments or proofs," the Syndicate letter reads.

The Syndicate says it is understandable that Zeman might have been offended by some of the claims made about him in the media, primarily during the presidential campaign. "However, as a convinced democrat and lover of quotations you will certainly agree with Voltaire’s statement, ‘I disagree with what you are saying but I will defend to the death your right to say it,’ because freedom of speech and the free exchange of opinions rest on this basis as expressed by the French philosopher, whether we agree with them or not," says the Syndicate.

The letter goes on to say that if the Czech media are malfunctioning, there are legally prescribed measures for addressing that. For many years an Ethics Commission has been in operation at the Syndicate, reviewing the cases brought to its attention of violations of the journalists’ code of ethics. "Given our many years of experience, we can afford to claim that most editorial boards collaborate with the Ethics Commission and assist our efforts to cultivate the Czech media," the Syndicate says.

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