Press Releases - Archive

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Rodoljub Šabić, is astonished by the fact that, at a press conference, President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, commented the Commissioner’s personal stance regarding the announced spending of RSD 200 million for raising a 120 meter high mast which should hold a huge flag with the inscription "Those who do nothing know only how to criticize".

The Commissioner, Rodoljub Šabić, has said the following:

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, has pointed out the very worrying results of the analysis of compliance with the statutory liability to draft and publish information booklets by the public prosecutor's offices in the Republic of Serbia in a letter to the Republican Public Prosecutor's Office, and requested the Republican Public Prosecutor to take the necessary measures without delay to raise compliance with this statutory liability to at least minimally acceptable level.

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection estimates the yesterday's reaction of the Belgrade City Administration to the Protector of Citizens’ and Information Commissioner's request to provide the public all relevant information regarding the fire at the Vinca landfill as an expression of the total misunderstanding of the position and role of a local self-government authority or even something worse than that.

It is unprofessional for the City Administration, which has in some other instances, even after paying fines, concealed information from the public, which is a legitimate subject of its interest, to speak about alleged transparency of its actions, on any occasion. The statements that the Protector of Citizen and Commissioner’s appeal is ‘’nonsensical’’ are unacceptable and indecent, and the imputations that they are ‘’malevolently spreading panic—are particularly low and below any and the lowest level of communication.

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection assesses as fully justified request which the Protector of Citizen sent to institutions responsible for air quality monitoring asking from them to publish all information on the method and results of measurements conducted due to fire at Vinca landfill, and calls all institutions to comply with this request without delay.

The Commissioner says that the public’s undisputable right to be informed about environmental quality in these specific circumstances is magnified by the fact that the fire in Vinca has been burning for a month, as well as by contradictory information and views of experts who have appeared in public about potential harmful consequences, which cause anxiety, with reason, among citizens.