NGO Human Rights Action (HRA) condemns threats, calls to violence and the lowest level insults which the opposition party Pozitivna Crna Gora MPs, Azra Jasavić, Darko Pajović and Goran Tuponja received on following their recent vote to support the Montenegrin Government.
The speech on political matters enjoys the highest level of protection in accordance with the European standards of freedom of expression, and politicians, especially those performing public functions such as MPs are obliged to tolerate the highest degree of criticism, which also includes insults. HRA noticed that Pozitivna Crna Gora perceived verbal attacks and threats to that end.
However, criticism of politicians has its limits, especially if turns into calls to violence or if it involves insults of the lowest kind aimed only at humiliation instead of contribution to the dialogue in public interest. HRA condemns all outbursts of hatred towards Pozitivna Crna Gora MPs on public networks, which have crossed this limit.
Montenegrin politicians have during the debate on trust in the Government, like many times before, shown that they were able to maintain a high level of political debate for which some colleagues from some states in the region might look up to them. The ability of criticising with respect for human dignity of both sides, both the critic and the criticised, is the value Montenegro had been recognised for. HRA urges the participants in the political and public life, and users of social networks to express their political criticism in accordance with such achieved level of public debate.
HRA also informs all interested that it does not have the capacity to follow all current affairs on social networks, nor does it believe that it should react in each individual case of exceeding the freedom of speech, especially in the area of political speech.
Apart from the state prosecution and the courts, which are competent for applying the law, the bodies of the Montenegrin Parliament as well as local parliaments, the media, including portals and social networks (Facebook) have ethical rules and corresponding mechanisms for supressing hate speech and calls to violence which can be used for preventing speech contrary to both personal and public interest.
