Skopje, 3 May 2024 (MIA) - We have created conditions for media freedom and freedom of expression, and it gives results. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked the Republic of North Macedonia 36th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, moving up two spots compared to last year when it came in 38th place, Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj said in a Facebook post on World Press Freedom Day. 

"North Macedonia is ranked the highest among the countries in the region, ahead of Montenegro (40), Slovenia (42), Croatia (48), Kosovo (75), Bosnia and Herzegovina (81), Serbia (98) and Albania (99). At the time of VMRO-DPMNE and the "captured state", Macedonia was at the bottom of the RSF Index, when in 2014 it was ranked 123rd," said Marichikj.   

Marichikj pointed out that attacks on journalists are now treated as attacks on officials, and the Prosecutor's Office acts on official duty. He adds that representatives of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) have actively participated in the working group that prepared the amendments to the Criminal Code, which, among other things, put an end to the practice of impunity for violence against journalists.

"We put an end to the times when journalists were intimidated, blackmailed, imprisoned, informally sentenced to life in constant fear of political and institutional retaliation for doing their job professionally. Unfortunately, during the election campaign, VMRO showed its true face again and started to arrest journalists again, and DPMNE officials sue media workers. The elections are an opportunity not to allow the return of the regime that beats journalists and shuts down media outlets. There is no giving up on that fight," Marichikj says. 

Photo: Facebook