This opinion was issued in the procedure acting upon the complaint filed by the Education and Culture Institution R.R. against T.B., the author of “Ž.P.” TV show on account of alleged discrimination on the ground of national affiliation. The complainant states that the author of “Ž.P.” television show, T.V. during “A.P:” program, in stating the “nationality of an underage person classifying him as a little bully because he was in a group of children exhibiting violent behavior, without giving their nationality” “allowed a generalization leading to a conclusion that Roma community in general was prone to savage behavior, which is associated with them”. In their explanation,  P. television station stated that the only context adjective “Romany” had been mentioned was to describe a certain event that occurred in a particular time sequence in a Roma settlement and not in the context of nationality. In the course of the procedure it was ascertained that the nationality of culprits who have perpetrated a violent act against a child, had not been mentioned but that the nationality of an underage person could be anticipated once his mother’s, grandmother’s and relatives’ names had been mentioned, all of them living in living in “C.Z.” settlement in N., and that T.V. with her questions, comments and statements expressed her negative perception of violent behavior in general, and that the nationality of violators as such had no significance whatsoever. Following the analysis of the application, the review of explanation offered and after watching the “A.P.” show again, the conclusion was that the TV show author T.V. had not committed an act of discrimination, i.e.  she had not, with her comments and statements ascribed “savage behavior” to members of Roma community thus violating their dignity based on a personal trait. The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality issued the opinion stating that T.V. had not, with her comments and statements made in “A.P” television show, violated provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination.

Commissioner for the Protection of Equality

Brankica Janković

Complaint filed by R.R. against P.TV for discrimination on grounds of nationality in area of information