Citizen journalist and collaborator of CIVIL – Center for Freedom, Jane Mamucevski, who as the owner of “Malesevski newspaper” portal regularly follows the work of the Council of the Municipality of Berovo, informed us that he was denied the right to participate at the last extraordinary session of the Council.

According to Mamucevski, his critical views towards the local authorities caused the obstructions to the right to information and to his access to the session, which was open to the public. Mamucevski had been writing the previous day on his site “Malesevski newspaper” about a subject that was of interest to the people of Berovo – that because of the piles of uncleared garbage, Berovo looks more like an illegal landfill then it does as a tourist town.

“Today, the Mayor of Berovo, Dragi Nadzinski, made an unseen discrimination. What a disgrace. I was thrown out of the extraordinary session despite the official invitation of the President of the Council of the Municipality of Berovo for me to attend the session, with the situation of the communal enterprise ‘Usluga’, whose employees have been on strike for three days now, as the only item on the agenda”, wrote Mamucevski in the information sent to CIVIL Media.

“Before I entered the Council meeting, I was stopped by security officials requesting accreditation. I told them that the meeting was public and that every citizen could participate, but nevertheless, I gave them my accreditation. Then the President of the Council told the security officials that I could attend the meeting, but despite this, the employee did not let me in and called mayor Nadzinski on his mobile phone. In the phone conversation the mayor replied tensely that ‘for me this institution was prohibited’. According to me”, notes Mamucevski, “this represents a type of discrimination, in particular, hindering the freedom of information. I am amazed by the evilness and arrogance of the Mayor directed towards a person who is simply carrying out professional journalistic standards. Is this how we are going to fight for media regulations?” Mamucevski is asking in the information on the event in Berovo.

This content is published within the framework of the third cycle of the “Be a citizen journalist” contest within CIVIL’s “Civic Lenses” Project, supported by National Endowment for Democracy. The content of this article has been minimally edited by the editorial board of CIVIL Media, in accordance to the project concept and the website.