BIRNBelgradeBIRNDecember 5, 202219:02The Srdjan Aleksic awards, established in memory of a Bosnian Serb who died saving his Bosniak friend’s life during wartime in 1993, were presented on a regional level for the first time.
Tamara Skrozza, one of the award winners. Photo courtesy of N1.
The Srdjan Aleksic awards for socially responsible media reporting, which were set up in Bosnia and Herzegovina over a decade ago, were given to journalists across the region for the first time on Monday.
Serbian journalist Tamara Skrozza was given the award for courage, Yugoslav and Croatian journalist Viktor Ivancic was given the award for contribution to the community and Belgrade-based investigative website KRIK was awarded for services to media.
The Srdjan Aleksic awards are named after a young Serb who came to the aid of his Bosniak friend who was being beaten up by Serb soldiers in the south-eastern town of Trebinje on January 21, 1993, at the height of the Bosnian war.
The Serb troops then turned on Aleksic, who was also a reservist soldier, and attacked him with rifle butts. He died several days later, on January 27.
One of the four attackers was killed during the war, while the remaining three were sentenced to two years and six months in prison each.
The Srdjan Aleksic awards were initially established in 2010 by Bosnian NGOs. They aim to award journalists who contribute to reconciliation, the protection of human rights, the inclusion of marginalised and vulnerable groups, gender equality, the rule of law and the fight against hate speech.
The awards jury said in a statement that Skrozza’s writing has consistently expressed “caring towards the victims and mercilessness towards the perpetrators, immune to political pressure and experiences with the tabloids”.
The name of Viktor Ivancic “has become synonymous with brave, penetrating and critical anti-regime journalism,” the jury also said.
It added that “the name of Viktor Ivancic, just like that of Srdjan Aleksic, is the best guide for young journalists as to what professional and ethical qualities they should embrace when entering the journalistic profession”.
The jury said that KRIK was being awarded for being “an unbiased, fair chronicler of one of the saddest periods for society in Serbia”.
Source link: balkaninsight.com
