"I have a war biography too, but I never talk about it. My identity card is my character and my work".
Dženeta Sarić-Kozić, Hayat TV journalist, has been a
journalist since 2006. She graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences in
Sarajevo and has been working in the Hayat TV news program since 2011.
"Part of my job has always been to go on-site and make
stories that must include all sides, as is demanded by journalistic postulates.
I should and had to ask many officials, businessmen, war
criminals, and many other people from various industries certain questions. For
some, perhaps, these were uncomfortable questions, some knew how to "nicely
package" the answers, and some did not want to answer... That's how it is
in journalism.
But what the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the president
of a political party did on Friday, August 25th, 2023, lashed out at me because
I asked another interlocutor a question, has never happened to me before.
He told me that I called them traitors because I asked a
logical journalistic question,
This was a precedent in my career. My upbringing and
profession do not allow me not to be kind and polite to my interlocutors. It's
also true that I'm a temperamental person by nature, but in most situations, I
suppress it because it's not nice to show that everywhere," says
journalist Sarić-Kozić, who was attacked last Friday by the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, because of a question
posed to another interlocutor.
She says she knows the current minister as a politician, but
not personally, ever since he was part of the lower levels of the government
and a member of the Democratic Action Party.
"Our cooperation has always been professional, at least
as far as I'm concerned.
He never had a chance to treat me like this.
Being a politician, especially one who is part of the ruling
structure, in a democratic society like the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina, does
not mean that you can do and say whatever your heart desires.
To be a politician means to be a calm, measured, and above
all - wise man. Because, as they say, a quiet word is better heard than most
noise.
It is inadmissible, both to us journalists and to politicians,
to address anyone with derogatory words. I was accused that day at the press
conference of calling them traitors when I asked a question, which is
absolutely not true.
It is devastating, inappropriate, unethical, and extremely prohibited
that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina allows himself
to utilize that kind of vocabulary and behavior. Everyone could hear and see
it.
When you are a politician, you must have the wisdom that
will not allow you to show every side of your character, especially the bad
one," says journalist Dženeta Sarić-Kozić.
She points out that Hayat television has been present in the
homes of many citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina for more than 30 years now.
One can like it or not, she says, but "this television continues to
survive all these years".
"Even in a market as small as the BiH market, where
there are many other media, Hayat stands firmly because it stands on a
well-laid foundation. If it hadn't been like that all these years, it wouldn't
have lasted as long as it has."
When asked how she will treat the politician who tried to
silence her in the middle of her question in the future, Dženeta Sarić-Kozić
states that after the attack she experienced from Mr. Konaković on Friday, she
"raised her head even higher" with only one motive - to continue
doing her job as she has been doing thus far.
"When I enrolled at the Faculty of Political Sciences
in Sarajevo, Professor Besim Spahić asked me what I would do as a journalist if
someone threatened me and silenced me, and whether I would publish that
information. Then I firmly said yes.
And here today, I remember that promise I made to my
professor and I continue to do my job, and parts of it still are to ask, research,
inform, and publish, no matter who it is about".
After the "conversation" with the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Sarić-Kozić says, she wondered whether she acted correctly in
that situation.
“I concluded that I did. Otherwise, I would have approved
everything he said, that others write my questions for me, among other things,
and that I called them (those from the so-called “Trojka”) traitors and the
like.
The attempts made by certain politicians to create minions
and control the media, mean that you remain silent and that you do as they see
fit. Neither as a professional nor as a person do I agree with that.
Personal and professional dignity have no price," she
says, referring to the event of August 25th, 2023, when the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Elmedin Konaković, also the president of a political party, protested
a question that was addressed to the Prime Minister of the Federation
Government and then proceeded to lash out at journalist Dženeta Sarić-Kozić and
Hayat TV, where she is employed.
Sarić-Kozić refused to comment on the fact that Konaković,
apparently in the absence of arguments, also offered his participation in the
defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"I also have a war biography, but I never talk about
it. My identity card is my character and my work," she says.
In an interview with Politicki.ba, Dženeta Sarić-Kozić
thanked everyone who supported her during these few days. First and foremost,
to the management of Hayat T as well as colleagues from the editorial office.
"I received enormous support from colleagues and from
other newsrooms, from citizens from all parts of our Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Among those who supported me were the associations of BiH journalists, and
there were also those coming from the world of politics who knew my work. It is
difficult now to list all those who have supported me, so I’m saying a big
thank you to everyone," says journalist Dženeta Sarić-Kozić.
The article was realized as part of the Transition program of the Government of the Czech Republic and with the financial assistance of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina @CzechiainBiH. The content reflects the views of the interlocutors who are the choice of the editorial staff of Politicki.ba and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Czech government.
