BELGRADE – The opposition movement “Kreni-Promeni” condemned the recent publication of a list of 45 journalists, accompanied by highlighted names and a public invitation to “grab popcorn,” calling it a “public political hit list” and an open mechanism of intimidation.
In a statement, the movement said the Center for Social Stability, which released the list, “is not an NGO but a parapolitical formation of the regime and a political tool for dirty work.”
“Publishing a list of 45 journalists, highlighting names and inviting the public to ‘grab popcorn’ marks people as targets. This is a mechanism of intimidation and a political hit list,” the statement said.
Kreni-Promeni added that the Center’s function is to do what the authorities cannot formally do: target, discredit, and normalize persecution. They identified Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić as the “informal leader” of this atmosphere, accusing the state of using the same rhetoric for years.
“For years, the state’s rhetoric has followed the same pattern: ‘traitors,’ ‘foreign agents,’ ‘poisoners.’ When the president systematically delegitimizes journalists, the next step is making lists,” the statement said.
The movement warned that a regime that creates lists of undesirables is no longer democratic, but has shifted to an open assault on freedom.
Reacting to the statement by Minister of Information Boris Bratinca, who said he “sees nothing problematic” in the list, Kreni-Promeni emphasized that this confirms targeting has become an official political method.
“In a country where Slavko Ćuruvija was killed after a demonization campaign, downplaying such lists is a conscious acceptance of potential consequences,” the statement said.
The movement stressed that democracy does not create hit lists for journalists, and that European values do not highlight names for public targeting.
“A state that publicly marks critics ceases to be a rule-of-law state and becomes a system of political revenge. This is an attack on citizens’ right to hear alternative opinions. When the authorities make political hit lists, it means they no longer argue with ideas but rule through fear. A government that rules through fear has lost its moral and democratic legitimacy. Serbia will not be a country of lists; Serbia will be a country where power changes, but freedom remains,” the statement concluded.
