The Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Media in the Government of the Republic of Montenegro, Zeljko Rutovic, in charge of media and free access to public information, on September 20 and 21 had a working visit to the Commission for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information.
A direct reason for this visit was the publication of the joint issue of “Free Access to Information: Montenegro and Macedonia – Comparative experiences, which was published these days in Podgorica as a result of the cooperation of the two countries in the field of the free access to public information.
The President of the Commission, Janko Nikolovski, in the foreword of the publication, stresses that the frequent debates and meetings of the representatives of the two countries were the basis for the making of the publication. That is why, adds Nikolovski, this publication is a crown of the thorough inspection of the legal and practical issues in the application of the Law on Free Access to Public Information in the both countries. “That is why we can surely say that we have chosen the best time to transfer our rich experiences (in Macedonia) to a piece of paper and to trace the way to a guide , for which I believe it will be updated with new knowledge, examples and accomplishments of one of the basic human rights, writes Nikolovski.
He also adds that it would be nice that this publication awakes the interest in the region that would result in richer and more experienced editions.
The Deputy Minister Rutovic, notices that “concerning the fact that the main purpose of the Law is completely opposed to the conservative patriarchal mentality that dominated the Balkans for decades. Therefore the users of this right should be animated as soon as possible in order to transform the culture of secrecy into culture of exposure. This is important also because the compared experiences show that the citizens are not well acquainted with the rights that emerge from this new Law.
This Practicum is an open book for a new cooperation, new experiences and new partners, says Rutovic, according to whom the spreading of the web of promoters and educators is a guarantee more that the freedom always and with every new example is being repeatedly gained and confirmed.
