Source: Borba
The constant great inflow of complaints which the citizens, mass media and others forward to the Commissioner, speaks for itself about how a large number of the bodies of the authorities find it hard to change their attitude towards the right of the public to free access to information which is in the possession of the authorities. More than 560 complaints were forwarded to the Commissioner in the first four and a half months of this year and this shows clearly that the authorities must change their attitude much faster towards the guaranteed right by the constitution and law. Illusions or even worse, insincerety, hypocrisy stand behind endeavours for an efficient fight against abuse and corruption, as well as for the freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of mass media and many other democratic freedoms, it this is not backed up by actual readiness to provide the public with the freedom of access to the widest possible scope of information. The right of the citizens, mass media, the public in general to free access to information which result from the work or in relation to the work of the authorities in a democratic society, must be a normal thing. This right is not a new and unnecessary burden for the authorities, on the contrary it is an expression of a normal relationship between the authorities and the citizens, electors and tax payers. Therefore, it should only exceptionally be the case that the materialization of this right would have to depend on the protection provided by the Commissioner for information. For this reason the both absolutely and relatively large number of complaints forwarded to the Commissioner is indicative and something to be concerned about. We must particularly be concerned about the fact that problems in the materialization of the right to free access to information, even in cases when it is a question of information such as that related to the privatization of state companies, public expenditure and procurement etc., are evident and frequent, which would by the logic of the matter and by the force of the law, have to be accessible even without guarantee provided by the Law on free access to information.(text taken over from the ARGUST PORTAL BLOG)
