27. 10. 2009

ANEM, NUNS, NDNV AND APRES: WHO IS BOTHERED BY THE MEDIA?

Belgrade, October 27, 2009 - The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV) and the Association of Professional Broadcasters of Serbia (APRES) strongly protest over the failure of the National Parliament to elect the member of the Council of the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RRA) nominated by the media and journalists' associations.

During yesterday's voting in the Serbian Parliament, none of the two candidates from the list proposed by the media and journalists' associations, Gordana Susa and Milan Becejic, won a necessary majority to be appointed to the Council of the RRA. Susa, who was nominated by NUNS and NDNV on a joint list supported by ANEM and APRES, received 120 out of necessary 126 parliament members' votes for appointment to the Council.

The fact that none of the two candidates from the list proposed by the media and journalists' associations has won a necessary majority to be appointed to the Council, demonstrates the extent of the government's distrust towards the media sector and media and journalists' associations, as well as its unwillingness to respect the will of these associations, at least to appoint a candidate from their list as one of nine members to the Council. After the recent adoption of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Broadcasting and the Law on Public Information that was strongly criticized by media associations, this kind of disrespect for the opinion of the representatives of the media sector threatens to further widen the rift between the government and the media.

ANEM, NUNS, NDNV and APRES point out that the mandate of two members of the RBA Council, Slobodan Djoric and Velimir Milosevic, ended way back on February 18, while, after the previous failure to appoint new Council members, the National Parliament has even amended the Law on Broadcasting in May of this year. NUNS and ANEM have criticized the amendments to the Law because they allow the Parliament's Culture and Information Committee to perform a pre-selection of candidates if the authorized proposers cannot agree on a list with only two names. At the time, the National Parliament replied that the Culture and Information Committee would not interfere with the process of creation of candidates' lists if the media professionals could agree on two candidates. Now, after the media and journalists' associations have agreed on two candidates, the National Parliament appointed neither of them.

President of ANEM, Sasa Mirkovic