10. 07. 2002

ANEM AMENDMENT TO BROADCAST BILL REJECTED

The Information and Culture Committee of the Serbian Parliament yesterday rejected an ANEM-proposed amendment to the Broadcast Bill, which would have limited state influence over the formation of the Broadcast Agency Council by giving civil society groups the right to nominate an additional member to the Council.

Under the Bill submitted by the government to parliament, four of the nine members of the Council would be nominated by the governments of Serbia and its northern province of Vojvodina, and four by the so-called civil society groups ­ university rectors; church and religious communities; broadcasters, journalists, film and theatre artists, and composers; and local NGOs and civil associations dealing with freedom of speech, ethnic minorities and children's rights. The eight members would then nominate a ninth, from Kosovo.

The original proposal drafted with the support of the Council of Europe and the OSCE envisaged a Broadcast Agency Council with 15 members, only two of whom would be nominated by the Serbian and Vojvodina governments. The Serbian government submitted this draft to parliament, only to then withdraw it and alter the text overnight. Through its amendment, the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) sought to strike a balance between those with the right to nominate members to the Council. ANEM proposed that the Serbian parliament, which already has the right to vote on all eventual candidates, give up one nomination in favour of the association of film and theatre artists and composers. This association would then be able to nominate its own candidate instead of sharing the right with the associations of public broadcasters and journalists.

The amendment was eventually rejected by five votes to two, with one abstention.

ANEM is astonished that media and journalists, that contributed greatly to the peaceful and democratic changes in Serbia, are refused the right to nominate even one representative to a body that will in fact regulate the field in which they work. This is perhaps the clearest indicator of the way the state and the ruling coalition view media today.

With this decision, the Serbian Parliament will almost certainly adopt a Bill that will allow the state to wield excessive influence over the formation of the Broadcast Agency Council. Bearing in mind the Council's considerable powers, such influence could seriously compromise its independence. Legislation once seen as a true and essential break from the authoritarian past has unfortunately become the latest example of the authorities' unwillingness to fully democratise broadcasting and relinquish its grip on the media.

ANEM would like to reiterate its support for a number of provisions left within the Bill, in particular the planned transformation of the state broadcaster, Radio Television Serbia, into a public service.

Veran Matic
ANEM Chairman