21. 08. 2005

DISPUTABLE RTS SUBSCRIPTION

BELGRADE, August 21, 2005 (B92) – The government’s draft amendments to the Broadcast Act will soon enter the parliamentary procedure. Professional organisations and media associations still disapprove some parts of the legislation, especially the ones defining the privatisation of the state-owned media and introduction of RTS subscription. Culture and Media Minister Dragan Kojadinovic said that the government decided to propose the amendments to the Act despite not being strongly supportive of this solution. However, it would take at least year and a half to pass the new legislation. “Of course there are positive and negative comments, as well as there are those who believe that what we proposed was not good. On the other hand, there are also a lot of disapprovals especially regarding the postponement of the deadline for privatisation. I have met on several occasions with the representatives of professional associations and institutions which believe that the postponement of the deadline for privatisation was just the delay of the final deadline by which this whole procedure should be completed.” On the other hand, president of the Independent Association of Serbian Journalists (IJAS) Nebojsa Bugarinovic noted that the privatisation of the state-owned media was the most disputable issue which grew into the destroying everything that has been done by now. Sasa Mirkovic, member of the ANEM Managing Board, said that the amendments to the Act were impulsive and pointless because they diminish the current valid act which has not yet been implemented. Another disputable issue was the introduction of RTS subscription. Mirkovic pointed out that the Association of Independent Electronic Media supported the subscription but not for Radio Television Serbia in this format: “I think there were no clear explanations of what people could expect in this period of eight months, how the money from the subscription would be used, could anybody guarantee that these deadlines would be respected this time, and finally why the deadline for transformation has been extended.” Draft amendments to the Broadcast Act should be put before the members of the Parliament’s Culture and Information Committee on Monday, while the Serbian Parliament is to decide on the amendments on the next parliamentary session. However, the Electric Power Industry of Serbia disagreed with the proposal of charging the subscription together with the power bills, said in the statement of this public company. Disproving the statement of the Broadcast Agency Council Chairman Nenad Cekic, EPS noted that no agreement was reached to charge RTS subscription of 210 dinars through the power bills. According to Cekic, there was no other public company beside EPS which could do it more efficiently on the entire territory of Serbia. “We have discussed the issue, that is true, but nothing has been decided, nor agreed on. EPS still stays with the opinion that it is not our job to “collect the subscription”, but to collect coal, to produce it, sell it and charge for the electricity. We don’t charge people for watching or not watching TV program”, said in the statement of the EPS.