Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) points to the scandalous decisions of tender commissions for the distribution of funds for project co-financing media content conducted by the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications.
ANEM believes that this is a logical consequence of the misuse of the concept of project co-financing, which exclusively serves to finance pro-government media, governmental non-governmental (GONGO) organizations and the enrichment of individuals.
"Instead of preventing, and at the republican level, preventing phenomena that have been seriously undermining this concept at the local level for years, the minister Boris Bratina and Assistant Minister Dragan Traparić, by their inaction and ignoring past abuses, made a key contribution to the disastrous results in this year's distribution of state aid," announced ANEM.
ANEM reminds the public that, together with the relevant journalist and media associations, it constantly pointed out disputed criteria that led to a kind of point engineering and problematic composition of commissions at all levels of government.
The Ministry ignored the proposals
The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications ignored these and numerous other constructive proposals, insisting on a concept that deeply divides the local media scene, punishing media that are protectors of the public interest, report professionally, are critical of the authorities and advocate for compliance with the provisions of the Professional Journalism Code.
That's why we consider the results of this year's republican competition to be a kind of revenge towards the members of ANEM, as well as the media and organizations that took part in the competition and whose projects should undoubtedly have been supported with funds from the budget.
With the scandalous and unacceptable distribution of funds, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications threatens the survival of the remaining professional media.
"For years, we have been witnessing the government's efforts to completely destroy professional media: threats and physical attacks, preventing access to information of public importance, lawsuits with high fines, intimidation, complete impunity for perpetrators. Last year, we witnessed the biggest robbery of the project co-financing fund, which should be used to support the public interest content of those media that respect the journalistic code. This year, local, provincial authorities and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications have overcome this biggest robbery: the laws and regulations were violated without any regard, with the obvious intention to further weaken or destroy the remaining independent media economically, and that those media that do not deserve to be nominated for these funds - awards at all," said Veran Matić, president of the ANEM Board of Directors.
Anti-civilization criteria
He assessed that such an approach also includes the media established in the past few months by the owners of the existing tabloid media, champions in breaking the code of journalists, producing fake news, targeting and slandering professional journalists and media that turn them into targets for threats and physical attacks.
"The application of these completely anti-civilizational criteria threatens to remove from the media scene the few media for which the protection of the public interest is the most important, as well as to expand "media deserts", areas without professional media in Serbia. We call on European institutions to get involved in this area as well and to insist on canceling this kind of non-transparent and unfair distribution of public funds and enable the conditions for the distribution of money with strict respect for the law," said Matić.
The results of this year's tender, as well as of all tenders for project co-financing implemented so far at all levels of government, are more than a clear indication of the seriousness of the current situation. Representatives of the international community should understand that the symbolic gestures of the local authorities in the process of European integration cannot and cannot be a justification for this kind of retaliation, which is being carried out by the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications.
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