Four members of the REM Council addressed the international community, warning that the body is unable to make timely decisions during the election campaign. They sent a letter of protest to their colleagues because of the behavior of the President of the Council. The next session is scheduled for Tuesday.
In a letter to the international community, they state that on October 6, the REM Council unanimously launched two investigative procedures against TV Informer for violating the rules in the election campaign, but that after several hours of discussion on October 9, none of the proposed decisions received the five necessary votes.
According to the data presented at the session, REM received dozens of reports against media service providers, mainly against Informer, from October 5 to 9. They also state that the reports of the expert service during the session were exposed to sharp attacks by the editors of the Informer and members of the Council, whom they describe as pro-government, although, they claim, they had no objections when the proceedings were initiated.
They ask the international institutions to note that the REM does not complete the election procedures within the legal term, and to assess the Council's real decision-making ability and to monitor its work until the end of the campaign. They assess that it is realistic to talk not only about the risk of institutional blockade, but about the concrete consequences for a fair election process.
In a protest letter to the other members, they state that Smederevac was "unjustified and unsuited to his position completely passive" during the hours-long testimony of Informer editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević, that he allowed him to rudely justify the allegations from the report and insult REM and Council members, and that he did not condemn Vučićević's attack on an employee of the professional service, the author of the report, during a break in the session in the corridor.
They believe that the president violated Article 19 paragraphs 5 and 6 of the Law on Electronic Media, the Code of Conduct for Council members and Article 27 of the Rules of Procedure of REM. They want the letter to be part of the materials for the session on October 13 and to be published on the REM website.
Proceedings against Informer were initiated by the Council based on the reports of Council member Rodoljub Šabić, in connection with the program broadcast on September 27, and Zoran Gavrilović from the Bureau of Social Research (BIRODI). At the session, as Smederevac said, the voting was closed to the public, and none of the applications received a majority, as well as the proposals for television K1, for which a warning or ban on broadcasting for one day was considered.
Smederevac publicly said that the REM is overwhelmed with applications, that the analysis is done by four people within 48 to 72 hours and that the report of the expert service and Council member Miloš Garić is based on subjective views and impressions, which is not a sufficient basis for precise decisions.
Garić said that he refuses to be part of the "hunt" for Informer.
Vučićević rejected the alleged violations, admitted that the pre-election program was not marked properly because "they didn't know how it works", called the report "politically motivated" and said that the four members of REM have the task of "turning off Informer".
Sabic said that members close to the government decided to confirm untouchability to Informer.
REM is the only body that can impose measures on broadcasters during the campaign for violating the rules, so the decision-making block means that violations are not sanctioned within the time frame in which they could affect the elections on October 25.
For the voters, it is a question of the equality of the participants, because, as the signatories claim, decisions have been prevented in other proceedings to the detriment of the opposition participants.
For international observers, who follow the media environment, it is additional data for the assessment of pluralism.
For employees in the professional service and members of the Council, the dispute raises the issue of protection against pressures at work.
The next session of the REM Council is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13. International institutions monitoring the elections should decide whether to take into account the warning of Council members.
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