The Council Saga REM-a continues, since it has been more than a year since the end of the mandate of the previous convocation, a few days ago new elected, but a truncated Council.
Two days later, the elected members of the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) Rodoljub Šabić, Ira Prodanov Krajišnik, Mileva Malešić and Dubravka Valić Nedeljković announced on Friday (November 14) that they are resigning from those positions, because they do not agree to be elected in a process that puts politics above the law.
They state that they decided to address the public since the Assembly of Serbia did not elect all nine members of the Council, although the complete list of candidates went through the legal procedure, public hearings and received confirmation from the Committee for Culture and Information.
"With this act, the ruling majority brought us to a fait accompli, in a situation where we are expected to participate in a process that is fundamentally meaningless. This sent a message that institutions can be filled selectively, according to the needs of the parties in power, and even when it is in accordance with the law and established procedure", they emphasized.
Mileva Malešić: We do not agree to a fake election
Politics above the law
Šabić, Ira Prodanov Krajišnik, Mileva Malešić and Dubravka Valić Nedeljković pointed out that in such circumstances they believe that the only honorable and responsible step is to resign, because they do not agree to be elected in a process that puts politics above the law.
The ruling coalition refused to vote on Wednesday for the Bosniak and Albanian National Council candidates Muhedin Fijuljanin and Ljumturija Ametija, so instead of nine members, eight of them were elected.
That is why the Committee of the Serbian Parliament for Culture and Information has published a new call for candidates. Authorized proposers now have 15 days to submit a reasoned proposal for two candidates.
Rade Veljanovski, a retired professor of the Faculty of Political Sciences, previously told "Danas" that the ruling majority's abstention from voting for the candidate of national minorities was a kind of government maneuver and an attempt to block the REM Council.
The delegation of the European Union (EU in Serbia) on Wednesday welcomed the election of eight members of the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) and expressed the expectation that the body, once established, will fully fulfill its mandate, which it will monitor carefully.
The authorities respond that nothing changes
Two days after the new truncated REM Council was elected, and before four members resigned, Slobodan Cvejić, the vice-president of the Serbia Center (Srce), told the newspaper "Danas" that the authorities are responding that nothing is being touched on the electronic media scene and that everything is functioning as before, so that the media with national coverage would be a propaganda tool of the Serbian Progressive Party.
Cvejić, a former member of the Council of REM, pointed out that after the abstention of the majority deputies from the vote on the representative of national minorities as a member of the Council of REM, it became clear that this was deliberate obstruction.
"The obstruction of the Council election process and the blocking of the work of the REM are organized and systemic," said Cvejić.
That the government desecrated the process of electing members of the Council Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) because no candidate of the national councils of national minorities was elected, the president told "Vreme". Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia Željko Bodrožić on the day when the truncated Council of REM was elected.
Why was the candidate of the Council of National Minorities not elected?
Elvira Kovač, deputy of the Union of Vojvodina Hungarians and vice-president of the Assembly, formally demanded that the members of the ruling coalition not vote for the proposed candidates of the national councils.
She expressed her dissatisfaction with the fact that the candidate of the National Council of the Hungarian National Minority Istvan Bodžoni did not enter the parliamentary procedure, but the representatives of the Bosniak National Council and the National Council of the Albanian National Minority did.
She emphasized that she did not want to block the election of the REM Council, but persistently urged the coalition partners not to vote in that category.
"This is not the interest of only the Union of Vojvodina Hungarians and the Hungarian National Council, this is justice! Twenty national councils want one thing, four others," Kovač said, adding that she understood the vote for the Bosniak council's proposal as "treason".
Abuse of national councils
The Democratic Union of Vojvodina Hungarians (DZVM) on Friday (November 14) strongly condemned the fact that, at the initiative of the Union of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) prevented the election of the ninth member of the REM Council, judging that this move represents a conscious abuse of national councils for political purposes.
"Thus, the SVM, as an extended arm of the SNS, contributed to the fact that REM remains blocked and that independent candidates who are not connected to the ruling coalition do not gain a majority in it," announced DZVM.
That party indicated that the goal is to preserve a media environment in which the public service and private media with national frequency do not have an obligation to provide objective and balanced information.
"With this procedure, the ruling coalition not only further narrowed the public space for democratic action, but also knowingly violated the requirements of the European Union foreseen for the opening of Chapter 3", stated DZVM and added that it once again proved that European integration is secondary for the SNS-SVM-SPS coalition, and the preservation of political power is a priority.
The Democratic Community of Vojvodina Hungarians emphasized that national councils must serve the community's interests and not become a tool for political settlements.
