Serbia's Media Coalition stated on Friday the changes to the draft Media Strategy included without the knowledge of the professionals from the Working Group were "absolutely unacceptable" to journalists' and media associations, the Beta news agency reported.
The Coalition said the Working Group key suggestions how to reduce the influence on the editorial policy of the public broadcasters and those formed by the National Minorities’ Council, as well as the demands for the depoliticisation of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) were erased from the document drafted together with state officials.
„Unfortunately, this proved our suspicions that the forming of the Working Group served to Serbia’s authorities as a disguise and an illusion of democratic process in defining the media regulations. And all of that to present themselves in front of the European and other international officials as open to a dialogue with media community,“ the Coalition said in a statement.
It added the Government did not accept a suggestion about the reform of the election system for the members to managing boards of public broadcasters and rejected the idea that without the journalists’ consent the editors-in-chief in the media founded by National Minorities’ Council could not be named or dismissed.
The other erased parts of the draft include attempts to exclude the authorities’ influence in electing REM members, its financial plan and legal regulations.
„This showed that the most disputable standards for Serbia’s authorities are those which secure the public right to free and unbiased information and that they intend to preserve political control over public media services and the Regulatory Body at any cost,“ the statement said.
It warned that a new proposal for the legal definition of censorship was „particularly dangerous“ since it left room for finding new methods for censorship which would not be covered by the law.
„In that way, the censorship will be able in all other ways except those banned by the law,“ the statement said.
It added it was clear that the Government decided to ignore the Press Council as well because the changes mentioned some unidentified self-regulatory body, despite the Council was precisely that.
The Coalition recalled the European Commission 2019 report on Serbia’s progress toward the European Union which mentioned the critical issues raised by the Working Group which the Government erased from the agreed draft.
It added that the changed Media Strategy was not a document which the Coalition could support and that it was exclusively Serbia’s Government document which it would be responsible for.
That’s why the media and journalists’ associations would inform the EC and other relevant domestic and international organisations about the process which made senseless the work of the media community on defining the new media strategy.
The members of the Media Coalitions are the Independent Association of Serbia’s Journalists, the Independent Society of Vojvodina’s Journalists, the Association of Online Media, Association of Independent Electronic Media, Business Association Local Press and Media Association.
On Thursday, the Association of Serbia’s Journalists (UNS) and the Press Councilsaid they were „unpleasantly surprised“ with the Media Strategy draft which, they said, Serbia’s Government seriously changed without informing other members of the Working Group who took part in drafting the document.
In response to UNS letter, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic’s cabinet said later on Friday the document, which the Government sent to the EC earlier this month and “informed the Working Group about it on May 17,” was not final and that the Government was waiting for the EC response before adopting it.
The response did not refer to UNS, and Media Coalition statements that the document had been changed without their knowledge and that they could not support it.
