REM chief says law suit over TV licenses stupid

Olivera Zekic, Chair of the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM), said the law suit filed by the Slavko Curuvija Foundation and the CRTA democracy watchdog are “plain stupidity”.

The two NGOs filed suit over the REM decision to give national frequency licenses to TV stations which have failed to meet the minimum conditions set by law for years. The law suit says that the REM interpreted the facts selectively when it decided to renew the licenses of the pro-regime TV Pink, Happy, Prva and B92, violating procedural rules and ignoring its won reports. The NGOs said the decisions were illegal and in violation of the public interest and the constitutionally guaranteed right to true, complete and times information on issues of public significance.

“Even though this is a court case, which I should not comment, I can’t resist the temptation to say that this law suit is plain stupidity. My advice to the people who filed it is to read the law first and not rush in like a bull at red which is also true of N1. In any case, the court will do its job and you do yours,” Zekic said in a written reply to N1.