08. 10. 2004

REGULATIONS FLOUTED IN HANDOVER OF BROADCASTER TO CHURCH

The Association of Independent Electronic Media protests strenuously at the decision of the Trstenik Municipal Council to award ownership of Television Trstenik, now operating as part of the local public company RTV Trstenik, to the Serbian Orthodox Church.

ANEM notes that the Broadcast Act provides for thecompulsory privatisation of all broadcasters operated by local government authorities within four years of the Act coming into force, that is by the end of July, 2006. In the meantime, the Ministry of Culture has adopted regulations on privatisation which provide for the privatisation of local public media within that deadline.

ANEM also notes that this contentious decision of the Trstenik Municipal Council to donate this broadcaster to the Church is damaging not only to potential purchasers in the privatisation process and to the state, but also to the company's employees who, under the Act and the regulations, have the right to acquire ownership of part of the company's equity. ANEM does not want to explore the issue of ownership of electronic media by the Church or religious communities at this time, but notes that this decision by the Trstenik Municipal Council sets a dangerous precedent for local government bodies to award ownership of public media and other public companies to other organisations, including commercial enterprises. This precedent thus paves the way for serious abuses.

Because of this, ANEM urges the appropriate authorities, particularly the Government of the Republic of Serbia, to respond to the extent of their authority in order to prevent the circumvention of regulations governing the privatisation of local public media.

Slobodan Stojsic
Chairman of ANEM Managing Board