27. 11. 2008

MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS AND NGOs SUBMIT PROPOSALS FOR NEW MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF THE REPUBLIC BROADCASTING AGENCY

Belgrade, November 27, 2008. (Danas) – Director of "Komuna", Maksa Catovic, the editor of the independent television network VIN, Gordana Susa, and writer Milovan Vitezovic are the most publicly known candidates for new members of the Council of the Republic Broadcasting Agency.

Nongovernmental organizations and media associations have submitted to the Committee for Culture and Information of the National Parliament of Serbia their candidates for the Council of the RBA, since mandates of current members Velimir Milosevic and Slobodan Djoric end in February. Danas has received from the parliamentary Committee an official list of all candidates, 12 in total.

On the list made by professional associations, Lokal Pres, the New Network business association, the Club of Tourist Journalists, Serbian TV Network and SOKOJ have nominated Slobodan Djoric for the membership in the Council. The Association of Professional Broadcasters of Serbia has nominated Maksa Catovic and the former director of RTV Kosava, Nenad Glintic, while the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia, the Association of Independent Electronic Media and the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina have nominated Gordana Susa.

On the list made by nongovernmental organizations, the Association of Boy Scouts of Serbia has nominated Velimir Milosevic and Aleksandar Jankovic, while the National Council of the Roma National Minority has nominated Zoran Velickovic, an economist from Vranje. Cultural-Educational Association of Belgrade has nominated Milovan Vitezovic and writer Dragomir Brajkovic, Eko Polis nominated Velimir Milosevic, while Civic Initiatives has proposed its executive director Miljenko Dereta and Dubravka Velat, also from nongovernmental sector.

The Committee for Culture and Information of the National Parliament of Serbia sent on November 24 a notification to proposals of both lists, informing them that they have a period of one month to agree on four candidates, two from each list. The president of the Committee, Vesna Marjanovic, says for Danas that after this deadline the Committee will assess whether all conditions were met to send the lists with candidates to the Parliament.

In the case that proposers cannot reach an agreement, the Committee for Culture and Information will propose candidates for new members of the Council of the RBA, explains Marjanovic. In her words, the best solution would be for the associations themselves to make a decision on four candidates.

Vladan Filipcev from Lokal Pres says for Danas that, although the organization has proposed Slobodan Djoric, it "has nothing against the candidates of the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia, the Association of Independent Electronic Media and the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina, Gordana Susa".

- The RBA has been criticizes since its formation, but for justified reasons. Now is the time to appoint new members, who will contribute to better functioning of this institution, Filipcev points out.

The public invitation for new members of the Council of the RBA was announced in July, as required by law – six months before the end of the current members' mandate. The Council of the RBA has nine members who have the first mandate of four, five or six years, and after that the mandate of six years. The mandate of Tomislav Trific, member of the Council of the RBA from Kosovo, expires in April 2009, but the procedure for his election is different because the representative of Kosovo must be elected by the remaining eight members of the Council and confirmed by the National Parliament.

Journalists' Association of Serbia without a candidate

The Journalists' Association of Serbia has not proposed candidates for new members of the Council of the RBA. The president of the Association, Nino Brajovic, explains for Danas that the Association had "two good candidates", but declined to propose them because of the conflict of interest. "We have fulfilled the wish of our candidates because of the conflict of interest, but also because, at the time, the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia intended to nominate professor Snjezana Milivojevic but, unfortunately, they gave up the idea", says Brajovic.