12. 07. 2007

ANEM CONTESTS BROADCASTING CODE

BELGRADE, 12 July 2007. (ANEM) - Association of Independent Electronic Media has protested against the adoption procedure of the Code of Conduct for Broadcasters.

ANEM expressed disappointment at the fact that most of the objections from the public debate were not included in the text of the code.

In it statement issued Thursday, ANEM appealed to the Republic Broadcasting Agency to continue the consideration of serious objections to the code and modify it accordingly.

“Most of all, we point out the evident imprecision in certain articles of the code which will undoubtedly make it susceptible to various interpretations, as well as the lack of legal ground for several limitations specified by the code.”

ANEM reminded that Serbian society experienced numerous abuses to the media sphere in the past.

“It compels us to devote our attention to the significance of the freedom of expression as one of the basic foundations of the democratic society and one of the essential preconditions for its development and progress,” the statement added.

The statement also mentioned the fact that Serbia ratified the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in 2003, while the judicial practice in the European Court of Human Rights has been dealing with many issues which are the subject of the Code for Conduct.

“We are deeply concerned because it seems that this judicial practice was not taken into consideration during the preparation of the code.”