IJAS: Ana Brnabić should stop misleading the public.
The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) strongly condemns yesterday's public appearance of the President of the National Assembly, Ana Brnabić, in which she presented a series of falsehoods and manipulative interpretations of the provisions of the Law on Electronic Media (ZEM) concerning the selection of members of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM).
Brnabić defended the candidacy of Miloš Garić at a press conference yesterday. Garić works as an advisor in the Ministry of Information and is also the owner of the company Miloš Garić PR Garnets, which specializes in the production and broadcasting of TV programs. During the conference, she stated that Garić is not in a conflict of interest, contrary to what non-governmental organizations have pointed out, as he has not yet been elected as a member of the REM Council.
In that context, she also mentioned the candidate from NUNS and UNS, Mileva Malešić. Brnabić stated that Malešić is a co-owner of Televizija Forum from Prijepolje and that, according to the interpretation of civil society organizations, she is also in a conflict of interest.
First, we note that Mileva Malešić could never be a co-owner of TV Forum, as the publisher of that media is a citizens' association.
An inspection of the Media Register and the Register of Associations of the Business Registers Agency (APR) shows that Mileva Malešić is neither a representative of the Forum Women association (the publisher of TV Forum), nor an editor at Televizija Forum, nor is she engaged in any capacity with that media.
Mileva Malešić was the editor of TV Forum until November 2024, when she retired. Documentation regarding the change of editor was duly and timely submitted to the APR and REM. However, the data on the REM website has not been updated, as REM stated that there is no REM Council to acknowledge this change for TV Forum.
In addition to this falsehood she expressed, Ana Brnabić misinterpreted Article 15 of the Law on Electronic Media. She said that candidates can be owners or employees of electronic media, but if they are elected to the REM Council, they must resign from their position in the media.
It should be noted that in the aforementioned article of the Law on Electronic Media, the last paragraph clearly states: “The candidate is obliged to submit a written statement to the authorized proposer that there are no impediments to their election established by this article.” Therefore, it is clear that the entire Article 15 of the Law on Electronic Media pertains to candidates for members of the REM Council.
The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia calls on Ana Brnabić to stop manipulating facts and misleading the public. The Speaker of the Assembly must not abuse her position. We also remind that the authorities must ensure a transparent and objective process, rather than interfering again in the election of members of the REM Council and openly favoring certain candidates.
