The opposition announced that the process for selecting members of the REM Council has failed.
Opposition MPs assessed today, at a meeting of the Serbian Assembly's Committee for Culture and Information, that the process for selecting members of the REM (Regulatory Body for Electronic Media) Council has "failed," stating that representatives of the government are trying to impose rules that are contrary to the law - as they are only interested in having media control.
"This process has failed due to attempts to include individuals in the proposer section who certainly do not belong there. I leave it to you to devise a method for rejecting candidates and proposers who cannot meet the legal requirements. If you can come up with a solution that complies with the law, I would gladly support it, but we cannot endorse this muddling, and I will not participate further in this session so as not to lend significance and legitimacy to it," stated Radomir Lazović, a member of the Green-Left Front, to the authorities.
He noted that he would attend every subsequent session to review proposals if they are legal and lead to the establishment of an independent REM, emphasizing that there can be no compromise on whether the law will be respected.
Branko Miljuš, a member of the Freedom and Justice Party, stated that the President of the Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, should attend the Committee session.
“Brnabić is just spinning us in circles, leaving us to figure out how to get out of this quagmire of life,” said Miljuš.
"The authorities do not want a professional REM. A significant number of candidates and proposers cannot be part of the process," Miljuš said, noting that the authorities' behavior contradicts the European values they claim to uphold.
Ivana Rokvić, a member of the Serbian People's Movement - New Face of Serbia, stated that this government is "willing to survive at any cost and is pushing Serbia into increasing censorship and media darkness."
"You are doing everything against media freedoms; the media landscape is irrelevant to you, as you seek absolute control over your media pawns," Rokvić said.
Nataša Jovanović, a member of the SNS, stated that Brnabić will "find a solution with her democratic capacity," thus bringing this REM election process to a close, accusing the opposition of obstructing the process.
"We have a clearly defined path; leave your clichés behind; we will elect a REM that will have strong support during the voting in the Assembly of Serbia. We will do everything to continue on the European path," Jovanović said.
Source: Beta
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