Saša Mirković: For REM to become functional, the international community must engage more actively.

Mirković states that he understands the delicate position of the independent members of the REM Council, as well as the dilemmas regarding whether they should remain in that body or leave it.

He assesses that the votes received by Stevica Smederevac during the election for the president of the REM Council were cast in good faith and as an attempt to build trust.

However, according to his evaluation, it became clear at the next meeting that there was no substantive agreement.

"Those eight votes turned out at the next meeting to be something that resulted in further divisions. Someone who was recently at the head of the monitoring body suddenly realized, after two hours, that there are no technical capacities for that," said Mirković.

"The silence of the international community has been noticeable all these weeks"

He added that he heard a statement from one of the REM Council members, Dubravka Valić Nedeljković, who said she was convinced there had been a phone call in the meantime.

"I must say that I would have liked for there to have been another call from representatives of the influential international community, whose silence has been noticeable all these weeks since four members entered the REM Council," Mirković stated.

He adds that more active involvement from international actors is now necessary.

"I believe there is a need for their participation and monitoring of the entire process, as it has been emphasized to them multiple times that the process does not end with the entry of four candidates into the REM Council. Certain steps need to be taken in the process of constituting the REM Council and ensuring its functionality," he said.

"I am not overly optimistic regarding further important decisions that the REM Council needs to make"

He assesses that the refusal to include Informer in the monitoring of electoral media content is a clear message about what can be expected in the coming period.

"The fact that there is such determination not to include Informer in any way is a clear enough message about what we can expect in the near future. Therefore, I am not overly optimistic regarding further important decisions that the REM Council needs to make," Mirković noted.

As he adds, although it can be said that no decision can be made without the four independent members, the opposite question arises.

"We can say that no decision can be made without the four independent members, but I can respond with a counter-argument - what essential decision can be made with their four votes?" Mirković asked.

According to him, more than a year ago, arguments regarding the incompatibility of membership in the REM Council in the case of Miloš Garić, and even Stevica Smederevac, were pointed out.

He claims that at that time the international community supported a solution whereby incompatibility is interpreted only after being elected as a member of the REM Council, not during the candidacy itself.

"At that time, the international community, specifically the European Commission and the OSCE, stood behind a solution that allows this incompatibility to be interpreted only once you are elected as a member of the REM Council, and not when the race starts, which would immediately eliminate you because you are, for example, an advisor in the Ministry of Information," he said.

"A lot can happen on the media scene before the elections"

Nevertheless, he believes that the international community must become more actively involved if the REM Council is expected to become functional.

"In this sense, I think it is necessary, if we want things to proceed as expected in the REM Council and for it to become functional, for the international community to become more actively involved and somehow channel this process," he assessed.

Speaking about the role of ODIHR, Mirković says that it is not enough to merely state the situation after the elections.

"It is now the easiest to say that ODIHR will record everything, and I have no doubt that such a report will be realistic, but it will come after the elections have taken place. A lot can happen on the media scene before the elections, and we must be aware of the kind of toxic environment created by Informer and to what extent it can generate a negative atmosphere," Mirković said.

Source: N1 Belgrade