"Happy" lights up, and AEM combs

Although the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) in February of last year limited the broadcasting of Serbian television programs TV Happy and Pink M for promoting hatred, intolerance and discrimination, it has not done so now despite the fact that they are sending inflammatory messages ahead of September 5, when events that pose a security risk have been announced in Cetinje.

The enthronement of the Metropolitan of Montenegrin and Littoral was announced for that day in the capital Joanikia and a protest against the performance of that religious ceremony in the Cetinje monastery.

Professor of media law and expert on freedom of expression Aneta Spaić says that in the case of TV Happy there is no dilemma and that it is hate speech, for which the authorities should have protected the media and social space of Montenegro with a warning and then by suspending the program.

From AEM, after the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Tuesday asked them to disable the broadcasting of TV Happy because of the show "Ćirilica" with the theme "Will there be blood in Montenegro?" - published a terse statement, in which they did not indicate whether they would take any action in this specific case. In the announcement, they said, among other things, that they "regulate the rights, obligations and responsibilities of broadcasters and operators in accordance with the Law on Electronic Media, in a way that does not constitute censorship or inappropriate restriction of freedom of expression".

So far, the AEM Council has not dealt with this topic.

Professor Spaić says that for consideration of the border between freedom of expression and hate speech, apart from national legislation, the Recommendation of the European Commission (EC) against racism and intolerance (ECRI) from 2015 is also very important, which, according to her, also refers to additional circumstances that need to be analyzed when determining the (non)existence of hate speech.

"These additional circumstances imply the determination of: 1) the context in which hate speech is communicated - the existence of serious tensions in society; 2) capacities/positions of persons who use hate speech (eg in the case of political and religious officials); 3) the nature and strength of the language used, its provocativeness and directness; 4) context of specific circumstances - isolated case or continuity of action; 5) using the media - requiring an immediate or delayed response (with the stipulation that electronic media are of particular influence on the public); 6) the nature of the audience and possible consequences in the form of acts of violence, intimidation, hostility or discrimination", she explains to "Vijesti".

He adds that in the case of the content of TV Hepi, there is no dilemma - it is about hate speech. "Guided by ECRI's additional circumstances, we can state that each of the six criteria for determining the existence of hate speech has been met, and that TV Happy has been promoting hate speech with various program content for many years, thus contaminating the public space. It is up to the national institutions to protect the public media and overall social space with all legal instruments this time, as well as last year," she says.

In addition to TV Happy - which has a national frequency in Serbia - Belgrade tabloids close to the regime of the President of Serbia sent dangerous messages in the previous days. Aleksandar Vučić, who on Monday, in unison, announced the bloody events in Cetinje from the front pages.

President of the AEM Council Branko Bosković, answering the question whether, as the head of that body, the content of TV Hepi is disputed by him and whether it is in conflict with media laws - he said that he is not able to express a personal opinion about it.

"The council is a collective body and I, as the president, must represent only the positions that it takes. As the Council has not discussed this issue up to this point, I cannot give you an answer. The Council decides exclusively on the basis of existing and relevant legislation in this area, and it will be so in the future. I remind you that in 2020 the Council already made a decision to limit certain program content broadcast on TV Hepi and Pink M, and if a violation of the law is established in this and all other cases - the existing legal regulations prescribe the possibilities of further action", he pointed out.

Asked why AEM did not warn the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media in Serbia and the broadcaster there about the content of TV Hepi, Bošković reiterated that the Council of AEM did not decide on this issue.

"Making a decision is the responsibility of the Council. If he finds that there was a violation of the law, then this procedure can be initiated. In the already mentioned situation from February 2020, you can see what the procedure is for that... I emphasize that the Council makes such decisions after thorough analyzes that require assessment. At least during the time that I have been in the Council of AEM - which is from March 2021 - decisions were always made by consensus, so I expect that we will continue the same practice", he stated.

AEM previously announced that they have the possibility to limit the freedom of receiving and rebroadcasting programs, in accordance with the Law on Electronic Media, the Directive on AVM Services and the Convention on Cross-Border Television, in the event that the broadcaster broadcasts a program that comes from the country in the previous 12 months member of the EU, at least twice openly, seriously or severely violates the provisions of the Law on Electronic Media, which prohibits inciting, facilitating the incitement or spreading of hatred or discrimination...

"In that case, it is necessary for AEM to notify the EC, the contracting state that broadcasts - and that is Serbia in this case - that is, the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media in Serbia and the broadcaster, of the violation of standards and laws, and request that further violations be stopped. If the violation continues 15 days after notification, the AEM Council may order the rebroadcast of the disputed program service to be temporarily suspended," they explained.

Director of the Media Center Goran Đurović he assessed that AEM is silent and tolerates the behavior of TV Happy and Pink, although, according to him, they continuously violate the Law on Electronic Media.

"The conditions for banning the broadcasting of certain program contents of TV Happy and Pink have existed for a long time, only that AEM does not implement the legally prescribed procedure", he told "Vijesta".

Đurović states that the Media Center requested that AEM oblige cable operators to disable the broadcasting of certain contents of these two media companies.

"AEM ​​only temporarily did that last year when those television stations attacked the president of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and the government at the time, and later allowed hate speech to spread unhindered through Serbian TV stations and encourage discrimination based on ethnicity and religion. and denies the right of Montenegrins to a nation, a church, a language..." he said.

Đurović says that the Law on Electronic Media precisely stipulates that "the AVM service must not incite hatred or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, skin color, gender, language, religion, political or other belief, national or social origin, property status, membership in a union, education, social position, marital or family status, age, health condition, disability, genetic inheritance, gender identity or sexual orientation".

"If AEM was doing its job, it could continuously, on a monthly basis, deliver letters to broadcasters from Serbia, the competent agency from Serbia and the EC because the mentioned media are brutal in spreading hatred and inciting discrimination," says the interlocutor.

Former member of the Council of AEM Darko Ivanovic he told "Vijesti" that the regulatory body, in this case, is hiding behind legal regulations.

"The anemic AEM has a Rulebook on program standards in electronic media, which has never been fully implemented because it was deliberately left undefined in order to market this kind of content. So AEM has mechanisms it can apply. However, it is obvious that it suits someone to light fires on both sides...", he underlines.

Ministry: AEM to make a decision as soon as possible

The Ministry of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media called on AEM to establish all the facts as soon as possible and make a decision in the case of TV Hepi.

"This is especially considering that it is a medium whose distribution of certain content has already been limited by the Council of AEM, for a period of three months", they told "Vijesta".

From that ministry, they call on all the media to comply with the law and the code of journalists, so as not to create additional tensions in society.

"It is precisely for this reason that, in accordance with our competences, we will additionally insist on media literacy projects, as well as professional reporting in accordance with the rules of the journalistic profession", said the department of Minister Tamara Srzentić.

Đurović: DPS needs media violence; Ivanovic: The new government did nothing

Đurović claims that AEM is still "a captive institution controlled by DPS".

"It is possible that one of the reasons why this institution tolerates the broadcasting of brutal content by broadcasters from Serbia is that the DPS needs media violence from that country in order to justify its aggressive right-wing policy to the domestic and international public and to more easily hegemonize the electorate," he said. he.

Ivanović, on the other hand, says that he was "kicked out of the AEM Council by the DPS", and that he was then defended by the current government, which, according to him, now behaves "absolutely the same as the DPS".

"Since coming to power, they have not done anything on the media front, but are acting the same as their predecessors, taking steps that are insufficient. Journalists on both sides are being attacked for their son-in-law and verbal blood is being spilled on television, led by Vučić's close friends such as (Milomir) Marić and (Dragan) Vučićević," he underlines.