Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that supported the candidacy of Dragoljub Duško Vuković for member of the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services (SAMU) assess that yesterday's decision of the Administrative Board of the Parliament of Montenegro is politically motivated and legally unfounded, but also a clear expression of the ruling majority's intention to capture the media sector by party affiliation at the cost of jeopardizing Montenegro's European path.
The Administrative Board yesterday noted that both proposals for SAMU members are timely, but incomplete.
Long-time journalist, editor and media analyst Dragoljub Duško Vuković was proposed as a member of that Council from among non-governmental organizations in the field of media, while the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences (CANU) proposed academician Niko Martinović.
"The Administrative Board, accepting the unlawful reasons of the working group for verifying the validity of the documentation of authorized proposers, consisting of ruling majority MPs Duško Stijepović, Vasilije Čarapić and Bogdan Božović, rejected the proposal for the appointment of undisputed candidates from CANU and NGOs in the field of media. The excuse that it cannot be established that the managing bodies of the proposers made a decision on the candidacy is meaningless, because all documents were duly signed by authorized persons in those entities," the statement from the NGOs that supported Vuković states.
The statement was signed by: Goran Đurović, Media Center, Olivera Nikolić, Media Institute of Montenegro (IMCG), Daliborka Uljarević, Center for Civic Education (CCE), Milka Tadić Mijović, Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN-CG), Mila Radulović, Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro, Mustafa Canka, NGO "Ul Info", Zdravko Janjušević, Bijelo Polje Democratic Center Željko Đukić, NGO Multimedia Montenegro, Nataša Nelević, NOVA - Center for Feminist Culture, Azra Hrapović, NGO Đakomo Adriatic, Boris Nedović, NGO Center of the North and Radomir Petrić, NGO Sua Sponte Bar.
"In addition, the application form does not contain the option to specify the governing body that made the decision, but only basic data is required: the name of the NGO, the name of the candidate, his/her biography and work experience, as well as the signature of the authorized person. Moreover, neither the Law on Audiovisual Media Services nor the Public Call foresee the submission of specific decisions of the assembly or other governing body of the NGO as part of the required documentation. The statutes of all nominating NGOs clearly define that authorized persons, including directors, are responsible for signing acts within the framework of the daily operations of the NGO. The Administrative Board is obliged to specify exactly what is missing in each individual act if this is based on the law, which was not done. Therefore, the documentation was complete and in accordance with the rules prescribed by the Administrative Board itself," the statement reads.
It is stated that "the selfish political motivation of the ruling majority in the Board is confirmed by the fact that the same procedure, with an identical form, was carried out when appointing members of the Council of the City RTV Podgorica."
"Nothing was controversial at the time for MP and councilor Vasilije Čarapić, who is now the actor of this obstruction. The essence is clear - candidates with integrity who are proposed by relevant civil society organizations and who meet the conditions prescribed by law should be eliminated from the procedure due to political inadequacy, even if it involves violating legal norms. This political performance by the Administrative Board is a continuation of the legal violence that was started by the President of the Parliament, Andrija Mandić, when he canceled the previous Public Call for the appointment of members of the Agency's Council without explanation. All of this should be linked to the announcements of the parliamentary majority about amendments to media laws, which, under the pretext of 'improvements', would go towards 'legalizing' party control over RTCG and the Agency for AVM Services," said the NGOs that supported Vuković.
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They state that the adoption of the Law on Audiovisual Media Services was one of the conditions for obtaining a positive IBAR, as well as for the temporary closure of Chapter 10 – Information Society and Media.
"The second final benchmark in Chapter 10 relates to the functional and independent work of the regulatory body for electronic media, namely the Agency for AVM Services. The obstruction of the ruling majority to appoint credible representatives of civil society to the Agency's Council is a serious and conscious risk for reopening this chapter because this calls into question, for starters, the functionality of the Agency," said the NGOs that supported Vuković's candidacy.
They also said that the obvious goal is to narrow the space for independent regulatory bodies to operate and render meaningless the role of civil society in the process of democratizing the media system.
"Therefore, we expect the Government of Montenegro, and especially the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Ministry of European Affairs and the Ministry of Regional Investment Development and Cooperation with NGOs, to clearly decide on this issue. We will also communicate this issue with relevant international actors," said the NGOs that supported Vuković, a member of SAMU.
Goran Đurović, Media Center
Olivera Nikolić, Media Institute of Montenegro (IMCG)
Daliborka Uljarević, Center for Civic Education (CCE)
Milka Tadić Mijović, Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN-CG)
Mila Radulović, Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro
Mustafa Canka, NVO "Ul Info"
Zdravko Janjušević, Bijelo Polje Democratic Center
Željko Đukić, NGO Multimedia Montenegro
Nataša Nelević, NOVA – Center for Feminist Culture
Azra Hrapović, NGO Đakomo Adriatic
Boris Nedović, NGO Center of the North
Radomir Petrić, NVU Sua Sponte Bar
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