Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that supported Dragoljub Duško Vuković as a member of the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services and Marijana Camović Veličković as a member of the Council of Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG) announced today that they express serious concern that the majority in the Administrative Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro is preparing a new obstruction of the implementation of media laws regarding the final confirmation of NGO candidates.
"In this context, we particularly point out the scheduling of the so-called consultative hearing for July 24, although the law does not provide for such a procedure. We emphasize that NGOs active in the field of media and human rights protection are not opposed to any procedure that increases transparency. However, the consultative hearing is not part of the procedure prescribed by the Law on the National Public Broadcaster and the Law on AVM Services, because the NGOs proposed one of their representatives for both bodies, who would have to be confirmed given that they indisputably meet the prescribed legal requirements (Montenegrin citizenship, residence, VII level of educational qualification, five years of work experience in the relevant field, professional affirmation, and are not in a conflict of interest)," the joint statement of the NGOs that supported Vuković and Camović Veličković, submitted by the Center for Civic Education (CCE), states.
The statement adds that the legal procedure implies that the Administrative Board checks the validity of the submitted documentation from organizations authorized to propose candidates for members of the RTCG Council and the Agency for AVM Services (NGOs in the field of media and human rights protection, CANU, Montenegrin PEN Center, trade union organizations), which also contains evidence that the proposed candidates meet the legal requirements, as well as statements from the candidates that there are no obstacles to their appointment in terms of conflict of interest.
"On July 10, the Administrative Board established a list of complete and timely proposals for members of these two councils and concluded that the candidacy of Dragoljub Duško Vuković is correct, that is, that he was supported by 9 NGOs from the media field that meet the legally prescribed conditions (registered at least three years before the announcement of the public call for nominations, have activities in the media field and their annual budgets for the implementation of activities in the media field were above 3000 EUR), and that he personally meets the legal conditions. Vuković is the only NGO candidate for a member of the Council of the Agency for AVM Services. On the same day, the Administrative Board established a list of complete and timely proposals for three members of the RTCG Council and concluded that 25 legally acceptable NGO supports for Marijana Camović Veličković from the fields of human rights protection, environment and consumer protection (registered at least three years before the announcement of the competition, have activities in these fields and annual budgets for their implementation above 3.000 EUR), and that she personally meets the legal conditions. In addition, Camović Veličković is the only candidate of an NGO from the aforementioned field for membership in the RTCG Council," said the NGOs that supported Vuković and Camović Veličković.
The announcement states that the call for members of the Council of the Agency for AVM Services was sent for two members, one proposed by NGOs and the other jointly or separately by CANU and the Montenegrin PEN Center, and that one application was received for a candidate for a member of the Council of the Agency for AVM from NGOs, and two applications for the other member.
"The Administrative Board, in accordance with the law, should establish a list of candidates for members of the RTCG Council with three proposed candidates and a list of candidates for members of the AVM Agency Council with one representative of an NGO and one representative of CANU or PEN Center. In the case of the appointment of the RTCG Council, the law stipulates that only after establishing a proposed list of candidates for members of the RTCG Council by authorized proposers, which is later confirmed at the plenary session of the Assembly, the Administrative Board has the opportunity to publicly present the candidates and publish their biographies. No consultative hearing is foreseen, nor is it for the election of members of the AVM Services Agency Council. The Administrative Board does not have the legal authority to decide on candidates proposed by legally defined organizations, and in the case of the election of members of the AVM Services Agency Council, complicating and delaying a simple procedure with a consultative hearing raises doubts about the intentions of the majority in this Board," the statement reads.
It is stated that if there is a violation of the law and the refusal to confirm these NGO candidates for members of the RTCG Council and the Agency for AVM Services, the responsibility for such an act will be borne by the leaders of the majority: Milojko Spajić, Andrija Mandić, Aleksa Bečić, Ervin Ibrahimović, Nik Đelošaj and Vladimir Joković.
"Such an outcome would also jeopardize Montenegro's credibility in the European integration process and call into question the closure of negotiation chapters, and possibly even actualize the reopening of Chapter 10. We remind you that the adoption of media laws and their implementation 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 obstruction of the implementation of media laws in the Parliament of Montenegro has been going on for half a year, since the public calls for the appointment of two members of the Council of the Agency for AVM Services were unlawfully annulled twice, while the public call for the appointment of members of the RTCG Council was published in May instead of February. The intention of the parliamentary majority was also to quickly amend the media laws in order to ensure control over the RTCG Council and the Agency for AVM Services. They did not succeed in this due to the efficient reaction of the EU. We expect the Government of Montenegro, and especially the Ministry of Culture and Media and the Ministry of European Affairs, to clearly define themselves on this issue and to ensure respect for the law, the integrity of the integration process and the independence of key institutions in the media sphere," the statement from the NGOs that supported Vuković and Camović Večičković reads.
They emphasize that the goal of such obstructions is not transparency, but rather narrowing the space for independent regulatory bodies to operate and rendering meaningless the role of civil society in the democratization of the media system.
The signatories of the announcement are:
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
Slavica Striković, NGO Women's Action
Nevenka Vuksanović, Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM)
Zlatko Vujović, Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI)
Jovan Ulićević, SPEKTRA Association
Musluć Muamera, NGO Đakomo Adriatic
Boris Nedović, NGO Center of the North
Radomir Petrić, NVU Sua Sponte Bar
Zorana Marković, Center for the Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (CRNVO)
Marija Kalezić, Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS)
Staša Baštrica, Montenegrin LGBTIQ Association – Kvir Montenegro
Bonus video:
