The Assembly of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) adopted the proclamation today:
Critical evaluations and demands of the public in relation to the work of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) and individual media service providers with licenses for national coverage coincide with criticisms and analyzes of the professional public, media associations and civil society organizations for a long period of time. The result of such findings is contained in the Strategy for the Development of Public Information in the Republic of Serbia for the period from 2020 to 2025 and in the Action Plan that results from the strategy.
Due to the non-fulfillment of the provisions of the law and the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics, the neglect of the public interest, and the promotion of the political influence of the authorities, the particular interests of certain commercial media, inappropriate content, the non-fulfillment of political and media pluralism, the strategic documents foresee the exclusion of state bodies from proposing candidates for REM Council members and the election of the new Council, immediately after the adoption of the new Law on Electronic Media, which should be put up for public debate and enter the adoption procedure.
IJAS emphasizes the importance of consistently implementing the positions of the media strategy, which is the best way to get the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media to comply with the implementation of the law. We expect from the new Council an incentive for democratic, professional, ethical public communication, and the exclusion of everything illegal, vulgar and harmful.
We also demand that the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications consistently applies the legal provisions in relation to the print media under its jurisdiction.
These activities can improve the media situation, improve the media system, reduce tensions and contribute to the culture of public dialogue and the overall democratic development of Serbia.
Assembly of IJAS
20.05.2023, Belgrade