OSCE Mission regrets amendments to Broadcasting Law

BELGRADE, 31 August 2005 - The OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro today expressed its regret at the Government's introduction and the Parliament's adoption of new amendments to the Broadcasting Law to address a problem that arose during the appointment of the Broadcasting Council.

Parliament failed last February to establish the duration of the Council members' mandate, a material omission that could have been remedied promptly and transparently within the existing legal framework. This problem was not resolved through consultations with interested parties, a matter of further regret as this could lead to additional problems in the implementation of the amended law.

Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Head of the Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, stressed that it was essential to reaffirm the principle of equality of the Broadcasting Council's individual members and recalled that the Broadcasting Law stipulates that Council members do not represent the bodies or organizations that nominated them. He emphasized that there could not be any discrimination within the Council, nor influence from external factors.

Noting that the Parliament also extended the deadline for the privatization of local and regional broadcast media until the end of 2007, Ambassador Massari acknowledged that the extension was not as long as originally proposed by the Government's draft of the amendments.

Now that a new timeframe has been set and as the Broadcasting Council as well as the Privatization Agency are operational, the Mission calls upon the Serbian Government to fully support the process of privatization of those media outlets that are still vulnerable to political interference.

In this context, the Mission reiterated that the transformation of Radio-Televizija Srbija (RTS) into a genuine public broadcasting service of crucial importance for Serbia on its path toward Serbia's democratic development.