Serbian Parliament: MPs continue debate on the list of candidates for REM membership VIDEO

The session began at 10:00 a.m., during which MPs continued the debate they had started on Friday.

Petrašinović: The process for selecting REM Council candidates has been transparent from the start

During the ongoing debate in the Serbian Parliament on candidates for the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) Council, SNS MP Miroslav Petrašinović stated that the selection process had been transparent from the very beginning.

“Only due to pressure from irresponsible REM candidate members and the obstructionist opposition did we have to repeat the process, but at no point was the democracy or transparency of the procedure compromised,” Petrašinović said.

He added that the new REM Council must not allow the spread of hate or calls for lynching through public broadcasters.

Marko Atlagić, an MP from the same parliamentary group, said the list of candidates for REM Council members is the result of thorough, transparent, and responsible work by Serbian Parliament MPs, civil society, NGOs, and the OSCE.

SDPS MP Muamer Bačevac emphasized that public broadcasters, as well as other nationally broadcast television channels, must be far more open to minority programs and languages.

“Unfortunately, this has not been the case in recent years. RTS above all, and other nationally broadcast services, must be a place where all cultures and traditions, all peoples and nationalities in our country, meet, as our nation is truly rich in multiethnic and multicultural diversity,” Bačevac said. He called for a vote to approve the REM Council in its full capacity.

SDA Sandžak MP Minela Kalender noted that media coverage in minority languages should help present and affirm the national characteristics, customs, languages, cultures, and overall identity of minority groups.

“The election of the full REM Council would be an important step toward democratizing relations in our country and an expression of Serbia’s European path. For Bosniaks, it would be a significant step toward restoring trust in institutional systems,” Kalender said.

Freedom and Justice Party MP Mila Popović criticized REM for not responding so far to, as she put it, violence and vulgarity on nationally broadcast television channels, adding that the new REM Council should “protect the public, not the authorities.”

99 MPs present at the session

The session is attended by 99 MPs.

The election of REM Council members, proposed by the Committee on Culture and Information, was added to the session’s agenda under urgent procedure as the ninth item.

List of 18 candidates before MPs

MPs are presented with a list of 18 candidates, from which they must select nine members of the REM Council—one from each nominating category.

The agreed-upon candidates for REM Council membership include:

• Independent institutions: Stevica Smederevac and Gordana Predić

• Churches and religious communities: Snežana Miljković and Mevlud Dudić

• Electronic media publishers: Miloš Garić and Jovana Vitez

• Child protection associations: Dušan Aleksić and Dubravka Valić Nedeljković

• Journalist associations: Đorđe Vlajić and Mileva Malešić

• Universities: Milan Petković and Vanja Šibalić

• Freedom of expression associations: Rodoljub Šabić and Antonela Riha

• National minority councils: Muhedin Fijuljanin and Ljumturije Ameti

• Composers’ and performing arts associations (film, stage, drama): Ira Prodanov Krajišnik and Mladen Matičević