UNS vesti

30. 08. 2011.

Izvor: Wikileaks

Depeša ambasade SAD iz 2009. o usvajanju kontraverznog Zakona o informisanju

Depeša koju je otpravnica poslova ambasade SAD u Srbiji Dženifer Braš poslala 3. septembra 2009. naslovljena je sa "Srbija usvojila kontroverzni zakon o medijima". UNS je preveo depešu koju je preuzeo sa sajta Vikiliks i objavljuje je u celosti.

PREDMET: SRBIJA USVOJILA KONTROVERZNI ZAKON O MEDIJIMA: Beograd (Rezime) ¶1. (SBU) 31. avgusta, Narodna skupština Srbije usvojila je kontroverzni Zakon o medijima, koji je Predsednik Tadić potpisao istog dana. Zakon je usvojen tesnom većinom od 125 glasova, uz pomoć opozicione Liberalno demokratske partije Čedomira Jovanovića, koja je svoju podršku uslovila sveobuhvatnom reformom srpske medijske scene. Zakon predviđa drastične novčane kazne za one organizacije koje prekrše pravila ponašanja i uvodi hitnu sudsku proceduru za prekršioce. Većina medija su kritikovali „drakonske“ novčane kazne koje zakon predviđa i izrazile zabrinutost da će novi zakon ograničiti slobodu medija i dovesti do cenzure. Udruženje novinara i Srpska napredna stranka najavili su plan da ospore legalnost novog zakona. Usvajanje u parlamentu stavilo je tačku na spor koji je u toku u vladajućoj koaliciji (reftel) i obustavio priče o prevremenim izborima. Mediji i zainteresovane NVO izjavili su da će pažljivo nadgledati sprovođenje novog zakona kako bi umanjile mogućnost zloupotrebe njegovih odredbi. Kraj rezimea.

Spor u vladajućoj koaliciji
¶2. (SBU) Po povratku s letnje pauze, Narodna skupština je 31. avgusta usvojila kontroverzni zakon o medijima. Dan glasanja počeo je prisustvom svih 250 poslanika u parlamentu što je bez presedana, a koji su bili privučeni krizom u vladi koju je predloženi zakon izazvao (reftel). Skupština je prvo usvojila seriju amandmana koje je zahtevala Liberalno demokratska partija (LDP) i Partija ujedinjenih penzionera (PUPS), a zatim je usvojila celi zakon. Oba glasanja prošla su tesno, s 125 od ukupno 249 glasova prisutnih poslanika. (albanski poslanik Riza Haljimi napustio je sednicu smanjivši broj glasova potrebnih za prolaz. Iako je javno tvrdio da njegov odlazak nije sračunat kao pomoć vladi, kasnije nam je priznao da je po prvi put većina usvojila nekoliko njegovih amandmana na druge zakone.) Demokratska stranka (DS), G 17 Plus, LDP, PUPS, manjinski poslanički klub i dva nezavisna poslanika glasali su za zakon. Socijalisti, koji su pokrenulli krizu u vladajućoj koaliciji odbijajući da podrže zakon, uzdržali su se od glasanja, ali su obezbedili kvorum. Srpska napredna stranka Tomislava Nikolića napustila je sednicu, ostavljajući radikale, Demokratsku stranku Srbije (DSS) i Novu Srbiju da glasaju protiv zakona.

Šta novi zakon predviđa
¶3. (U) Novousvojeni Zakon o medijima značajno povećava novčane kazne za kršenja novinarskih pravila ponašanja; kazne idu do 350.000 dolara za štampane medije i čak do milion dolara za elektronske medije. Zakon je uveo, takođe, nekoliko komercijalnih krivičnih dela koje mogu imati za posledicu zabranu medijske kuće. Usvojeni amandmani uveli su samo manje izmene na nacrt, eliminišući zahtev za depozit za osnivanje medijske organizacije kao i automatsku zabranu bilo koje medijske kuće čiji je račun blokiran preko 90 dana.

Podržavaoci
¶4. (U) Predsednik Srbije Boris Tadić potpisao je Zakon o medijima koji je time stupio na snagu odmah nakon što je usvojen, iznenadivši mnoge posmatrače i osujetivši tako napor Udruženja novinara Srbije (UNS) da zakon uputi Ustavnom sudu na reviziju pre njegovog stupanja na snagu. Njegova kancelarija za štampu izdala je saopštenje da će Predsednik Tadić pomno pratiti učinke sprovođenja zakona, zaključivši da je sloboda medija preduslov slobodnog društva. Predsednik LDP-a Čeda Jovanović je izjavio za štampu da je za njegovu partiju najvažnija opšta medijska strategija koja je dogovorena između vlade, Nezavisnog udruženja novinara (NUNS) i OEBS-a. Prema Jovanoviću, usvajanje Zakona o medijima bio je samo prvi korak u sprovođenju strategije kako bi se reformisalo medijsko okruženje u Srbiji u skladu s evropskim standardima. Šef poslaničkog kluba DS-a Nada Kolunžija izjavila je da će usvajanje zakona uvesti red na medisjku scenu Srbije i da neće imati cenzuru kao posledicu.

Kritičari
¶5. (U) Većina opozicionih političkih partija i skoro svi glavni urednici velikih medijskih kuća oštro su kritikovali zakon, usredsređujući se prvenstveno na drastične novčane kazne za koje tvrde da će rezultirati ograničavanjem medijskih sloboda, cenzurom i samo-cenzurom. Predsednica UNS-a Ljiljana Smajlović, smenjeni bivši urednik Politike, organizovala je protest novinara pred Narodnom skupštinom još dok je sednica bila u toku. Smajlović je saopštila štampi da zakon uvodi “drakonske“ novčane kazne, da je antievropski, da ga mogu samovoljno sprovoditi sudije u bliskoj vezi s političarima, i da od Srbije pravi jednu od najrestriktivnijih medijskih sredina u Evropi.

Sledeći koraci
¶6. (U) Pošto je neposredni potpis Predsednika Tadića na zakon sprečio upućivanje zakona Ustavnom sudu, koji bi mogao da odloži njegovu implementaciju, UNS i SNS sada planiraju da ospore zakon obraćanjem Zaštitniku građana i Ustavnom sudu u redovnoj proceduri. Vlada je osnovala radnu grupu, u kojoj se nalaze predstavnici najmanje pet medijskih udruženja, da ispitaju sve zakone kojim se regulišu mediji i razviju koordinisanu medijsku strategiju.

Komentar
¶7. (SBU) Kao opoziciona partija, LDP je do sada istupao u nekoliko slučajeva s ciljem da obezbedi većinu kada članovi vladajuće koalicije nisu mogli da se usaglase o ključnim zakonima. Još nije jasno na koji način će LDP imati koristi od ove podrške “iz senke”, ali se može sa sigurnošću pretpostaviti da je Boris Tadić zahvalan na dodatnoj stabilnosti koju LDP pruža njegovoj vladajućoj koaliciji kada se suočava s tankom većinom i notornom nefleskibilnošću lidera G 17 Plus Mlađana Dinkića. Usvajanje Zakona o medijima zadovoljava Dinkićevo traženje načina da se obračuna s neprijateljski nastrojenim tabloidima i čini se da je za sada stavio tačku na diskusiju o novim izborima. Ministar za životnu sredinu i lider DS-a Oliver Dulić rekao je Otpravniku 1. septembra da je spor, u stvari, “pročistio vazduh” u vladajućuoj koaliciji i učinio je stabilnijom nego ikada pre. Sprovođenje novog zakona biće istinski test vladinih demokratskih kapaciteta, a koje ćemo procenjivati u saradnji s civilnim društvom i međunarodnim partnerima.
Kraj komentara.
Braš

Tekst preuzet sa http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/09/09BELGRADE998.html

Serbia Adopts Controversial Media Law

Origin
Embassy Belgrade (Serbia)

Cable time
Thu, 3 Sep 2009 12:02 UTC

Classification
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Source
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/09/09BELGRADE998.html

History
First published on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:34 UTC

SUBJECT: SERBIA ADOPTS CONTROVERSIAL MEDIA LAW REF: BELGRADE 791 Summary ------- ¶1. (SBU) The National Assembly of Serbia adopted a controversial Media Law on August 31, which President Tadic signed the same day. The Law was adopted by a narrow majority of 125 votes with the help of opposition leader Cedomir Jovanovic's Liberal Democratic Party, which conditioned its support on overall reform of the Serbian media scene. The law provides drastic fines for outlets that violate rules of conduct and introduces expedited legal procedures against violators. Most of the media criticized the "draconian" fines introduced in the legislation, and expressed concern that the new law would limit media freedom and result in censorship. The Journalists' Association and the Serbian Progressive Party announced plans to challenge the legality of the new legislation. Parliament's adoption of the law put an end to the ongoing dispute within the governing coalition (reftel) and ended talk of early elections. The media and concerned NGOs have said they will monitor implementation of the new law carefully, in order to reduce the possibility for abuse of its provisions. End Summary. Dispute within the Governing Coalition -------------------------------------- ¶2. (SBU) Returning from summer recess, the National Assembly adopted the controversial Law on Media on August 31. The voting day started with the unprecedented presence of all 250 members of Parliament, drawn by the government crisis that the proposed law had generated (reftel). The Assembly first adopted a series of amendments demanded by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Party of United Pensioners (PUPS), and then adopted the entire law. Both votes passed narrowly, with 125 votes out of 249 present MPs. (Albanian MP Riza Halimi left the session, lowering the number of votes required to pass. Although he claimed publicly that his departure was not calculated to help the government, he later confessed to us that for the first time ever the majority had accepted several of his amendments to other pieces of legislation.) The Democratic Party (DS), G-17 Plus, LDP, PUPS, the minority caucus, and two independent MPs voted for the law. The Socialists, who had touched off the crisis in the ruling coalition by refusing to support the law, abstained from the voting but provided a quorum. Tomislav Nikolic's Progressive Party (SNS) walked out, leaving only the Radicals, the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), and New Serbia to vote against the law. What the New Law Provides ------------------------- ¶3. (U) The newly-adopted Media Law significantly increases the fines for violations of journalists' rules of conduct; fines reach $350,000 for print media and up to $1 million for electronic media. The law also introduced several commercial offenses that could result in the banning of a media outlet. The adopted amendments made only minor changes to the draft by eliminating the requirement for a deposit in order to establish a media outlet, as well as the automatic ban on any media outlet whose bank account was blocked for more than 90 days. Supporters ---------- ¶4. (U) Serbian President Boris Tadic signed the Media Law into force immediately after its passage, surprising many observers and derailing an effort by the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) to refer the law to the Constitutional Court for review before it went into force. His press office issued a statement that President Tadic would carefully follow the effects of the law's implementation, concluding that media freedom is a precondition for a free society. LDP president Ceda Jovanovic told the press that the most important thing for his party was the general media strategy agreed between the government, the Independent Association of Journalists (NUNS) and the OSCE. According to Jovanovic, adoption of the Media Law was only the first step in implementing the strategy to reform the Serbian media environment in accordance with the European standards. Head of the DS caucus Nada Kolundzija stated that adoption of the law would bring order to the Serbian media scene, and that it would not introduce censorship. Critics ------- ¶5. (U) Most opposition political parties and almost all editors-in-chief of major media outlets sharply criticized the law, focusing primarily on the drastic fines that they claimed would result in the limitation of media freedoms, censorship, and self-censorship. UNS head Ljiljana Smajlovic, the ousted former Politika editor, organized a protest of journalists in front of the National Assembly during the session. Smajlovic told the press that the law created "draconian" fines, was anti-European, could be implemented arbitrarily by politically affiliated judges, and made Serbia one of the most restrictive media environments in Europe. Next Steps ---------- ¶6. (U) As President Tadic's immediate signature of the law prevented the referral to the Constitutional Court that would have delayed its implementation, UNS and the SNS now plan to challenge the law via the Ombudsman and the Constitutional Court under regular procedure. The government has established a working group, including representatives of at least five media associations, to look at all legislation governing the media and develop a coordinated media strategy. Comment ------- ¶7. (SBU) LDP, an opposition party, has now stepped in on several occasions to provide a majority when the members of the ruling coalition could not agree on key legislation. It is not yet clear how LDP will benefit from this "shadow" support, but it is safe to assume that Boris Tadic is grateful for the additional stability LDP provides his governing coalition faced with a slim majority and G-17 Plus leader Mladjan Dinkic's notorious inflexibility. The adoption of the Media Law satisfies Dinkic's demand for a way to deal with hostile tabloids, and therefore appears to have ended discussion of new elections for the time being. Environment Minister and DS leader Oliver Dulic told the Charge on September 1 that in fact the dispute had "cleared the air" within the governing coalition and left it more stable than ever before. Implementation of the new law will be a true test of the government's democratic capacity, however, which we will work with civil society organizations and international partners to assess. End Comment. BRUSH