Non-governmental organisations that supported the nomination of Dragoljub Vuković for the member of the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services submitted today initiatives to the President of the Parliament, Andrija Mandić, and the Minister of Culture and Media, Tamara Vujović, urging them to, in accordance with their authorities, ensure the lawful implementation of media laws and protect the process of appointing members of the Council of the Agency for AVM Services from political and legal manipulations.
We remind that the latest decision of the Administrative Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro, which declared the documentation of NGOs and the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts (CANU) as incomplete, islegally unfounded and represents a dangerous precedent. All acts were duly signed by authorized persons, and neither the Law nor the public call require additional internal decisions from the governing bodies.
We also highlight that the same legal procedure was applied in the selection of members of the Council of the City Public Broadcaster RTV Podgorica, without any challenges to the validity of documentation, even though identical forms and supporting materials were used in both cases.
Such a selective approach creates legal uncertainty and space for political arbitrariness, while also threatening the application of European standards in this field.
We call on the President of the Parliament and the Minister of Culture and Media to promptly provide clarifications and opinions to the Administrative Committee, thus preventing further abuse of the legal process and ensuring the application of the valid media laws adopted by the Parliament within the so-called IBAR laws.
This is not a technical issue but a deeply political one of crucial importance for the independence of media institutions and the rule of law in Montenegro, which is why we will continue to inform the public as well as relevant stakeholders, including the EU Delegation to Montenegro, which has already reacted to these opaque attempts to obstruct media laws.
Goran Đurović, Media Center
Olivera Nikolić, Montenegrin Media Institute (MMI)
Daliborka Uljarević, Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Milka Tadić Mijović, Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN-CG)
Mila Radulović, Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro
Mustafa Canka, NGO “Ul Info”
Zdravko Janjušević, Bjelopolje Democratic Center
Željko Đukić, NGO Multimedial Montenegro
Nataša Nelević, NOVA – Center for Feminist Culture
Azra Hrapović, NGO Đakomo Adriatic
Boris Nedović, NVU Center North
Radomir Petrić, NVU Sua Sponte Bar