The public broadcaster’s (RTCG) Council’s member Ivan Mitrovic will resign for principle reasons. The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption’s (ASK) established that Mitrovic was in conflict of interest. He employed his son in RTCG during his term of office in the Council.
Mitrovic told Pobjeda that he was prepared to be held accountable for his actions if the relevant institutions established he violated the law.
The Agency also said that there were elements of violating the law in case of the Council members Goran Djurovic and Nikola Vukcevic. One of the Agency for Electronic Media, Darko Ivanovic, also allegedly acted against the law.
The Parliament’s Administrative Committee received anonymous complaint in September referring to potential conflict of interests of the Council members. The Agency responded to the allegations and determined that Mitrovic had violated article 7 of the Anti-Corruption Law, because his son Milos was employed as a journalist in the public broadcaster.
Since Mitrovic did not asked the Agency for an opinion on this matter, his son’s engagement in RTCG will be terminated until next Friday.
Mitrovic said that article 26 of the law on public broadcaster, based on which he was declared to be in conflict of interest, was unclear since it does not specifically define that a family member cannot be employed in RTCG.
He also said that his son’s employment had nothing to do with his post in the Council and that it did not affect his work in the Council.
The chairman of the Administrative Committee Luigj Shkrelja said that the committee would announce its position after it received all documents on the decision of the Anti-Corruption Agency that some RTCG Council members violated the law.
He added that Mitrovic, Vukcevic, Djurovic and Ivanovic had the right to appeal to the Administrative Court.
Four NGOs (Centre for Developing NGOs – CRNVO, Centre for Monitoring and Research – CEMI, Centre for Civic Education – CGO and Institute Alternative – IA) expressed their concern over what they described an attempt at destabilising the public broadcaster and its Council. They said that if the parliamentary Administrative Committee initiates the illegal dismissal of the Council members accused of alleged conflict of interest, their fears would be proved justified. NGOs said it would mean that an organised effort was being made to destabilise RTGC just as it was starting to assume the shape of a real service for the citizens.
They also accused the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of trying to regain the influence in RTCG, which the party denied.
