Four members did not vote for Vasilić's report, and it was returned to be amended. This, however, did not prevent her from stating data about the operation of the state-owned company. The interviewees of Kurir say she should have refrained from it.
A member of the Anti-Corruption Council Jelisaveta Vasilić did not wait for the report about Telekom’s operation to be completed, but weeks before, she began publicly criticising the operation of this company. When the report was completed, as she herself admitted, the Council did not adopt it, as four members of this body did not vote “in favour”. That is why the report was returned to be amended, but this did not stop Vasilić from continuing with negative assessments of the state-owned company. It is particularly interesting that she spoke negatively about Telekom mainly for the media outlets operating within the United Group. This company is Telekom’s direct competitor.
The interviewees of Kurir emphasise that the report is public only when the Council adopts it and that no one should have spoken publicly before its adoption.
Premature
Dragan Dobrašinović, the President of the Coalition for Public Finances Oversight, says for Kurir that it would have been the best and most relevant if Vasilić had waited for the report to be adopted and become official, and then to talk about it publicly.
– It should not be the practice that public statements be made before the report becomes official. She spoke as an individual, and not on behalf of the Council, this is not disputable, but it would have been logical if she had waited for the Council’s report and then expressed publicly her opinion. There is also the possibility that the Council prolongs the report indefinitely, and she may have lost her patience. I do not know what her motives are, but it is much more important what the truth is and what it is not, including the reliability of all information and data from the report. All this interests us – says Dobrašinović.
Unusual
Economist Ljubomir Madžar believes that, upon its adoption, the report should be compared with Vasilić’s claims:
– I have been following her work for years, and I believe she is one of the most apt lawyers in Serbia. It is a bit unusual that statements are given before the report is adopted, made official and public. This is unusual, but it must be a sign of a strong struggle inside the Council, it is possible that some serious problems appeared. When the report is entirely known and published, her statements should be compared so as to see whether and to what extent they were grounded and justified.
Kurir / Photo: Media Centar