Opposition to raise Telekom issue in parliament, Tepic says

N1

Opposition leader Marinika Tepic told N1 on Tuesday that she would raise the Telekom Serbia issue once the new parliament convenes, adding that she hopes the people who crippled the state-owned telecommunications company for the sake of the authorities’ ratings.

“Even the European Commission included Telekom in its report as one of the biggest corruption scandals and this parliament will not be able to avoid answers. I hope the whole thing will end with criminal charges and the processing of the people who used public property and crippled Telekom just to maintain the ratings of the authorities,” the deputy leader of the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) told the N1 Studio Live show.

She said the issue has to be raised in parliament because it can’t be raised on the state TV (RTS) which, she added, seems to have been forbidden to invite the opposition to appear on air.

Tepic said that Telekom and the Serbian power company (EPS) have both been destroyed by unprofessional management guided solely by personal and party interests. According to her, the idea was to fake media pluralism through a hyperproduction of TV channels intended to drown out criticism and create a semblance of balanced journalism in the service of the regime.

She said that Telekom Serbia has debts of 1.9 billion Euro, and added that it pays its debts 14 months after taking loans. “That means that anyone doing business with Telekom gets paid in 14 months but if you owe Telekom you have just 29 days for payment. Tepic said that the Telekom management was doctoring reports and hiding expenses by claiming they are income. She recalled that she published that information in December last year and was sued by Telekom and its CEO to make her reveal her sources.