Geert Lovink on Mon, 6 Mar 2000 15:10:11 +0100 (CET) |
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[Nettime-bold] ANEM's weekly report: Feb 26-March 3 2000 |
From: mediawatch-owner@freeb92.net Subject: ANEM's weekly report: Feb 26-March 3 2000 ANEM'S WEEKLY REPORT ON MEDIA REPRESSION IN SERBIA FEBRUARY 26, -MARCH 3, 2000. RADIO B92 BEGINS TELEVISION TEST TRANSMISSIONS BELGRADE, February 26, 2000 -- The usurping management of the Public Radio Broadcast Company Radio B92, which seized this company illegally from its owners, the employees, on April 2, 1999, following a ruling by the Belgrade Commercial Court, has begun television test transmissions in the Belgrade area on UHF Channel 33. The former, legal, management of Radio B92 submitted comprehensive documentation to the Federal Ministry of Telecommunications in February 1998 in support of an application for a television channel licence. After the Ministry of Telecommunications failed to reply to this application for more than a year, the Federal Court, only a month before the station was seized, ruled in favour of Radio B92, ordering the Ministry of Telecommunications to come to a decision on Radio B92's application. The usurpers are thus now not only exploiting the radio station in which other people had invested an enormous amount of effort and love over the past decade, but also the project and documentation drawn up in order to establish a television station. The fact that "the regime's B92" has now set up a television station without any "technical problems" is irrefutable proof that the former Radio B92 was denied a television channel licence solely on political grounds and certainly not for the technical reasons frequently cited by regime officials. VECERNJE NOVOSTI FINED AGAIN BELGRADE, February 26, 2000 -- Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti was today fined 180,000 dinars, about 9,000 Deutschmarks, by City Magistrate Slobodan Tirnanic. The daily was convicted of breaching the Public Information Act in an article published on January 31 which claimed that a young man had drowned in the Drina River after his boat had capsized because it was overloaded with smuggled goods. The charges were brought by the father of the drowned man. Novosti's information had been drawn from an official report by state bodies which alleged that the tragedy had occurred while a Yugoslav Army patrol boat was pursuing the other boat with two people aboard. The same report stated that the survivor was subsequently charged with smuggling. Thus this new fine is part of the ongoing campaign against Novosti and Vecernje novosti. Novosti has been convicted twice in three days under the notorious Public Information Act. The fines totalled 470,000 dinars. The daily reported that both f! ! ines had already been paid. DISMISSAL OF CACAK TELEVISION DIRECTOR "POLITICAL" CACAK, February 26, 2000 -- The former director of ANEM member station Cacak RTV has claimed that political motives could have been behind his dismissal in mid-February. Stojan Markovic was officially dismissed that he had been absent from his duties without leave for 22 days up to the end of last year. In an interview for Novosti, Markovic expressed suspicion that the dismissal resulted from a conflict between Cacak Mayor Velimir Ilic and TV Cacak editors, who were not will to adjust their programming to the mayor's views. Markovic, a member of the Democratic party, also speculated that his support for Slobodan Vuksanovic in his bid to wrest the party leadership from Zoran Djindjic could be a motive for his sacking. He added that the affair would have dire consequences for the opposition coalition which holds local government power in Cacak. Markovic has been replaced as director by Zoran Micovic, formerly the company's financial manager. IVAN MARKOVIC CONTINUES VERBAL ATTACKS BELGRADE, February 26, 2000 -- Yugoslav Left spokesman and Federal Telecommunications Minister Ivan Markovic today launched another virulent verbal attack on his political opponents. Again Markovic acted illegally, disseminating lies about the opposition. State daily Politika quoted Markovic as saying that the state should react rapidly and more efficiently against organisations such as TV Pancevo, Studio B, ANEM and Vecernje novosti, which had breached the law. By making unsubstantiated in the Politika article that the media beyond his control were operating illegally (apparently anything not under the direct control of Markovic's party is illegal) and that Belgrade was "governed by the CIA", Markovic again demonstrated the intention of the regime coalition to go to any lengths in confrontation with the opposition, the independent media and all sectors of the civil society in Serbia. The only new item in the JUL representative's statement was the Vecernje novosti, a daily whi! ! ch was once considered state-controlled, was labelled as "treacherous". In recent days Novosti has been subjected to intense pressure and exorbitant fines, leading to fears that the paper will soon be burdened with similar problems to those of Danas and Glas javnosti, both of which have been targetted by the regime in recent months with the intention of financially destroying these independent publications. STUDIO B RECOMMISSIONS MOUNT KOSMAJ TRANSMITTER BELGRADE, February 26, 2000 -- Studio B Television has restored transmissions to central Serbia with the installation of a new repeater station on Mount Kosmaj, the station's director, Dragan Kojadinovic, said today. Studio B's repeater equipment was stolen from Mount Kosmaj forty days ago, limiting the station's coverage to the Belgrade area. Kojadinovic said today that the new repeater restored the stations signal to two million viewers and that the Studio B program was also available to another 1.5 million potential new viewers through local television stations which rebroadcast Studio B programs locally. CENSORSHIP AT RADIO SABAC SABAC, February 26, 2000 -- Radio Sabac Editor-in-Chief Ogolik Peric has officially introduced censorship of current affairs programs on this radio station. A memorandum written by Peric to the editor of the station's main news program has come to light. It reads: "Vera, pay attention to the report from the Serbian Renewal Movement press conference. Mute the sound, particularly those statements which criticise state bodies or local authorities". Federal MP Zivko Topalovic said today "One thing is certain - they can't hide the truth from the people. Anyway, precisely because of this kind of editorial policy almost no one respects or listens to Radio Sabac, which was once the leading YU INFO CHANNEL JUL PROPAGANDA: TV MONTENEGRO PODGORICA, February 26, 2000 -- Television Montenegro today accused the Yugoslav United Left (JUL) of having established a new television station, YU Info, with the sole purpose of disseminating propaganda against the Montenegrin authorities. "This television station, set up by the Yugoslav United Left - the party led by Mirjana Markovic, cannot possibly be described as a Yugoslav broadcaster as Montenegro took no part in establishing the television channel or creating its editorial policy," said Television Montenegro in its main news program. Television Montenegro also said that the pretentious of the name YU Info Channel and its illegal transmissions on Montenegrin territory were not, however, the worst aspects of the new broadcaster's launch. The commentary continued "The Yugoslav Army has taken the worst possible step for its own public image and that of the television station by allowing its facilities to be used for the YU Info transmitters, thus giving property belonging to us all to a political party, the Yugoslav United Left, which has virtually no voters in Montenegro. FIVE HUNDRED EMPLOYEES OUT OF WORK BELGRADE, February 27, 2000 -- The board of management of ABC Produkt, the majority owner and largest creditor of Belgrade printing firm ABC Grafika, today strongly criticised the dismissal of ABC Grafika employees by the official receiver. The ABC Product board added that 284 employees of the printing firm, 106 from the transport company Udarnik which worked for ABC and another hundred workers in related sectors of the company had been left without employment. About two thousand family members of the dismissed workers were thus affected. "What are the motives behind this destruction of ABC Grafika by state bodies? In whose interests are workers left stranded and jobless?" asked the ABC Produkt board in its press release. GLAS JAVNOSTI IN JEOPARDY BELGRADE, February 27, 2000 -- The official receiver appointed for ABC Grafika, Dusan Abramovic, has jeopardised the printing distribution of independent daily Glas javnosti by sealing off part of the premises and cutting power to lifts in the building, the paper's editorial staff reported today. The official receiver officially sealed off part of the premises, clearly demonstrating the increasing nervousness of the regime which, despite the intensity of its repression of the independent media, has persistently failed in its efforts to destroy them. Glas javnosti editorial staff warned Abramovic that his actions were illegal and demanded that he revoke his decisions. TV PINK SHELVES MINIMAKS BELGRADE, February 27, 2000 -- Pink TV star host Milovan "Minimaks" Ilic has been taken off the air by the station's management. Pink management first cut the fees of employees engaged on Ilic's "Maksovizija" program then later suspended Ilic's contract. The action came after members of Indeksovo pozoriste were guests on Maksovizija and a clip produced by them was put to air. The Indeksovo pozoriste clip is presumed to be the contentious issue as the lyrics of the song referred to police violence against demonstrators as well as the misery and hopelessness of the Serbian people. This reaction by TV Pink can only be explained in political terms, particularly when taking into account that the program, was seen by a record-breaking twenty million viewers last Wednesday, when it was also broadcast by satellite. The regular Saturday morning rebroadcast of Maksovizija did not occur. Ilic was banned from the air a number of times during the 'seventies while hosting the radio show Tup-tup, because of his jokes and criticisms aimed at senior state officials of the day. JOURNALIST ASSOCIATION PROTESTS BELGRADE, February 29, 2000 -- The Independent Association of Serbian Journalists yesterday held the second of its monthly protests against the Serbian Public Information Act, threats to journalists and the state boycott of independent media. The editors of media outlets fined in February, Grujica Spasovic (Danas), Dragan Kojadinovic (Studio B) and Stevan Niksic (NIN) addressed the journalists and public gathered on Belgrade's central Republic Square. Association board member Natasa Bogovic told the crowd that more than a hundred media outlets in Serbia had joined the boycott of Vojislav Seselj and his Serbian Radical Party. The names of another four magistrates who fined independent media during February were added to the list of disgraced magistrates. They are Miladin Ugljesic, Jasna Ucajev, Branislav Gudovic and Svetlana Mirkovic-Disic. NOVOSTI MANAGEMENT SPEAKS OUT BELGRADE, February 29, 2000 -- The board of management of the Novosti publishing company and editorial staff of the daily Vecernje novosti said today that the primary objectives of the pressure exerted on the company was to suppress the popular character of the highest circulation newspaper in Serbia and Yugoslavia and to reverse the privatisation of the company. The goal of the campaign, as stated in the management press release is "to take over Vecernje novosti at any price from the people who have built this newspaper and to revoke, in a clandestine manner and by the most crude violations of Serbia's laws and Constitution, the entirely legitimate and legal process of ownership transformation. COMMITTEE FOR DEFENCE OF NOVOSTI ESTABLISHED BELGRADE, February 29, 2000 -- More than twenty academics and public figures have established the Committee of Intellectuals to Defend Novosti, as a demonstration of support for the "independent and non-party" status of this publishing house and its daily newspaper Vecernje novosti. The Committee, in a press release yesterday, said that the news of the previously planned hijacking of Novosti AD had reached many figures in the public and cultural life of the country. According to unofficial information, Novosti is to become part of the Federal Government publishing house Borba, through the annulling of its 1991 ownership transformation. INDEPENDENT MEDIA IN AGGRESSOR'S YOKE: INFORMATION MINISTRY BELGRADE, February 29, 2000 -- The Serbian Ministry of Information yesterday made a series of allegations against what it described as "the self-proclaimed independent media" had been harnessed by "the aggressor" and that their objective was to entirely destroy freedom of public expression. "What do these so-called independent media actually stand for? Who do they represent?" asked the Serbian Ministry of Information in a press release, going on to say: " These are the media which, as we all very well know, receive funds from their bosses from abroad under the guise of the democratisation process in Serbia. They no longer even attempt to conceal the fact that they are generously paid and rewarded for promoting US interests in Serbia. "They are, furthermore, even boasting of being in the service of those who prepared and carried out aggression on Serbia and Yugoslavia. They are working for those who have murdered our people and, by introducing all sorts of sanctions, made it impossible for our people to live and work in a normal way". Later in the same press release, the Ministry of Information accuses the independent media of "publishing untruths about their own people and state, thus carrying out a unique media harassment campaign and violating not only laws but basic moral standards as well. The notion of patriotism to them doesn't mean love of their fatherland and people, but blind obedience to the murderers of Serbia and its citizens/" RADICALS CALL FOR BOYCOTT OF "ANTI-SERB" MEDIA NIS, February 29, 2000 -- The president of the Serbian Radical Party's regional board in Nis, Dragoljub Stamenkovic, said yesterday that his branch had cut all cooperation with "anti-Serb media and news agencies". Stamenkovic called on all party members and all who sympathises with the Radical Party to boycott Glas javnosti, Blic and the Nis-based Narodne novine and to stop advertising their companies in these newspapers. Stamenkovic also announced that the same measures, including an end to any sort of communication, would be applied to local television stations Niska Televizija and Televizija 5. FIERCE YUGOSLAV LEFT ATTACK ON PIROT INDEPENDENT MEDIA PIROT, February 29, 2000 -- Officials of the Pirot Municipal Board of the Yugoslav United Left (JUL) at a press conference yesterday mounted a fierce attack on local independent media TV Pirot and Sloboda, describing their editorial policies as "inquisitional and terrorist". The president of the JUL Municipal Board, Nenad Zdravkovic, alleged that the local media in Pirot were particularly anxious to bear down on the United Left, adding that the apex of their bias and lack of professionalism was the practice of Sloboda, which did not publish information released by the party but always published negative editorial commentaries in response to announcements from JUL. NOVOSTI SHAREHOLDERS MEETING BELGRADE, March 1, 2000 -- An extraordinary meeting of the shareholders of the company Novosti AD will be held today at the editorial premises of Vecernje novosti regarding the disputed ownership transformation of the company. The Belgrade Higher Commercial Court, at the request of the Federal Public Institution "Borba" today annulled the 1998 ruling of the Agency for Capital Evaluation which verified the value of the company's capital. The process of ownership transformation of this company, which is now 76.06 per cent privately owned, was begun in 1991. The management board of Novosti demanded that the Federal Prosecutor act in order to prevent breaches of legislation in the ruling of the Higher Commercial Court. YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT ANNEXES INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER BELGRADE, March 3, 2000 - The Yugoslav Government yesterday put independent daily Vecernje novosti under the control of state media company Borba. Justifying the decision the Federal Government stated that the move had come after a Belgrade court ruled that the state was the majority owner of Vecernje novosti. Novosti's board of management today accused the Yugoslav Government of breaching the company's legal right to lodge an appeal within eight days by "passing sentence without waiting for the court" in that it had annexed Vecernje novosti and put it under the control of Borba. Novosti's press release said that the board, meeting in an emergency session, had expressed its absolute disagreement with the decision, claiming that someone had "obviously deceived the Yugoslav Government". The government's decision was described as a rash and incomprehensible move which had effectively abolished the independence of Novosti. _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list Nettime-bold@nettime.org http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold