Interview with Serbian Assistant Information Minister Miljkan Karlicic by Aleksandra Mikata.
Objections had been voiced even earlier about the editorial policies of some media. Why did the government decide to act only now?
The decree was passed at a time of NATO military threats against our country. It is provisional and will be in force until the described situation lasts. As far as the fifth column in our media is concerned, it has been active for the past several years, and we have the legal means, other than the decree, and adequate mechanisms of action by the competent authorities to deal with it. The criminal offenses committed by some media fall under other legal acts, from the Penal Law, that deal with situations when false reports are disseminated, libel and slander, the instigation of intolerance among citizens, the undermining of our country's constitutional order, and everything that represents quasi-sensationalism and is even below the level of the yellow press.
In which countries have similar decrees been introduced?
Let us look back a few years to the time of the Western Alliance's invasion of Iraq. At the time, a very strict censorship of the US and, in general, Western public opinion was introduced, with a strictly fixed timetable, well-balanced and selected news stories, and the barring of some journalists. In our case, it is not a matter of censorship, but of something else. The decree is legally founded on the Constitution -- the state is entitled to self-defense. The decree has only synchronized the existing legal mechanisms, imparted an additional impetus, and envisaged the mechanism of prior warning for those who serve the interests of psychological-propaganda warfare. We are talking about those who clear the way for bombs with what they print. Let me stress that what is involved is a ban of the re-broadcasting and reprinting of programs and articles from the foreign media that are against the interests of our state, that sow fear, panic and defeatism, and that reflect negatively on the readiness of the citizens to defend the country. The decree applies to all media, regardless of ownership and organizational status. However, we must make a difference in the case of the state-founded media, which I can commend for their patriotism and high degree of professionalism.
The decree bans the re-broadcasting of foreign programs, but does the ban also apply to the Serbian media that spread defeatism?
As far as broadcasters are concerned, the ban applies to the re-transmission of foreign programs that are against the interests of our country and that have a psychological-propaganda impact on the readiness of people to defend their country. As far as the press goes, the decree also applies to the reprinting of texts that have the same psychological-propaganda effect.
Have you reproached some media so far?
Yes. We have warned some media, which I do not wish to name. They have disgraced every single legal, moral, and professional principle. Still, I hope that they will turn out to be fair to the state and citizens and will not serve so much those who are conspiring against us.
How many times will you warn those newspapers before the Ministry takes concrete steps?
The decree is quite clear. The government and the competent ministry must implement it consistently. The delivery of prior warning is envisaged. If those same newspapers continue the same practice, then the Ministry must carry out the decision.
Some media, which call themselves "independent," are saying that the decree will remain in effect permanently. Is that so?
The decree was passed in the time of NATO threats of military strikes. It is something quite else that some media have gotten used to systematically pursuing psychological-propaganda activities in our country. These media have been acting against the interests of this state and its citizens by means of half-truths for several years. I would like to ask them whether anyone expected Washington to transmit Hanoi programs at the time of the Vietnam War or whether CNN transmitted Baghdad TV while the Western Alliance's invasion of Iraq was under way?
Freedoms
"Our country is a champion in basketball, in the standard of university students, and in the freedom of the press," Miljkan Karlicic said.
"However, rights and freedoms stop where they start undermining the freedoms and rights of others. The freedom of the press does no mean anarchy, the abuse of rights, and misinformation. We can confirm precisely the extent of the freedom of the press in our country with the exact number of the registered media. We have even gone to the extreme of letting the fifth column and foreign power-centers inundate our media space, take up a great deal of space on the pages of our press, and misinform our citizens by disregarding the truth, serving half-truths, and presenting selective information. Serbia has 3,000 newspapers and 5,000 radio and television stations thanks to a highly liberal procedure for obtaining work permits.
Give me an example of a banned media, but do not take into account those that have usurped frequencies or the means of work.