The editor of Onogost Standard believed that, since Tudman didn't seem to get offended because of Feral Tribune's similar and frequently more brutal jokes, then , perhaps, neither would Bulatovic, Kontic and others.
The editor of Borske Novine inquired with the colleagues from Niksic and was reassured that they hadn't had any problems and that no one had been offended because of the photomontage. He believed that, if Montenegrin honor hadn't been offended (and their sensitivity is famous), there should be no reason for anyone in Serbia to be offended.
"Yes, I was in two minds about that page," Radulovic stated for Vreme, "but not because I didn't want to antagonize the authorities; more because of the necessity to maintain a certain tone in the publication. Then I thought that it was a summer and people liked to relax, had enough of heavy politics; Bor was dead at the time... I didn't believe that anyone would be offended. I sent the issue, as I always do, to the office of the public prosecutor and the issue was at his desk before seven o'clock in the morning."
RAID: At two o'clock that afternoon three persons appeared in the Borske Novine office: two in civilian clothes and one in uniform. "They confiscated seventy copies of the paper, everything we had in the office. I had many more copies at home but they didn't have a search warrant," continued Radulovic. "We were lucky that the public prosecutor hesitated; he didn't see a reason to ban the issue. However, he had been pressured by Dusko Radivojevic, a member of the county council of the Socialist Party of Serbia [SPS, ruling party in Serbia and in the federal parliament]. By the time of the raid the paper was almost sold out. They confiscated several hundred copies from kiosks and the plate used for printing of the incriminated page from the printing works." Miroslav was given two certificates about "the temporarily confiscated objects (70 copies of Borske Novine and one copy of Onogost) because of a suspicion that a crime" of ridiculing the president of Serbia "has been committed." Since the only employee of the paper is Duda Radulovic, Miroslav's wife, police took her in for an interrogation. "They behaved appropriately; they wanted to know whether I as the owner of the paper also edit the paper. I wanted to protect Miroslav so I said that I was responsible for everything. We have been receiving calls from friends and readers who want to congratulate us on this move. After all, on the front page of that issue there was a photo of naked swimmers at the Borsko lake beach. So far nobody has found it necessary to protest because of that photo."
This is it: controversial photomontage
REASONS: Borske Novine is a private fortnightly paper; their circulation is approximately 2,000 copies and it is the only independent media outlet in the Bor municipality, which has about 60,000 inhabitants. Miroslav Radulovic believes that the authorities were simply waiting for a good excuse, since the paper has been writing about a lot of issues they must have found unpalatable. "My opinion is that a group of donkeys led by a lion is more useful than a group of lions led by a donkey. While Borcani lead a hard life, the authorities have confiscated Tito's villa in Dubasnica; that location is now a private hunting grounds for officials and Milosevic himself is a frequent guest. They hunt mountain goats and deer although more frequently they 'catch' a turkey or a lamb. Mother nature gives and father uses," complained Radulovic. However it is known that nature is a mother to some and a step-mother to others. All together, Milosevic, Tudman, Kontic, Lilic, Bulatovic, Jovanovic, Seselj, and especially Radoman Bozovic, shouldn't feel hurt. Anyway, the pictures don't show the most interesting parts, and in any case it is obvious that their heads were planted on bodies of strong and muscular men who lead a healthy life. Maybe the above mentioned individuals weren't angry after all, but actually flattered, while the eager protectors of public morality hurried to save the honor of highest officials.
While Radulovic is awaiting the court's decision many local papers have decided to solidarize with Borske Novine. Svetlost from Kragujevac [central Serbia], Novi Pancevac [from Pancevo near Belgrade], Smederevac [from Smederevo] and Vranjske Novine [from Vranje, southern Serbia] have announced that they would , in spite of a possible ban, also publish in the future issues the photomontage with the "stenograph".
