Yugoslav Independent Press: Media Related Headlines, 1999

Media Related Headlines, 1999

Media Related Headlines, 1999

On December 30 Vranjske Novine published a new issue of the paper, although its current account has been blocked by the authorities for non-payment of the court imposed fines.
"Given that since representatives from the international community came to Kosovo and Metohija, the newsroom of Jedinstvo has been moved from Pristina to several other locations, the paper's jubilee had to be marked in an appropriate way," the director and editor-in-chief of Novo (New) Jedinstvo, Nikola Saric, said. At a ceremony held in the premises of the Journalists' Association of Serbia to mark Jedinstvo's 55th anniversary, he said that the paper marked its jubilee with mixed feelings of sorrow - as the paper and its readership had been expelled from their seats and homes - and pride in the fact that Serb language had not gone extinct in Kosovo and Metohija. "Novo Jedinstvo has reporters in every Serb enclave in Kosovo and Metohija, while the paper, now a weekly, reaches each Serb village in Kosmet and 20 towns throughout Serbia," Saric said.(Borba, December 28)
On December 28 the authorities initiated bankruptcy procedure against ABC Grafika, the publisher of Glas Javnosti.
On December 22, the Yugoslav Army Nis Army Corps sued the weekly Vranjanske Novine, from the city of Vranje in the south of Serbia, for publishing a part of the Serbian Committee for Human Rights report alleging that the human rights violations in the south of Serbia, during and after the NATO aggression against FRY were responsible for the emigration of ethnic Albanians from this area to Kosovo. The Army's suit alleged that the publications of the mentioned article "incited ethnic and religious intolerance". The paper was fined 800,000 dinars ($80,000). Its owner, Vukasin Obradovic stated that the paper cannot pay the fine and is threatened by closure.(Beta)
On December 18, Police toook into custody a number of people selling Banja Luka magazine Reporter in the southern Serbian city Vranje. Around 10 a.m. the Police summoned owners of a number of news-stands and street vendors for questioning in order to find out about their sources of supply of the paper Reporter and then instructed them to brought to the police all the copies of the Banjaluka weekly they had in their possession. Reporter vendors suggest that the reason for confiscating the paper is a serial written by a Belgrade publicist Slavoljub Djukic under the title "The End of the Serbian Fairy Tale". At the same time, photocopies of Djukic's books on the Milosevic family appeared on bookstands in the city center. The books were sold under the slogan "Read them today, since they may be banned tomorrow". Similar events toook place in Pancevo, Mladenovac and other towns and cities in Serbia. (Danas, Beta)
On December 16, the officers of the Serbian Revenue Service once again confiscated the property of ABC Grafika printing shop valued at about two million dinars. On Saturday, December 11, the Serbian Revenue Service also seized the property of ABC Grafika printing shop as a part of enforced collection of 37 fines exceeding the value of three million dinars, imposed on the shop by the Belgrade magistrates for printing the Alliance for Changes bulletin "Promene" [Changes].
After having his article "Dangerous Hug" published in the issue No. 2553 of NIN, journalist Slobodan Jovanovic was fired from his post of an editor in the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids Publishing Department. NIN's unofficial sources say that Mr. Jovanovic was expeled from the Socialist Party of Serbia for the same reason.(NIN)
On December 14, the authorities unblocked the current account of Glas Javnosti after supposedly discovering that the daily does not owe any taxes or fines. However, the authorities took 100,000 dinars of the account 'as an advance payment for future fines". A day later, the account was again blocked, while the authorities demanded a payment of another 150,000 dinars.(Glas Javnosti)
After paying the 360,000 dinars fine, Danas appealed to its readers and business partners for help. The paper stated that the daily managed to "survive" owing to the solidarity of readers, friends, business partners and vendors and that this would also be necessary in future in view of the announced new charges which would additionally endanger the survival of the paper. He mentioned that Danas was also assisted by the Assembly of Novi Sad, and Belgrade municipalities of Cukarica and Vracar. (Beta)
On December 13, the authorities halted the deliveries of newsprint paper to ABC Grafika, the printworks owned by Glas Javnosti. Since the account of the company had been blocked by the authorities, the printworks was unable to pay in time for the newsprint paper to Matroz company, the only, state-owned supplier of newsprint in FR Yugoslavia.
On December 9, the authorities blocked the current account of Glas Javnosti, claiming that the paper owes more than 4,000,000 dinars for unspecified retroactively charged taxes and fines. With this fine the total punishment assessed to Glas Javnosti by the authorities amounts to 7,000,000 dinars [$700,000; roughly equivalent to $14,000,000 in the US, based on the comparison of average income levels in the USA and FR Yugoslavia]
On December 9, Danas, Blic and Studio B TV were fined based on charges filed by high officials of the Serb Radical Party Vojislav Seselj (deputy prime minister of the federal Yugoslav government) and Aleksandar Vucic (Serbian Information Minister). The media were sued for printing or broadcasting the accusations of the Serb Renewal Movement that the authorities, including SRS officials, organized and executed the assasination attempt against its leader Vuk Draskovic. Danas was fined 360,000 dinars [$36,000; average salary in FR Yugoslavia before the NATO attack was $1,000 per year]. Blic was fined 310,000 dinars, and Studio B TV 300,000, all based on the same charges. Media representatives insisted in vain that they cannot be punished for publishing party releases. Immediately, Seselj and Vucic sued Danas again, this time for publishing the statement by the EU representative Michael Graham that humanitarian assistance meant for refugees and the displaced persons was used for the payment of public servants in the Zemun municipality, controled by SRS.
BK TV information program has been substantially reduced as of December 5 due to large production costs, confirmed the BK TV. The discontinued programs include the first and third "Telefakt" newscasts as well as brief news "Naslovi" previously broadcast on the hour. Due to the changed program concept it is expected that the people working on the "Telefakt" and "Naslovi" will be assigned other jobs, but also that some of them, mostly part-timers, will be laid off.(Beta, December 7)
The theft of Radio Kontakt car, visibly marked by "press" plates was, on Wednesday, December 1, was followed by the theft of completely new, still unpacked broadcasting equipment donated to the station. Had the equipment not been stolen the radio would have been audible by two thirds of Kosovo population. The equipment is worth 15 thousand US dollars and the staff makes every effort to continue broadcasting the program on regular basis. We are the only multi-ethnic desk, both in terms of our staff and editorial concept. Here, we have Albanians, Gorans, Serbs, Turks, Croats, and Muslims working together. Since after all the threats, assaults and robberies, we can only expect attacks on our lives, we will be forced to discontinue broadcasting, unless the representatives of the international community provide security to all our staff, ends the open letter of Radio Kontakt editor in chief Zvonko Tarle.(Glas Javnosti, December 2)
On 12/1 multiethnic Radio "Kontakt" in Pristina had its broadcasting equipment stolen and, consequently, had to stop its broadcasts.
The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has announced that it will demand from the international authorities in Kosovo to secure normal working conditions to Pristina radio station "Kontakt" and to provide security to its employees. ANEM states that the work of that station, a member of the association, has been obstructed "incessantly and systematically". In the last ten days a car belonging to the station has been stolen and one of its journalists has received verbal threats. "The new launch of Radio 'Kontakt', as a multiethnic medium which broadcasts programs in Albanian, Serb and Turkish languages, has been frequently obstructed and sabotaged by the ethnic Albanian majority in the province," continues the statement. ANEM also states that Radio 'Kontakt' has had its phone line and electricity cut. (11/30, Radio B292)
In the night between Friday and Saturday unknown perpetrators broke into the premises of the weekly Odgovor (Response) on the eight floor of the building in Nemanjina St. 4. The burglars took the computer, the fax machine, photographic camera, transistor radio, the paper's archives stored in the computer and various clothing items valued at 2.500 German marks. Odgovor's editor-in-chief, Zvonko Tarle, stated that he believed that theft was the motive for the burglary.(Glas Javnosti)
According to a poll conducted by the Representative office of the American Public Research Institute BBS Gallup International in Pristina, Koha Ditore is the best read paper in Albanian language among Kosovo Albanians. About 59.1 per cent of respondents stated they read Koha Ditore. Second rated Albanian language daily is Rilindja with a readership of 36.6 per cent of respondents. The dailies Kosova Sot and Bota Sot follow. The smallest readership is that of dailies Dardania and Dukagjini. Regarding the electronic media, Kosovo Albanians prefer to listen to Deutsche Welle, which is ranked better than the local Radio 21, broadcasting in the Albanian language, while the best rated TV station was TV Tirana.(Beta)
On November 26, BK TV, station owned by Karic brothers, announced that it was discontinuing its news programs. The move was interpreted as Bogoljub Karic's attempt to distance itself from the Serbian authorities without bringing into question his business interests in the country.
On November 25, United Yugoslav Left, party led by Slobodan Milosevic's wife Mira Markovic, issued a proclamation calling for "the politicization of the public information sphere on the patriotic basis" and "the decontamination" of the journalist profession. The proclamation was condemned by independent media as another attack on the freedom of press in Serbia.
On November 23, Nedeljni Telegraf was fined 160,000 dinars. The director of the Yugoslav Shipping Company (JRB), Dusan Stupar sued Nedeljni Telegraf for publishing the article entitled "Why Has JRB, a Company of National Significance and a Formerly Leading One in the Danube Area, Fallen into Ruin?" in its November 10 issue. Stupar claimed that the article had violated his honor and dignity, as well as his business and personal integrity.(Beta)
On November 23 The management of the Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) decided to deny TV Kursumlija the right to broadcast via the Samokovo repeater, in spite of the fact that this local station had been using the repeater for four years with federal telecommunications inspector's permission. Actually, just one third of Kursumlija is able to watch the local station. The director of TV Kursumlija, Slavko Savic, believes that the denial was caused by upcoming elections. Namely, his station, being the only member of the Association of Independent Electronic Media in the south of Serbia airs "TV Mreza" and the "Video Nedeljnik" programs, and hosts opposition leaders.
After the KFOR arrival in Kosovo and Metohija a number of radio stations stopped operating, starting with Radio Pristina, followed by other stations which broadcast programs in the Serb language, namely Korona and N. Thanks to a group of amateurs a month ago a 5-watt station Radio Zum came on air in Laplje Selo. Preoce has a 40-watt radio station broadcasting music around the clock, while there is also a 150-watt station in Pristina. It is expected that a TV station with program in the Serb language will soon become operational in Gracanica.(LJ.S., Glas Javnosti, November 22)
On November 18, The Supreme Court of Serbia confirmed the three-month imprisonment suspended for one year sentence to Sefket Krcic. Krcic was sentenced because of "publicly stated opinion regarding Slobodan Milosevic and his policy, expressed in articles published in Sandzak magazine in 1992 and 1993.(Radio B292)
On November 16, ABC Grafika received another fine, of 70,000 dinars, while on November 17, the Police took Slavoljub Kacarevic, the director of ABC Grafika, for a questioning. On the same day, the Police interrogated Ceda Jovanovic, editor of the bulletin "Promene" demanding to be given names the persons who had created and distributed the Alliance's bulletin.
On November 11, Vojislav Seselj, the Serbian deputy Prime Minister, accused glas Javnosti and BETA of being "fascist media".
On November 10, ABC Grafika, the print works run by the same company that publishes daily Glas Javnosti, was fined another 800,000 dinars for printing the bulletin of the Alliance for Changes, "Promene". So far, ABC Grafika has been fined by 3,039,000 dinars in this case [roughly $300,000; average salary in FR Yugoslavia before the war with NATO was $1,000 a year].
On November 8, Rajko Rajo Popovic, sued dailies Danas and Vecernje Novosti for carrying on November 2 a FoNet new agency item which claimed that Mr. Popovic had appeared in court (this he claimed was not true). These charges were dismissed on November 9. Since October 20, 1998, when the Serbian Information Law was passed, this is the second case that a charge against a medium has been dismissed. On both occasions Rajko Popovic was the suer.
Although on November 5, the authorities unblocked the accounts of the daily Danas, they have previously withdrawn twice the amount of the fine that Danas was supposed to pay. As of November 10, the money has not been returned to the account.
On 11/4/99 Serbian authorities blocked the accounts of Danas daily, claiming that the paper hasn't paid the fine imposed after the suit by deputy prime minister Vojislav Seselj. The accounts were unblocked a day later.
On Monday, November 1, the independent VK radio station from Kikinda went off the air. Between June 1997 and June 1999, the authorities have confiscated six transmitters and other equipment from Radio VK and Radio Senta, owned by Zoran Milesevic. The only remaining transmitter gave in a few days ago and the station is trying to raise funds to purchase new equipment.
On October 28, ABC Grafika, the company that prints Glas Javnosti and other independent publications was fined 1.5 million dinars for printing the bulletin Promene of the opposition Alliance for Changes. Ceda Jovanovic, the Alliance official in charge of the bulletin Promene was fined 360,000 dinars.
On October 26, The Dan Graf Company, published of Danas, was fined 280,000 dinars in the case brought by Serbian deputy prime minister Vojslav Seselj. Seselj claimed that the paper has erroneously claimed that he had stated that all Montenegrins would be expelled from Serbia or made to wear yellow arm bands if Montnegro seceeds. The paper claimed that it was quoting Montenegrin official Kilibarda. However, that was not clearly stated in the article. The paper will pay the fine.