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Kosovo:
GOOD NIGHT PRISHTINA WHEREVER YOU ARE
Since some time ago, people in Prishtina can listen to music
24 hours a day on FM. We are not referring to Radio Prishtina or
its program, but we are referring to Radio Corona - a private
radio that has started with its experimental program. It is not
strange if you hear a taxi driver commenting how "the music
from this radio is not bad at all". And this is not the only
radio station broadcasting its music from the "Press
Palace". Bregu i diellit (the Sunny Hill) has also gotten
its private radio station. Therefore, Prishtina is now a town
with two private radio stations playing music exclusively. In
normal circumstances, it is nothing unexpected for a capital or a
town inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people. But, if we
recall that the Serbian government has established absolute
control over the media, especially the electronic media, then
this detail is very indicative. With the close-down of Prishtina
Radio-television in 1990 as well as the only Albanian daily
"Rilindja", everything was placed under police
surveillance, so none of the influential media would be allowed
to function normally, even by chance. Naturally, a media so easy
to control by production and distribution is the press, thus, the
Serbian regime has created a valve by allowing the publication of
the daily "BUJKU". However, so far, the Serbian
government has not allowed the functioning of any electronic
media on the territory of Kosova. The reasons for such action are
clear: the electronic media is controlled very difficultly and
these are media of broad influence and - don’t cost a thing
to the consumers. In 1994, the Serbian government which had
allowed 8 frequencies in what it considers to be the territory of
Serbia, had not foreseen any for Kosova. This went not only for
Albanians, but for Serbs too. Simply, it was valid for the
territory of Kosova. So, what happened in the meantime? How come
two radio-stations started broadcasting their experimental
programs? We addressed the Secretary for Information of the
Serbian government in Prishtina, Bosko Drobnjak. He told us that
"he had no idea" about the radio-stations. He also
stated that the "frequencies permits are given by the
Ministry for Information in Belgrade as well as the Ministry for
Communications and Transport, therefore we should ask these two
organs about the issue concerned". The owner of the
radio-station called Corona, otherwise known as "Nesa, from
the 3T enterprise" said that, so far, "this radio-
station has obtained only the technical documents and is still in
the experimental phase of its work". In Corona’s
program conception, politics and information are excluded, and
they will remain only within the frame of amusement and will
concentrate on sports, entertainment and music. Radio Corona
broadcasts only in Serbian, while the other station which is
still not consolidated and is very hard to find on the radio
device, plans to broadcast also in Albanian. Even this radio
station is a joint Albanian-Serb property. Therefore, the day
when we will listen to programs and broadcasts in Albanians is
not far. But, many unclear things remain. What will happen with
Prishtina Radio-Television. According to data circulating in
Prishtina, one of the Albanian businessmen is negotiating with
official TV to rent some broadcasting space for entertainment
program. It seems that there is nothing concretely. However,
after the Rugova-Milosevic agreement about the return of Albanian
students to school, the initiation of an agreement about the
media doesn’t seem far either. The offices of the Serbian
Ministry of Information are full of applications filed by
Albanians to obtain frequencies for private radio and TV
stations. What will be the reply of the Ministry remains to be
seen, for we didn’t manage to get any replies from this
ministry or its corresponding departments. But, the day when
Albanians will stop listening to uncontrolled information in
Albanians seems to depend on a broader solution of the matter of
information and the status of ownership of the Prishtina Radio-
television and its frequencies. Till then, "Good night
Prishtina, wherever you are".
by ASTRIT SALIHU / Prishtina KOHA#117 25 September 1996
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