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The Network of Independent Journalists for Central and Eastern Europe -
Weekly service Issue No. 38 - August 31 , 1997.

Contents:

1. Macedonia: ETHNIC TENSIONS THICKENING
2. Moldavia: BATTLE FOR CHURCH MONOPOLY
3. Russia: ONE CHAIR FOR THE ALTAR AND THE THRONE
4. Bosnia and Hercegovina: ELECTION MANIPULATION BY MEDIA
5. Special addition: PRESENTATION OF TRANSITIONS' Article Reprint Syndicate.

Bosnia and Hercegovina: ELECTION MANIPULATION BY MEDIA

by Zoran Udovicic

Sarajevo, August- At the beginning of this month Serbian Radio-Television (support quarters of Radovan Karadjic who is wanted for war crimes in Bosnia at the International court in the Hague) reported a text which said: "Near danger from poisonous materils dumped from airplanes has become routine.. An onslought of different bugs, crawlers, and some types of mosquitos, whioch survive in our regions even in winter in great cold can not be recalled." This is just one of many propaganda moves by this TV station before the elections in B-H in mid September. Spreading fear from the internaional community "which will definately enslave the serbian nation" and the Muslimsfrom the neighboring B_H entity, which will "force all the Serbs into the mosques if a united Bosnia is created", is a tested method of agitation by the rulling Serbian Democratic party, which is, even after his isolation by the international community, still under the influence of Radovan Karadjic. The population in the Serb Republic(B-H is after the Dayton Accord a state with two entities- Serb Republic and B-H federation) "faces" an attack by poisonous mosquitos, radiation, and infected water since 1995, when Nato aviation bombed the Serb military positions and forced them to abide by the peace accord. Peasants in one village near Pale are not drinking water from a fresh water well almost two years because the authorities have told them that they are contaminated. Radio Brcko, from the city under the international arbitrage, attacked Nato with these words: "Al Capone and his boys and the war dogs (thinking of the soldiers of multinational forces in B-H- SFOR) continue with the international plot which comes from the masonic lodges. To relize their intentions the boys from Nato need even the bombs reinforced with uranium". Media election tampering is presently the biggest danger for fair and democratic elections in Bosnia. All three political parties of all three nations are well aware of this (Bosniak-Muslims, Croats, Serbs) who hold powere in their own teritories, as are the weak opositions who find their support in the international community, and as are media which are in the service of their political patrons. The results of last years general elections , where the national partie dominated, and who are leaders an instigators of armed and political conflicts in Bosnia, are a consequence of distrust and fear left over from the time of war. National parties heated up their supporters, or whole nations, that they face danger from the other nations and thus achieved total homogenization of their nations in principle: one nation, one faith, one ideology, one party, one leader, one army. In accordance with that developed the concept of media belonging to one nation and one party, so the media became the main pilar of realizing political goals by the rulling parties. In this "business" the Serbian media seem best at their job who as their enemy point out the international community. Not much more democratic are the Croatian media controled by the rulling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) whose suport base is in southwestern part of B-H (Hercegovina). They frustrate their people with threats, if they dont vote for HDZ, the Croats will fall under the boot of the Muslims or they will vanish from these regions. Although in parts of Bosnia, controled by Boshnjak authorities, the media situation is better (in Sarajevo and Tuzla there is anumber of independent media) the rulling party of Boshnjaks SDA does not miss the chance, to in the name of national interest and pariotisam, discipline media under their control. It has a certain influence on the state RTV , although, recently th editing staff "disobeys" because the journalists have not received their salari for months. Much larger influence is on local radio and Tv stations where often party leaders are in the position of editor of media. International community or OSCE(organization for european security nd collaboration), which enforces election rules and oversees election processes in B-H has spent enourmous amounts of money to prepare on location media to follow the elections unbiously. Just on educating the journlists as spnt to million dollars. Huge resources were given for commercials on radio, tv and newspapers, and over 3 million dolars was given as support to independent and alternative media which had the job of breaking the totalitarian media situation in some parts of B-H. Established was the Open TV Net (OTN) with the goal of bridging communication barriers and securing a free flow of informations in the entire BH area. Just for this projectthe international communit spent 12 million dollars. Still, state media houses who are mutualy opposed (RTV B-H from Sarajevo,RTV from the Serb Republic and a network of TV stations tied into the Croatian RTV from Zagreb) have a decisive influence on potential voters. OSCE has the mandate to forbid work of any RTV station which oposes the dayton agreement or spreads hatred or calls for war. Such a measure OSCE almost took against the Serbian TV from Pale which labeled the international community as "dogs of war". Still, outside of pressures on the Pale leadership and public warnings, such a decision was not made. However, the leadership of HDZ was punished for misusing local programing of a local TV station in Mostar for its political goals (they removed a few candidates from the elections list. And the TV station had to three days consequitevely report this "judgment" by the international community.

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