The "achievements" of the Serbia’s regime in this year are marked with two things: the war in Kosov@ on one side, and brutal elimination of democratic strongholds within Serbia itself –independent media and universities - on the other one. Did Milosevic and Serbia’s regime put these two issues together by coincidence? Or it is about "to be or not to be" – defence of the pure ruling against those who represent the biggest threat to it?

by Nena Skopljanac, Medienhilfe Ex-Jugoslawien

The starting shot was given by publishing the Open Bid for radio frequencies and TV channels in mid February. Unprecise and uncompleted criteria grounded in politics and not in legacy, collision between the related laws on the federal and the republic levels, non-existence of some needed laws, contradictions to the Constitution and international charts that Yugoslavia signed – all this created a fruitful ground for numerous misuses and arbitrary decisions that violated all democratic standards and even the county’s Constitution. Instead of bringing "the law and order" into the "chaotic field of telecommunications" (which was the official explanation), the Federal Ministry of Telecommunication used the Bid to launch the campaign against the independent electronic media. The frequencies were mostly granted to stations whose programme orientation and editorial policy is either supportive to the ruling political party coalition or to those who broadcast only entertainment and commercials. The ones to suffer the most were affiliates of ANEM – Association of Independent Electronic Media in FRY, founded and chaired by Belgrade Radio B92. Although they all submitted identically completed applications, only three of them were granted licenses. At present, 11 out of 18 TV and 16 out of 33 radio stations still are not given frequencies and channels. All applications for Kosov@, which were also filed through ANEM, were denied licenses: Radio & TV Koha Ditore, Radio & TV 21 and Radio Kontakt. During and after finish of the Bid, three independent electronic media were banned: TV Pirot, Radio Kontakt and Radio City.

Since the war in Kosov@ broke out, the independent media were particular target of the regime. Providing objective information, instead of the propaganda spread through state owned or controlled media, was especially harmful for the authorities. Almost the first reports in March were labelled as being unpatriotic and against the national interests. The editors-in-chief of the ndependent dailies "Nasa Borba", "Danas", "Blic" and "Dnevni Telegraf", as well as of the weekly "Vreme", were called for informative talks. The reason – while reporting on events in Drenica they used expressions "massacre of civilians". According to the authorities, that was pure misinforming of the public, as in Kosov@ only "legal measures of the state against terrorists" were applied. Fortunately, all finished with these informative talks and no court charges were brought. Not that time.

Being exposed to the open danger of the military intervention by NATO in October, but resolute to preserve their rule and remove any responsibility for the developments from themselves, the Serbian authorities launched a new wave of brutal settlements against the media out of their control. Hysterical verbal labelling them as "foreign mercenaries", "traitors", "spies", "fifth column" and "quislings" was done by many top-officials of the ruling party- coalition. The open threats with physical extermination and public calls for a lynch – like "Maybe we can’t shoot down each NATO aircraft... but we can grab those agents who are at hand" - were formulated form the highest level – on the sessions of the Federal and Serbian Parliament. Although the state of emergency was not introduced, the Serbian Government unconstitutionally brought "Decree on Special Measures in Circumstances of NATO’s Threats with Military Attacks against Our Country", which was used to ban any independent media they arbitrarily evaluated that had "fomented fear, panic and defeatism.. negatively affected the readiness of the populace to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of FR Yugoslavia and ridiculed the efforts of the Government of Serbia at carrying out the special measures in circumstances of threats with military attacks against our country". Just within a few days two radio stations (Radio Senta and Radio Index) and three dailies ("Danas", "Dnevni Telegraf. and "Nasa Borba") were banned.

On October 20, the new Law on Information was passed in the Parliament of Serbia. Through urgent procedure. The proposal was neither given to parliamentary parties on discussion, nor was it reviewed in the corresponding parliamentary commission. The journalist associations, both pro-regime and the independent, were not asked for opinion on the proposed text. What contains this "top secret" of the ruling black-red/fascist-communist coalition?

The messages with "propaganda content" are prohibited. In no article it is defined what all as propaganda is meant. Arbitrary decisions of the authorities are enabled in a full extent. One of the key stones of the professional reporting – truth of given information – is completely deformed. In cases of quoting someone’s publicly given statement, journalists and editors are to be charged if they contain some false facts, and not a person who said it. The court procedure in both cases presumes guilt, and is not carried our through regular courts, but through prosecutor’s procedure. The prosecution does not have to bring proves for charges, but journalists and editors must prove their innocence. And to manage to do it within 24 hours. The punishments are ranging from extremely high payments till bans. No imprisonment?! Very foxy move of the regime, counting on not so strong international reactions if the most severe measure is not applied. And, unfortunately, the calculation seems to be valid.

The first victim of the new law – the weekly "Evropljanin" – was totally (journalist, editor-in-chief, director, and the company issuing it) charged with 330,000 SFr. What was the "guilt"? Members of the Patriotic League of Belgrade (one of numerous pro-regime phantom organisations, serving as a proof for democratic society which has many free organised "civic" groups, but often not having membership larger than a "president" and a few others forming the "main board") felt offended by the editorial. First, hundreds of thousands of young educated people did not leave Serbia because they were forced (to avoid fighting in the wars, to leave the country not offering any prospective for decent life), but because they were not enough patriots and traitors. Second, it is a lie that the unemployment rate in Serbia is 40%, although the journalist quoted the published analysis of the Economic Institute. Third, the photo of Adem Jasari, the commander of UCK killed in spring, was published and in the subtitle, it was not written "so called" before UCK. The case of the daily "Dnevni Telegraf" a few day afterwards was even more absurd. The Women’s Association of FRY claimed that the published ad for the student organisation "Otpor" (Resistance) called for violent overturn of the constitutional order. Four students members of this organisation had previously been jailed on the same charges, after they tried to paint their logo – squeezed first – on a wall in Belgrade. The paper was fined with 160,000 SFr.

The independent media are left only two choices. To accept the new rules, impose self-censorship and thus loose their credibility as free media. Or to fight back the regime. They chose the second option. A large scale of self-defence and solidarity activities is being built up.

The prestige lawyers company Cavington & Burling was engaged to do evaluation of the Law. The results: the Law is "a blatantly unconstitutional exercise in media censorship, intimidation and punishment... The Law is an extreme and illegal departure from the standards established by Serbian and Yugoslav Constitutions and from the international norms with which European media laws must comply."

The signing of the petition to abolish the Law was started. The signing forms are regularly printed in all independent dailies and weeklies, jingles and spots are broadcast on the independent radio and TV stations, mostly those within ANEM. According to Serbian Constitution, 15,000 of valid signatures of those with voting right is needed to start the parliamentary procedure for abolishing some law. The ruling coalition has enough big majority in the parliament not to accept it. Still, only that such procedure must be carried out would strengthen democratic forces in the country.

Numerous meetings of editors-in-chief, press-conferences and public discussions are taking place. Strategies to animate international and to mobilise local public are searched for. Everybody informs its audience about the crackdown performed against others; legal advice assistance is established; printing facilities, pages or minutes are offered to those who were banned...

ANEM’s President and Radio B92’s editor-in-chief, Veran Matic, writes statements, appeals and calls on alerts on a daily basis and sends them to a long list of recipients: from organisations for protection of freedom of expression and of human rights in general to IFJ, from foreign embassies to high political officials (e.g. Richard Hollbrook, Gjeremek, Jiri Dinsbir and Havier Solana) and bodies (Contact group, OSCE, EU, UN e.g.).

Radio B92 organised the rock-concert named "For the Free Air and Life without Pressure", where around 5,000 people came. The concert was organised as part of the B92 and ANEM action "Silence does not Become Serbia" to celebrate the 50t^h anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights but also to protest at the media situation in Serbia.