IWPR & MEDIA PLAN

MONITORING REPORT

23 October 1996: Vol II/ No 1

MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY

Media Plan (Sarajevo) and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR, London) announce today the resumption of media monitoring in Bosnia & Hercegovina. The first phase of monitoring, from June through September, aimed to provide the public with information on the observance by the media of both the regulations and journalistic standards promulgated by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for the 1996 B&H elections. A final report on this work will appear shortly. The new phase of monitoring, which will last for at least a year, will centre on the theme media and democracy.

WHY MONITORING?

The conditions for elections set by the international community were not fulfilled. The local elections have been postponed. The newly elected common institutions have been obstructed from the outset. B&H is entering a new and highly fraught period in its existence. Ordinary people are now asking themselves: will Bosnia endure, and will there be peace, bread, freedom and democracy?

The media will both reflect and impact upon the climate of public life as conditions change for better or worse. We will offer our readers information and assessments according to one criterion: how are the media assisting in the establishment of democracy in B&H?

WHAT WILL BE MONITORED?

• * How influential media depict the implementation of the Dayton treaty;
• * The extent to which the media are contributing to the strengthening of peace and the restoration of trust among individuals and peoples;
• * The ways in which the media encourage cooperation between the two entities and cover events throughout B&H;
• * The relationships of the media with government and opposition and, generally, the media's regard for diversity of opinion.
• * The treatment of inter-ethnic relations and minority groups;
• * The coverage of particularly contentious themes in both news reports and commentaries;
• * The degree to which the media have freed themselves of propagandistic styles and invidious vocabularies;
• * The adoption by the media of professional standards.

HOW WILL MONITORING WORK?

The new series of monitoring will be more selective than its precedessor. Only the most influential media will be included. The electronic media which cover all or most of B&H (including broadcasters from Croatia and Serbia) will continue to be monitored. The focus will also continue to be on each broadcaster's main daily newscast. Important local media and large-circulation papers will be sampled intermittently, when particular themes are to be examined.

Our correspondents and monitors will also report on other media events and phenomena.

Monitoring Report will be issued fortnightly. As in the past, it will be distributed free by hand, post, fax and e-mail. We will endeavour to publish the local-language edition on Wednesday evenings, and the English edition on Thursday mornings. When necessary, we will distribute urgent news releases via the agency SAFAX.

IN PLACE OF A CONCLUSION

IWPR and Media Plan are independent organisations. Their monitoring work is also independent of the international bodies charged with implementing the peace agreement in B&H, as well as of the authorities in both entities. Our bulletins will not be the only source of news and views about what the B&H media are writing and saying which will be available to readers. Our monitors and analysts are experienced domestic and foreign journalists or media experts. They will use the same methods and uphold the same professional standards as do competent journalists generally. The difference lies in the fact that the media write and speak about anything worth noting in the surrounding world, while we will write about the behaviour of the media.

We invite your cooperation.

Project Director

FORTNIGHTLY B&H MEDIA REVIEW: 7-20 OCTOBER

Changes for the better in B&H come so slowly, after so many delays and dashed expectations, that they are sometimes hardly noticed at all. The elections for the cantonal, entity and state authorities are over, but they have not brought the expected relief.

Serb Radio Television (SRT) undertook the thankless task of trying to convince its audience - and, insofar as possible, the international community as well - that the refusal of the newly elected Serb representatives to attend their inaugural session in Sarajevo's National Theatre on 5 October was justified. On the television broadcast "Vidik" (17 October) the gathering was mocked as a performance of the play "How to Break the Devil's Leg" - which "some in the world, accustomed to Sarajevo's fog, also called the inaugural meeting of the B&H House of Representatives". ("Waiting for Godot" was not mentioned.) The RS politicians, meanwhile, continued every day to justify their non-appearance in Sarajevo on security grounds alone. Srpska TV offered a somewhat "wider" explanation during the broadcast of "And what do you say?" on 7 October. Among the other reasons adduced on this occasion were the text of the solemn declaration, the supposed misuse of the term "reintegration" and the inappropriately mixed connotations of a theatrical venue.

The dignity of the theatre as the temple of spirit was rescued several days later by Yehudi Menuhin. The concert conducted by the famous violinist, which was transmitted live to Europe by TV B&H, was attended by almost all of those who had been present at previous and unsuccessful gathering. This time, however, the sponsor was the German foreign minister, Klaus Kinkel. But this time, too, Momcilo Krajisnik was missing.

RTV B&H did not pay much attention to the delays in forming the common governmental institutions. These were presented largely through reports on the activities of Carl Bildt and his officials. Particular stress was laid on their and other international functionaries' complaints about and threats of sanctions against the Serb side. On the other hand, it was noticeable that TV B&H had abandoned its former policy of ignoring important statements by Serb representatives.

The inaugural meeting of the RS National Assembly, held (by coincidence?!) in Banja Luka's National Theatre on 19 October received exceptional coverage, not only on SRT, but also on RTV B&H. With reporters from Sarajevo on the spot, this was also a first rate media event.

The signature of the "Paris declaration" normalising relations between B&H and SR Yugoslavia - which was an important part of the Dayton agreement - was taken most seriously by Serbian Television. B&H was treated as an independent state and Alija Izetbegovic as its legitimate representative. For several evenings Belgrade's "Dnevnik" gave prominence, too, to reports about the establishment of a regular Sarajevo-Belgrade coach service.

That event was given far bigger play than the opening session of the RS National Assembly. Not only did TV Serbia fail to refer to the convocation of this body as "historic", but it offered only a short and picture-less report. In media terms, it might as well not have happened!

The twice-delayed local elections remain an unresolved problem. It seems that no one in B&H (in either entity) nor in the world at large wants them to take place. Apparently, even the Americans were easily reconciled to their postponement. Only the HDZ in Mostar continues to insist that they be held - or, rather, that they should be repeated.

THIS BULLETIN WILL FOCUS ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:

• *The constitution of common governmental institutions
• *The normalisation of relations between B&H and SR Yugoslavia
• *The return of refugees to the zone of separation
• *The meeting of the RS National Assembly
• *The reporting of opposition parties' activities

RADIO B&H: THE HAND OF RECONCILIATION

The main shortcoming of Radio B&H is that its sources of information - unlike its signal - are restricted mainly to areas under the control of the B&H Army. Marginal improvements in physical communications have not appreciably altered this information deficit.

In several stories aired during the period, "Dnevnik" expressed itself in favour of goodwill, peace-making and understanding. Even in otherwise irate reports about the maltreatment of Bosnjaks returning to the village Jusici, a place was found for appeals to the refugees to refrain from hasty steps (11 October). Similarly, signs that the Serb side could become more cooperative were noted in reports expressing disapproval of their blockade of common institutions. In answer to the problematic rhetorical question posed by General Artif Dudakovic at the funeral of Bosnjaks exhumed in the vicinity of Sanski Most - "Can Serbs live again in this area after everything they did?" - "Dnevnik"'s reporter noted on 13 October that they could, and that already about a hundred Serb families have returned to the region. Thus the Dayton agreement was being carried out here, although, "sadly, only in one direction."

No such gloss, however, was offered on the statement by Federal Interior Minister Avdo Hebib about the significance of the restored tram line between Sarajevo and Ilidza on 15 October: "We still have to accomplish the reintegration of our excursion site in Pale. When we do that, we will have completed the reunification of the city."

Several reports showed Radio B&H's positive attitude towards both the establishment of inter-entity communications and cooperation with Yugoslavia. The resumption of coach traffic between Belgrade and Sarajevo was welcomed, albeit with criticism of the procedural complications created by the Serbian authorities and a marked coolness regarding the denials from Belgrade that any political sub-text should be read into the bus service.

Some supposedly exclusive reports from BH Press were not confirmed by other media. For example, on 17 October, "Dnevnik" carried the following: "Today we have learned from sources inside the Yugoslav embassy in Zagreb that the phone lines were hot last night between Belgrade and Pale. We hear that Milosevic rang Krajisnik in the middle of the night to tell him that his current behaviour is actually forcing Milosevic to oust him."

On the other hand, reports appearing in other media about reprimands and sanctions addressed to the B&H Army by foreign functionaries were curtailed to the point of incomprehensibility.

TELEVISION B&H: GETTING WARMER

Contrary to the expectations of analysts acquainted with the post-election experience of other ex-Yugoslav republics, monitoring of the main evening news and current affairs programmes since the elections has not shown that TV B&H has adopted a more supine attitude towards the ruling SDA, nor that the latter has sought as yet to exert enhanced control. TV B&H maintains a relatively balanced approach to party political affairs and does not favour any one party.

However, support for the authorities and official points of view is evident in some stories. And that means support for the Bosnjak authorities who consist almost exclusively of SDA members. In fact, compared to the pre-election period, TV B&H's "Dnevnik" has acquired a more explicitly Bosnjak tone. This is not manifested by inciting hatred or distrust of the other two nations (as is, for example, the practice on SRT), but there are "lapses". Disputable or disparaging statements come not from the lips of TV B&H presenters or journalists, but are included in sound bites from speeches judged newsworthy. Thus, for example, on 17 October "Dnevnik" carried a report from the funeral of 25 Bosnjaks exhumed in Ahatovici at which an Islamic cleric, Ismet Effendi Spahic, remarked: "This we dare not forget. Remember well! The snake that shows its head must be crushed at once." In this context it was abundantly clear that the snakes are the Serbs. (Interestingly, this statement found no place in the Sarajevo press.)

The biggest stories on "Dnevnik" in the period under review (both in terms of air time and placement) concerned the excavations of mass graves and the return of Bosnjaks to Jusici. Reports about exhumations are usually accompanied by pictures of decaying corpses, often with the camera zooming on skulls and bones. Statements by survivors are inserted in these horrible stories, the witnesses offering the names of the alleged perpetrators.

Items on the resettlement of Jusici have been introduced on several occasions by remarks such as "Bosnjaks have shown the whole world...", "in this way, too, Bosnjaks are defending Bosnia" and "Bosnjaks will go back whenever". There then follow pictures of weeping women or old men, who repeat that they have no place else to go and that they want to return to their homes. (This was the standard formula for most reports.) On the other hand, the correspondent who reported on the search by the Serb police of houses in Dugi Dio (another village in the RS portion of the ZOS to which Bosnjaks have returned) did not mention that arms were found in the house of the commune's president.

The two highest ranking Serb officials, Momcilo Krajisnik and Biljana Plavsic, are still being referred to without reference to their official functions. (Krajisnik, of course, had not yet sworn his oath of office, but Plavsic was officially president of RS.) The term "Republika Srpska" has now, however, supplanted the once-dominant "Serb entity" in TV B&H's lexicon.

The first session of the RS National Assembly received exceptional coverage on "Dnevnik". Almost all of the first half of the newscast was dedicated to it. Introducing the story, the presenter stressed that 14 Bosnjaks and one Croat had walked out of the hall because of the prominent religious element in the oath, but that they had later resumed their places. The presenter also noted that four Bosnjaks had remained in the theatre, but did not explain why. (It was left to the politically acute to deduce that the representatives of the Associated List and the Party for B&H had stayed put.) The report from Banja Luka which followed was very detailed and professional. It was the work of two experienced journalists, Raska Denjalic and Mladen Paunovic. Their report also mentioned the fact that journalists from the Federation, like those from abroad, had been obliged to pay DM 10 for their accreditation.

This despatch was followed by some vehement editorialising on the part of the editor-presenter. His first comment was: "According to the Serb taste, the smell of incense today flavoured Serb democracy in Bosnia. After ethnically cleansing half of Bosnia, Serb democrats invoked the gospels. That had nothing to do either with God or with justice, but with earthly interests. Besides blasphemy, we were offered today a fable in which there are no other nations or citizens in B&H." Introducing the weather forecast at the programme's end, he noted that "the worsening weather conditions somehow coincided with the conclusion of the sitting of the RS Assembly."

Still, it is apparent that TV B&H is trying to increase the professional level of its reporting. No improvement, however, can be seen in the reports filed by its correspondents from three important cities: Zagreb, New York and Brussels. These reporters - among whom the man in Brussels takes the lead - rarely mention their sources and often say things like the "European Union has decided...", " diplomats say..." and "the entire press is unanimous..." It is often impossible to distinguish between the news or someone's statement, on the one hand, and the reporter's own comment on the other. Such "mixing" seriously impairs the credibility of despatches.

TV SRPSKA: THE EVIL SPIRIT OF REINTEGRATION

Three themes have lately dominated the programmes of TV Srpska: the snags surrounding the participation of RS representatives in the common B&H institutions, the return of Bosnjak refugees to the zone of separation and the inaugural session of the RS National Assembly.

The dilemma over whether to come down from Pale to Sarajevo was opened for audience discussion on the programme "And what do you say?" (7 October). Repeated explanations by Minister Ostojic and MP Bijelica provided the framework. They referred to a series of unfulfilled conditions which justified the no show. Statements by representatives of the international community did not seem as relevant to the editor of the programme. Yet despite being only half-informed, some viewers criticised their representatives' decision. Seven days later, the same programme offered a sequel. This discussion looked for answers to the questions: do we need common symbols for the B&H union and, if so, what kind of symbols? Among many surprising responses from participants, this answer was recorded: "Under the eagle's feet there should be a chequerboard, and behind its tail, a crescent moon."

The spectre of reintegration is haunting Republika Srpska. Biljana Plavsic demonstrated that this a practical - and not just an academic - question on the programme "Svijet izbliza" ("The World Close Up") on 16 October. She complained that foreign emissaries are always invoking the spirit of the Dayton agreement. "We did not sign the spirit, but the text of the Dayton treaty," insisted President Plavsic.

The return of Bosnjaks to their homes in villages inside the zone of separation (Jusici, Mahala, Dugi Dio) did not appear to TV Srpska as a spectre, but as a crude threat to the integrity of RS. The Muslim side was accused of attempting to carry out a silent occupation and cantonalisation of RS. The climax came with the publication of Interior Minister Kijac's letter to IFOR and IPTF. Such strong politicisation of the media effectively obscured the refugees' fears for their lives and fates.

HOW TO LIVE TOGETHER?

TV Srpska accorded the inaugural meeting of the RS National Assembly a place appropriate to an event by which - as Krajisnik had said earlier - "history would be measured". The gathering had a very strong aroma of religious ceremony. That led deputies from Federation-based parties to leave the hall, and to refuse to sign the solemn oath on the Bible. This unsuccessful attempt at "Orthodox proselytisation" was treated by TV Srpska as the only blot on the dignified face of the whole assembly. It provided no opportunity to the "malefactors" to explain their gesture. Others were invited to do this for them. TV Srpska also neglected to report on the demolition work, commenced two days before the session, of the remnants of Banja Luka's Ferhadija mosque complex.

The next day, 20 October, "Novosti" aired a commentary by the journalist M. Pribicevic, who once more denounced the gesture of the "Muslim deputies". At the end of his diatribe, the author addressed a rhetorical question to Michael Steiner: "Did he not now see, based on the behaviour of this group, how unreal it was to insist on a multi-ethnic and integral B&H?"

Other occasions are being used to pose similar questions, even in contexts which can hardly be related logically to the message being sent. An example was the opening the Belgrade-Sarajevo bus line. The media in both cities reported the event extensively. TV Srpska did not consider it newsworthy until Federation Vice President Ejup Ganic declared: "This is yet another warning to Bosnian Serbs." Ganic's statement subsumed the event, and was interpreted as yet another proof that a common life is impossible in B&H.

TV Srpska also looks carefully for supporting arguments on the "other side". "Novosti" records diligently every incident or spark between the federal partners. All accessible media are sourced, including local broadcasters in the Federation's neuralgic zones. By placing such reports in its segment "Iz sveta" ("From the World"), the newscast both alters and reinforces "Dayton Bosnia's" internal frontiers.

A BOOK ABOUT SREBRENICA

By occasionally inviting High Representative Carl Bildt to appear on their programmes, the editors of public television stations in B&H run the risk of being bested by him in direct debate. That may be a price worth paying in return for a new journalistic experience. The general manager of TV Srpska, Ilija Guzina, has now had that experience. He instructed his guest on ?? October that TV Srpska is independent and democratic - and certainly not "Stalinist" - and that he had invited him to appear without consulting the authorities. Bildt's answer was perplexing: "That is possible, but I was informed about my participation in this programme by Madam Plavsic."

Guzina was also keen to find out if Bildt would one day, when he had left office, think and speak differently about the Serbs. The High Representative took this as a cue to reveal his intention to write a book about the fall of Srebrenica - a disaster for which someone must take responsibility: "For until the responsibility for such an event is established, a shadow will remain over many things." In response to his host's categorical assertion that "the side you are accusing is not guilty," Bildt suggested to Guzina that he, as someone who is even better acquainted with these events, should write such a book himself. The book on Srebrenica awaits its writer.

RADIO SRPSKA: ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

Radio Srpska sought to minimise the significance of the RS deputies' failure to show up at the inaugural session of the B&H House of Representatives in Sarajevo. "Dnevnik" on 7 October did not transmit a single item about their boycott. Pressure from the international community ensured, however, that the subject could not be long avoided. In the days that followed, the nonarrival of the RS delegates was explained in sound bites provided by Momcilo Krajisnik, Biljana Plavsic and Dragoljub Mirjanic. They were at one. The others were at fault, but the Bosnjaks above all because they refused to accept any of the six sites suggested by the Serbs for the ceremony.

Radio Srpska did air the views of High Representative Bildt, as well as the positions of the US and German governments. It also noted the comments of some west European newspapers; but quoted most often from Germany's Junge Welt, an obscure paper which supports the division of B&H between Croatia and Serbia, and blames Bosnjaks for obstructing B&H's common institutions.

Radio Srpska's handling of the other big story of the period - the return of displaced persons to the village of Jusici - showed even more clearly the attitude of SRT towards B&H as a common state. "Dnevnik" regarded it as "an unlawful settlement of Muslims on the territory of RS" (9 October), as "an occupation of Republika Srpska," etc. The story recurred in nine successive editions of "Dnevnik". Not only was the programme's stance on the return of refugees to RS totally negative, but the subject offered scope for attacks on IFOR and UNHCR as well.

For Radio Srpska, Bosnia & Hercegovina remains a "former state". Its programmes relentlessly push the line that Serbs, Croats and Muslims cannot live together any more. Support for this thesis from foreigners is often seized upon. Thus Henry Kissinger's suggestion that a referendum be held in both entities - asking the simple question, "Do you want a multi-ethnic state, or are you for some other solution?" - was broadcast by "Dnevnik" on 10 October.

The 19 and 20 October editions of "Dnevnik" were devoted mainly to the convocation of the RS National Assembly. They also showed, however, that the majority of SDS deputies consider RS to be a state. Taking up the presidency of the National Assembly, Dragan Kalinic declared: "On this solemn occasion I beg you not to forget that, thanks to the wisdom and courage of one man (applause follows), the idea of our state, about which we dreamt for centuries, was conceived and realised in the last few years of war, but which would not have been achieved even today had it not been for our best sons, those who still languish in prisons and those who are no longer alive."

One change of practice noticed on this medium is its regular coverage of the activities of opposition parties in RS. "Dnevnik" is now broadcasting reports from party press conferences. It is not yet clear whether this change reflects a modification of editorial policy or OSCE pressure (in anticipation that the local elections would, in fact, take place in November). Of course, the opening to the opposition is greater towards the right than the left; and right-wing party leaders are most often to be heard when they take positions identical to those of the SDS.

The statements of IFOR and IPTF representatives are subjected to plain manipulation. Reports by Radio Srpska journalists of what has been said by the spokesmen of these organisations can differ significantly from what they actually said. This happens most often in regard to events in the Federation, or in order to hush up something for which the Serb side has been said to be responsible.

It is not yet possible to conclude from Radio Srpska's public affairs programmes whether its chief aim is to incite tension in RS or to conceal from its citizens for a further period the provisions of the peace treaty, particularly those which refer to financial matters and the return of refugees and displaced persons. Indeed, the meeting between RS representatives and those of the World and European Banks was denounced for subjecting RS to pressure and blackmail. In the words of Prime Minister Gojko Klickovic, "We will not sign a capitulation."

TELEVISION SERBIA: WITH ONE EYE ONLY

TV Serbia's sudden loss of interest in political events in Bosnia & Hercegovina can be explained in part by the fierce party battle raging at home in the run-up to the imminent federal elections. TV Serbia looks at events in B&H with only one eye peeled. On 15, 17 and 18 October no items from or about B&H made the evening news. On other days there were mainly short reports, without any analyses or commentaries. This dearth of coverage suggests implicitly that matters in B&H are developing towards peace.

However, it would be superficial to conclude that the federal elections are the only reason for the lack of interest in Bosnian affairs. It should be sufficient to recall earlier elections, when everything was very different. In this campaign the Serb national question has been pushed into the background. That is mainly the result of the election strategy pursued by the ruling SPS and its coalition partner, JUL. The SPS has already earned a big dividend for having normalised relations with the ex-Yugoslav republics, including B&H. TV Serbia thus has no intention of allowing the ruling party's balance in the bank to be dissipated by the problems and grievances which animate the brothers across the Drina. All the more so following the victory of SDS - a triumph which is being used as a stick with which to beat the SPS by some of the radical opposition parties in Serbia and is, in any case, hardly an auspicious omen.

As always, where the decisions of Slobodan Milosevic are concerned, TV Serbia highlights the magnitude of the event. Plavsic's and Krajisnik's unhappiness with "Paris declaration" did not oblige TV Serbia in any way, so one can hardly speak of media oversight. But Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic, visiting some Belgrade municipalities, could not help using the cameras present to remind the ungrateful brothers on 10 October that "without us, and our persistence in the quest for peace, there would surely be no RS."

In the days that followed TV Serbia demonstrated its unwillingness to enter into polemics with the Pale leadership. It avoided expressing explicit disapproval of the Serb representatives' failure to attend the opening of the House of Representatives in Sarajevo, despite the fact that the Yugoslav vice president, Nikola Sainovic, had been among the guests in the National Theatre who had turned their heads in vain in the direction of Pale. Any clear expression of censure would, it seemed, carry a very high pre-election risk.

But there are other ways to send messages to the brothers over the Drina. The renewal of the Belgrade-Sarajevo bus line sent such a message. "Dnevnik" spent several days telling its viewers that road transport is by no means unfashionable. On 16 October it broadcast an extensive story about the arrival in Belgrade of the first coach from Sarajevo. The programme makers did not allow the mood to be spoiled by the incident the next day, when six passengers from the Federation were turned back from the border crossing at Sremska Raca after an earlier examination at the Bijeljina police station. "Dnevnik" did not mention this unpleasant sequel to the story.

HRT: A GLANCE AT THE FEDERATION

Croatian Television looks at events in B&H mostly through the lenses of the HDZ. News coverage is mainly restricted to the Federation (politically and geographically), while Republika Srpska commands interest only when there are untoward incidents. Common B&H institutions are considered an obligation of Dayton, and their establishment is seen as the responsibility of the two - or three - ruling nationalist parties. The election results are not regarded as having decisively affected the rights and duties of the victors. This is particularly evident in the cases of Mostar and Sarajevo, where the fulfilment of certain political conditions is being insisted upon if Croats are to accept the application of the results at the polls.

The normalisation of relations between Yugoslavia and B&H did not command any special attention on HRT news programmes. But the statement by Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa and Foreign Minister Mate Granic that "the normalisation of relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia is the key to and pre-condition for stability in the whole region" was repeated several times. Implicitly, Bosnia is relegated to a second rate status. However, on the eve of the meeting in Brussels at which Croatia's admission to the Council of Europe was being discussed, HRT's reporter did not fail to claim that "Croatia played an extremely correct and successful part in the election process in B&H."

MEDIA NEWS IN BRIEF

During September the first issue of Azra, a magazine for women and the family, was launched by Sarajevo's Avaz publishing house. It will appear biweekly.

The editorial office of B&H's oldest weekly, Svijet, has returned to Sarajevo after a long period of work from Ljubljana.

Two week-long journalists' workshops sponsored by the Open Society Fund and the Soros Media Centre took place in Tuzla and Zenica this month.

A BBC School for radio and TV journalism has also opened in Sarajevo. Technical equipment was provided by the Soros Media Centre. Lecturers from the BBC (provided by the UK government's Know-How Fund) will supervise a series of 10-week courses. Nineteen young broadcast journalists are currently attending the school.

The operating licence of the Free Elections Radio Network (better known as FERN) is due to expire in November, when it was envisaged that the local elections would have been held. FERN now intends, however, to seek an extension from the government. FERN, which began broadcasting in mid-July, covers 81 per cent of the territory of the Federation and 66 per cent of RS with its signal.

Interviewed by Dnevni Avaz, High Representative Carl Bildt had this to say about the Open Broadcast Network (OBN, aka TVIN): "As far, for example, as the OBN is concerned, the existence of a TV network independent of the state is absolutely normal in many parts of the world. You can notice in some quarters here that there is still that old longing to control everything, especially the media. I have been surprised by the Bosnian government's determination to control the media. That is unacceptable everywhere in the democratic world." Meanwhile, the government Directorate of Telecommunications has sent a letter to Bildt in regard to TVIN's use of frequencies.

Sarajevo's independent RTV Studio 99 has begun to broadcast from new premises in the Skenderija Centre. A ten-year lease has been signed which envisages various joint projects between Studio 99 and the Centre.

The critically-inclined news magazine Slobodna Bosna celebrated its fifth birthday on 19 October. The fortnightly is among the most widely circulated B&H publications.

On the fourth anniversary of its establishment, the B&H Army's 5 Corps presented an award and plaque to RTV Unsko-Sanski Canton, despite the fact it had only begun broadcasting less than two months ago. Radio Bihac's reporter, Emira Glumac, informed her listeners as follows: "The workers of Radio Bihac are more than a little surprised and offended, although what they said on this score was the spontaneous reaction of people whose contribution during the war was enormous, and who are still today left without any sort of recognition."

In an urgent appeal to the OSCE, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) condemns the attack committed by RS security forces on American TV cameraman Mike Kirsch and calls for more decisive action by OSCE to secure the implementation of the Dayton agreement's provisions on freedom of the press. Kirsch told the CPJ that he was beaten by RS security men who took his camera and confiscated video-cassettes.

A new political newspaper, Knina, has started publication in Banja Luka. Its founder is Miro Mladjenovic. The masthead announces that it is a newspaper of Republika Srpska and Republika Srpska Krajina. The latter, of course, is now effectively defunct.

TV Tuzla's former editor, Jasna Zunic, was appointed editor-in-chief of news programmes at the rival TV TPK Tuzla following TV Tuzla's brief shut-down.

Banja Luka's Nezavisne novine was notified on 10 October by the Glas srpski printshop that "technical reasons" would in future prevent it from printing either the daily or weekly editions of the paper. Although renovation of the print works is the ostensible cause, Glas srpski itself and other pro-SDS publications continue to emerge from the printers. Glas srpski owns the only rotary presses in RS.

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