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IWPR & MEDIA PLAN
MONITORING REPORT
19 February 1997, vol II / No 9
THE B&H MEDIA FORTNIGHT IN REVIEW: 3-16
FEBRUARY
Both the warlike noises accompanying the run-up to the
delivery of the Brcko arbitration verdict on 14 February and the
actual shooting in Mostar on 10 February have made the Dayton
peace treaty look once more like a mere scrap of paper.
Politicians and the media - as if their hands were tied and their
minds closed - were again to be seen rising up in defence of
their respective and sacred "national" interests. These
were moments not best suited for demonstrating the pluralism of
the media.
In this number we concentrate on:
A QUESTION for the editors-in-chief of Oslobodenje, Dnevni
avaz, Vecernje novine, Glas srpski and Nezavisne novine: Freedom
of movement for information has yet to be established in Bosnia
& Hercegovina. Daily newspapers do not cross the inter-entity
boundary line between Republika Srpska and the Federation
B&H. What, briefly, do you think should be done to permit
your paper to go on sale at newsstands in the other entity?
MONITORING REPORT
Media in the Federation and RS programmed very differently the
timing of their respective propaganda campaigns in defence of
Brcko. Srpska Radio-Television, which had been the first to
embark on a media brawl, was also the first to call it quits. But
did SRT do so voluntarily? Having postponed the start of ist own
offensive, RTV B&H made up for the delay with high pressure
tactics during the few days prior to the arbitration verdict. The
Croat media, meanwhile, were totally preoccupied with events in
Mostar.
Most of the media treated the Brcko arbitration as a vital
national interest and, in fact, as an unfinished part of Bosnia's
war. Those rare voices which suggested that the decision on Brcko
would not seal the fate of B&H generally - or that compromise
was necessary - did not, because of the almost treasonable
connotations of such opinions, reach the ears of a wide public.
Rather, it was the statements of individual national-political
leaders which were to be heard. Contributing, at best, to the
heightening of tensions and foreshadowing, at worst, a total
apocalypse, their words on this as on other fateful occasions
carried more weight than the actions of the institutions in which
they sit.
Monitors registered not one broadcast item in which even a hint
of understanding for the "other side's" requirements
could be found. The media's monolithic approach and crusading
exclusivity fostered an irreconcilable polarization of mass
opinion on the subject and encouraged unreal illusions on both
sides. The message went out to the world that war was likely if
Brcko were to be awarded to the "other" side.
As it happened, the chief arbitrator, Roberts Owen, postponed a
definitive decision to March 1998, prior to which Brcko would
remain in RS under reinforced international supervision,
specifically a deputy to High Representative Carl Bildt. This
announcement produced unexpectedly conciliatory reactions from
leaders on both the Federation and RS sides. The political
temperature returned quickly to normal. In the soporific presence
of US representative John Kornblum, even the greatest tempest
ends up as a storm in a teacup. The editors of the main newscasts
had a hard time adjusting to these sudden climatic changes. Who
had mentioned war in the first place?
THE THREAT OF CHAOS
Two days before the arbitration verdict, blanket coverage of
events in Mostar was usurped by Brcko in TV B&H's
programming. The news from their US-based reporter that "the
Americans are in favour of awarding Brcko to the Serbs" rang
alarm bells ("Dnevnik", 12 February).
"Dnevnik" led the next day with the news that President
Izetbegovic had spoken to US Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright, who had confirmed that "important concessions were
being made to the benefit of the Bosnian side". This message
was supposed to calm those who had heard foreign agency reports
suggesting that Brcko would be awarded to RS: what
"Denvnik"'s presenter termed "various
speculations". Putting these aside, the presenter advised
viewers that, "We need patience and cool heads."
"Dnevnik" also revealed the contents of the heretofore
secret letter sent by Alija Izetbegovic to the Contact Group
countries in January in which he warned that, in the case of an
unjust decision on Brcko, "chaos will emerge and no one will
be able to explain to the Bosnian people yet another
injustice." He, for his part, would withdraw from public
life. There followed a double-edged warning by Federation
Vice-President Ejup Ganic: "Insofar as the world reaches an
undemocratic decision, it will have an undemocratic partner in
Bosnia."
The threat of chaos (that is, of war) was used as a powerful
weapon of psychological deterrence. In a correspondent's report
from the area, however, the worries of the locals were reduced in
the case of one interviewee to caricature: "When I heard
what the decision might be I had to swallow four
aspirins..."
In the event, the announcement of the arbitration verdict was
largely shorn of drama ("Dnevnik", 14 February). All
the important provisions of the decision were read out and the
restrained satisfaction of Bošnjak and Croat politicians was
registered. (No reactions by RS politicians were offered.)
"This is not justice, but it is a step towards
justice", said Izetbegovic. The evil genie had been put back
in his bottle and it seemed that everyone was relieved.
Radio B&H's red-hot microphones also started to cool
following the verdict. Two days later, however, the network's
dissatisfied commentator didn't miss an opportunity to send a
message to displaced persons from Brcko that, despite all its
promises, they should not rely on the international community to
see them safely home: "Although the art of politics lies in
the ability to compromise, where Brcko is in question this should
be ignored."
BRCKO ON RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA
News of the Brcko decision led Croatian Radio Herceg-Bosna's
bulletins on the day. But this interest was short-lived, and was
in any case used to make a cynical connection with the ongoing
crisis in Mostar by editor-presenter Ivan Krištic:
The most immediately relevant of arbitrator Owen's decisions is
that Brcko remains in RS, but under international supervision.
The Muslims, therefore, after their unsuccessful invasion of west
Mostar, have had to swallow yet another bitter draught of
disappointment. The Muslim love for the Americans has been
transformed overnight - and on St Valentine's day at that! - into
hatred. Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic has announced his
resignation, but since he is a man who does not keep his word, he
will not keep it now. His people, however, would be far better
off if he quit, rather than leading them into further defeats,
disappointments and humiliations. ("Dnevnik" at 16.00,
14 February.)
The importance accorded to Brcko faded in the days that followed,
while events surrounding Mostar continued to reverberate.
SATISFACTION AND ANXIETY
A fortnight before the decision on Brcko was due, SRT reduced
markedly its propaganda fire, and began carefully to register all
the political cross-currents buffeting the town. Meanwhile, the
RS civilian and military leaders who had heretofore spoken in
inflammatory terms about Brcko adopted a new lexicon, as did
broadcast editorial commentaries. The conciliatory tone on Srpska
TV's "Novosti" was reflected in the expression of hope
that the decision would not "provoke chaos" (9
February) and in the confident prediction that "there will
be no extremely bad solution" (11 February).
The terms of the actual decision announced in Rome confronted the
editor of "Novosti" with a dilemma, forcing him to
abandon his normal habit of offering snap judgments and
evaluations of events. He headlined the news that "Brcko
remains still in RS", but failed to mention the proposed
international supervisory apparatus. Momcilo Krajišnik's
broadcast comment was equivocal if conciliatory: "There is
no winner and no loser. I believe that economic aid for Brcko
will reduce tensions and eliminate the consequences of war."
Speaking after meeting with Carl Bildt, Biljana Plavšic
noted that "the decision ensures a secure prospect for the
future and that the Serb nation has no cause for worry"
("Novosti", 15 February). SDS President Aleksa Buha
adopted a similar tone: "We can't be too happy, but we
believe that our strategic interest has been satisfied." The
reactions of opposition party leaders varied from satisfaction to
concern that the postponement of Brcko's ultimate disposition
would mean more scope for "blackmail" of RS.
The restrained optimism expressed by RS politicians did not often
receive, however, the visual support that would have been implied
had they actually appeared on camera to deliver their views.
Even without the involvement of the local media, the situation
in Mostar looks like providing ample combustible material for
unproclaimed war. It is in this city, once the most thoroughly
multiethnic in B&H, that the accumulated national and other
grievances of the federal partners have long since smouldered. A
dangerous flare-up took place on 10 February when Croat police
opened fire on a crowd of Bošnjaks seeking to make a Bajram
visit to a cemetery on the west side of the city. One man was
killed and 21 persons were wounded as the Muslims sought to flee
the scene.
THE REACTION OF RTV B&H
TV B&H devoted the bulk of its 10 February newscast to
this event. Making an evocative literary and historical allusion,
"Dnevnik"'s presenter introduced the story with the
words, "For the Honourable Bošnjanin a reception with
nightsticks and gunfire was prepared." This was followed by
a detailed report from the network's correspondent in Mostar,
including footage which clearly showed people being beaten and
the wounded being carried away to the accompaniment of gunfire.
The package included interviews with injured Bošnjaks saying
that "the Croats had treacherously and without cause
attacked them", and that they had "shot them in their
backs" as they fled. Deputy Mayor Safet Orucevic insisted
that the visit had been properly announced and that "this
was a crime without precedent". But neither those
interviewed nor the TV B&H reporter used words offensive to
Croats.
The newscast also carried both a report from Alija Izetbegovic's
press conference (at which he stated that "Croat federal
officials are not involved in this incident, rather the
authorities on the local level") and a statement from
Krešimir Zubak's cabinet in which the Federation President
asked for an enquiry and punishment for those found guilty. The
most forthright reaction came from B&H Co-Premier Haris
Silajdzic, who declared that "it is now clear that the other
side does not want the implementation of the Federation" and
that "all this is helped by some extreme circles from
Croatia".
The next day TV B&H broadcast a new statement by Zubak in
which he alleged that, at the same time as events in Mostar were
unfolding, the real drama was taking place on highway M17
"where a group of Bošnjaks were robbing and maltreating
travellers in vehicles with Herceg-Bosna or Croatian licence
plates" ("Dnevnik", 11 February).
In the days that followed, Mostar surrendered its leading
position in the news to Brcko, though reports of fresh expulsions
of Bošnjak families from west Mostar continued to be aired.
"Dnevnik" devoted little attention on 12 February to
the funeral of the murdered Bošnjak, unlike on past
occasions when actuality coverage of funerals has been used to
score highly emotional points.
Radio B&H, for its part, omitted all mention both of Zubak's
allegations regarding the maltreatment of Croats on the road into
Mostar and of Orucevic's admission that "there had been some
cases of revenge being meted out to Croatian civilians on highway
M17" ("Dnevnik", 12 February).
HELL IS FOR OTHERS
The rising tension and ultimate violence in Mostar dominated
the news budgets of Croatian Radio Herceg-Bosna throughout the
period, starting with a report that "Muslim extremists have
again removed the Croatian flag from the high school
building" (4 February). Three days later it broadcast the
call of Mijo Brajkovic, president of the county government, to
the populace to "keep calm" following the launching of
two grenades from the east side of the city into the west. On 8
February Mayor Ivan Prskalo was heard to denounce sharply
"the latest vandalistic assaults of the Muslim
extremists".
When it came to the "main event" on 10 February, Radio
Herceg-Bosna relied on Croatian police reports for ist
reconstruction of the bloody drama on west Mostar's streets.
"Several hundred Bošnjaks," it reported, "had
set off without prior notice for the western part of the city
where carnival celebrations were in full swing." The point
here was that the crowd was said to be moving "with unknown
intentions". In prevailing circumstances in Mostar,
"unknown intentions" always signify wicked intentions.
Suppressing details about the number of dead and wounded
Bošnjaks, Radio H-B reported in detail about the abuse of
Croats on highway M17. Special attention was devoted to
"interpreting" the meaning of an incident in which
"Muslim extremists stoned the column of cars carrying the
most senior Croat officials" on their way back from a
meeting in Mostar (13 February).
Radio H-B either draws exclusively on Croatian sources or uses
others' reports merely to provide material for critical
commentaries.
SUPPORT FROM HRT
As usual, media support for the Croatian side in Mostar was
offered by Croatian Television. HRTV's "Dnevnik"
headlined the 10 February story as follows: "Several wounded
in a severe disorder in Mostar. A group of some 300 Bošnjaks
was led into west Mostar by Deputy Mayor Safet Orucevic.
Policemen who tried to prevent contact between Orucevic's group
and a nearby carnival procession were wounded." HRT's Mostar
correspondent reported that shooting erupted when a "group
of Muslims attacked Croatian policemen". The police, he
continued, state that "18 Croatian policemen have been
injured." The clip also included Mayor Prskalo's statement
that his deputy bore the principal responsibility for the
incident.
Prskalo was to seen again on "Motrišta"
("Viewpoints") the same evening, describing the
Bošnjaks who had crossed into west Mostar as a
"sabotage group of Muslim extremists". He added that
Bošnjaks had heretofore never made mass visits to graveyards
on the feast of Bajram.
The partial and tendentious reporting of HRT continued the next
day when "Dnevnik" noted that the epilogue to the
events of 10 February in Mostar was 26 Croat victims. This time,
besides ist own correspondent, HRT cited some foreign agency
reports blaming the Croats for the incident. These were followed,
however, by the presenter's lament that "nobody mentions the
recent calls of Orucevic for a 'Bosnian storm' (oluje) against
the Croats."
WHAT SRT HAD TO SAY
Srpska TV reported events in Mostar with rapt attention,
albeit placing them as usual in the "news from abroad"
block on "Novosti". There was no need to blacken the
picture of federal discord. No partiality for either side was
shown, but all their accusations against each other were
ventilated. For the editor of "Novosti" the bloody
festivities in Mostar provided an opportunity to claim that
"Dayton-style freedom of movement exists only in RS."
Proof was offered by the news that, on the same day, a large
crowd of Bošnjaks had, "without any problems
whatsoever, crossed into RS and visited graveyards in Novi
Grad" (10 February).
A comparative analysis of the contents of the main newscasts
of Tuzla-Podrinja Cantonal Television (TV TPK) and TV Tuzla has
shown that a great deal of information on local events is
available on the programmes of both stations. Their editorial
policies, however, are markedly different - a consequence of the
divergent political options they represent. TV Tuzla prefers the
"civic" option and is close to the opposition grouping
of parties, the Associated List (ZL). TV TPK, on the other hand,
is under the direct influence of the ruling SDA.
TV Tuzla gives prominence to events and problems relating to the
city; while TV TPK devotes most of its current affairs coverage
to the activities of the cantonal authorities, taking special
care to cover some of the smaller municipalities such as
Gracanica and Gradacac. Tuzla Mayor Selim Bešlagic appears
on TV TPK only in the form of a still picture and voice over, as
was the case on 4 February when his statement on the burning of
out-of-date medicines in the city power plant was quoted. Two
days later, however, the station ignored the news of his
nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, concluding, presumably,
that this would serve to raise the ratings of a formidable
opponent of the SDA.
On the subject of the conflict between Tuzla University and ist
Mining and Geological Faculty - which was for a time the big
story in the town - TV Tuzla said nothing. TV TPK, on the other
hand, treated the attempt by Sarajevo University to annex this
faculty as an illegal act of "secession". It broadcast
live University Rector Sadik Latifagic's statement attributing
the proposed secession to the "failure of a certain doctoral
dissertation". The views of Faculty Dean Taib Omeragic, the
putative author of the failed dissertation to which Latifagic
alluded, were not, however, accorded similar treatment.
Its closeness to the civilian and military authorities permits TV
TPK occasionally to scoop the media opposition. When the waste
drugs were destroyed, only TV TPK received the cantonal health
ministry's tip off. TV Tuzla had to make do with an inadequate
statement by the mayor, and was left looking journalistically
unprofessional in its coverage of this locally important story (4
February).
The would-be establishment of "Croatian" municipalities
in Tuzla also received divergent treatment on the two stations.
TV Tuzla broadcast the demands of the HDZ and Bešlagic's
negative reaction to them. It then carried a fresh protest from
the HDZ accusing the Tuzla authorities of being
"irreconcilable enemies of the Croatian nation" (11
February). Although TV TPK showed an interest in these polemics,
it did not broadcast the HDZ's second broadside. This may have
been in retaliation for the simultaneous events in Mostar.
On the day of the Brcko arbitration decision, TV Tuzla criticised
cantonal officials for failing to attend - and to lend their
support to - the mass meeting of Brcko refugees in the village of
Rahic. TV TPK, for its part, did not even mention this
unauthorised demonstration. TV Tuzla, however, ignored
Izetbegovic's mid-January letter to the Contact Group, released
on the eve of the arbitration verdict, threatening both chaos and
his own resignation if the Brcko verdict were to go the wrong
way. TV TPK led its evening news with this story on 13 February.
The two stations also differed in their treatment of the
political parties' reactions to the arbitrator's decision. TV TPK
did not cover the response of the locally-based Bosnian Party
(BOS), whereas TV Tuzla ignored the reaction of the SDA.
No doubt the unequal and disparate approaches of the two Tuzla
television stations is sometimes the result of their inadequate
professionalism. But as some of the above examples make clear, it
is also the result of the different political influences to which
their editorial teams are subjected.
The passage of a special law recognising the results of last
November's local elections in Serbia has opened the door to a
democratic resolution of the long-running crisis and put a stop
to the daily marches on the streets of Belgrade. It has not,
however, reduced the odium in which the urban population holds
the electronic media under state and party control. During three
months of opposition and student demonstrations, TV Serbia was
not content simply to apply a coat of make-up to reality. It
insisted, rather, on full-fledged cosmetic (and editorial)
surgery to change the face of that reality. In fact, ist
prodigious fealty to the regime made the network a source of
political aggravation and a direct party to the conflict between
government and opposition.
President Miloševic's demand that a special election law be
passed came the day after police used force on Belgrade's narrow
streets. This encounter between demonstrators and police, during
which more than 60 people were injured and 17 demonstrators
arrested, might never have existed for TV Serbia if the Interior
Ministry had not seen fit to issue a statement on the occasion.
TV Serbia cited no other source, nor did it show any pictures.
(As has become the norm, its cameras were not on the spot.) By
such means - and by suppressing news of negative reactions abroad
- the event was reduced to the dimensions of an insignificant
incident. ("Dnevnik", 4 February).
By contrast, Miloševic's letter demanding a law to sanction
the will of the electorate received enormous play on the main
"Dnevnik" the next evening. The letter was presented as
a major triumph for the president, "who has once again stood
resolutely in defence of state and national interests."
Serbia's political misfortunes, on the other hand, were somehow
meant to appear as if they had accumulated in his absence. In any
case, the recognition of the November poll results was portrayed
more like a generous gift than as a belated and popularly won
victory for the opposition coalition and its allies. TV Serbia
later arranged favourable international reactions in an
attractive bouquet, in which a CNN report noting that
Miloševic was still the most popular personality in Serbia
found a place ("Dnevnik", 7 February).
Miloševic's "initiative" coincided with the total
disappearance of all pictures of the continuing Belgrade marches
from TV Serbia's programmes. For the state network, therefore,
the elimination of the main reason for the demonstrations was
equivalent to their cessation. Attention was directed instead to
cracks said to be appearing in the opposition block as a result
of the partners' rush to divide the spoils. Apparently seeking to
foment discord between the candidates for the two highest
positions in the Belgrade city government, TV Serbia broadcast
several versions of supposed statements by Danica Draškovic
to the effect that she would be a candidate for the presidency of
the city government in order to compensate for Zoran Dindic's
"lack of work experience" ("Dnevnik", 14-15
February).
As the long-contested results of last November's local elections
themselves show, TV Serbia's newscasts have lost their power to
keep the urban population pliant. They now appear to be directed
almost exclusively at the rural audience. It is not for nothing
that the opposition coalition, now in power in all the major
cities, has now set its sights on liberating the media - and
dethroning RTS - before Serbia's presidential elections next
autumn.
MEDIA NEWS IN BRIEF
On 7 February the World Association of Newspapers (FIEJ)
awarded its Golden Pen of Freedom prize for 1997 to three papers
from former Yugoslavia. Cited for their "fearless fight for
the maintenance of journalistic objectivity during war" were
Oslobodenje (Sarajevo), Feral Tribune (Split) and Naša Borba
(Belgrade). The prize will be formally awarded at the 50th FIEJ
Congress in Amsterdam in June. The association represents some
15,000 newspaper publishers from about 90 countries.
A meeting of the Federation Forum in early February agreed to
take several steps to accelerate the strengthening of
governmental institutions in the Federation B&H. A special
media group, charged with resolving outstanding questions
relating to the status and organisation of the electronic media,
was established. Representatives of the OHR and the American
Embassy were to chair the group, which would also comprise three
Bošnjaks and three Croats to be nominated by the Federation
president and vice-president. They were set to commence work on
10 February and to complete it by 10 March. The working group
will suggest measures to support media freedom and the free
exchange of information. (Oslobodenje, 3 February)
Radio Velkaton was described as a pirate radio station by
representatives of OSCE and SFOR at a meeting of political
parties organised by OSCE. Representatives of all parties in
Velika Kladuša were informed that Velkaton operates without
a valid licence because it obtained one originally from the
defunct government of Herceg-Bosna, and not from the legal
Federal authorities. For some time Radio Velkaton broadcast from
Drvar, on the territory of Canton 10. After complaints from the
local authorities, however, it relocated, and now most probably
broadcasts from the neighbouring Republic of Croatia.
(Oslobodenje, 3 February)
Waiting for an answer... No answer to the question posed to
Federation Premier Edem Bicakcic in Monitoring Report No 8 (5
February) had been received as we went to press. Nor have we
received the long-promised reply from B&H Minister Spasoje
Albijanic to our question of 8 January. Any eventual responses
will, however, appear here.
The following media were monitored for this week's report: Srpski
Radio, Srpska TV, Radio BiH, TV BiH, Hrvatski radio HB,
Televizije Tuzlansko-podrinjskog kantona, Televizije Tuzla, TV
Srbije, Hrvatska televizija,
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