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STINA News Agency Split, Croatia

SAFAX News Agency Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

CROSS-BORDER PROJECT

EDUCATIONAL - INFORMATIVE NEWS SERVICE FOR MINORITY RIGHTS AND INTER-ETHNIC RELATIONS

Kurzfassung deutsch: STINA/SAFAX - Nachrichtendienst für die Rechte von Minderheiten und zwischen-ethnische Beziehungen in Kroatien und Bosnien-Herzegowina

I Approach to problem

The culture of respect for minority rights and, in general, political, social ,cultural, economical and other interactions between ethnic minorities and majorities in the ex-Yugoslav states is almost completely non-existent.

Those issues still have "war" or "post-war" status or are just part of a necessary and (often only proclaimed) law regulative which is basically influenced by international demands and pressure.

Problems of minorities and their life in majority environment here mostly mean necessary (minimal) attempt to protect their physical integrity and legal basic rights which, in practice, very often don't function (or are systematically obstructed). By ideological manipulation of their cultural and political functions, minorities are thus reduced and used just a formal facade of democracy, necessary for communication with the international community.

War events in ex-Yugoslav states rendered this issue more pressing and burdened it with war traumas. Minority issues in those states almost exclusively mean return of refugees and their inevitable protection. There is also an ideological manipulation of the so-called coexistence as something that must be temporarily accepted due to international pressure. On the other hand, war traumas become almost impenetrable barrier to any kind of productive dialogue and attempt of productive organisation of mutual life and interaction of minorities and majorities.

In practice, there are situations of a kind of "apartheid" and ghetto, which is almost equally lethal for majority as it is for minority, since a society is not able to function nor fully develop. Total social, political, economical and cultural communication on the level of local communities or wider regions is completely cut off. That causes society relations to completely stagnate and produces elements of destroyed and invalid society which cannot be oriented towards general benefit and progress.

As the refugee return process is developing, these pathological elements could in fact strengthen even more. In any case, they remain key obstacle to more successful return of refugees and their integration into society. There are substantial reasons to doubt that greater return of refugees will, of itself, "destroy" such attitudes. "Strengthening" of minorities by refugee return will primarily increase tensions, strengthen barriers and will eventually, in the next phase, lead to their definite departure and ethnic cleansing of certain areas, not because of immediate pressure of war, but due to impossibility of communication between isolated and ignored ethnic groups that practice no culture of mutual coexistence.

An attempt to help and render secure return of refugees, if it is not only a declaration of good intentions "which failed to succeed", must also be accompanied by multi-level and long-term education about these issues. One of important contributions for that cause is also systematic media coverage of minority issues, since now they are either ignored or completely avoided or, very often, such media coverage was used in other direction – to strengthen ideology proclaiming mutual coexistence impossible and justifying the war ethnic cleansing.

II Project aim

The aim of the project is to initiate systematic and competent informing of the public, primarily in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, about position, rights and importance of minorities, about values and meaning of inter-ethnic coexistence, inter-ethnic tolerance and intertwining and about models of organisation inter-ethnic coexistence, ways of functioning between minorities and majorities, fulfilling their rights and benefit which can society can gain from harmonic relationships between majorities and minorities.

Systematic coverage of these issues will help to, one step a time, overthrow prejudices created by war and ideological and political manipulations. Developing political culture of minority issues and their relationships with majorities will be a contribution to overall democratisation of a society. Without developed culture of relationship between minorities and majorities there is no true democracy of Western type.

Systematic informing about political culture of minority issues and their relationships with majorities will be a special help also to all the people who "in the field" try to harmonise these relationships: ranging from the functioning of a local government, organisation of school systems, protection and development of national cultures and identities to complex issues of ties with mother nation in the neighbouring countries, inter-ethnic co-operation as a factor of total stabilisation and social development.

This mutual Croatian - Bosnian project takes into account all interdependence between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project will also take into account expected positive political and overall change of relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as supposed democratic changes in these two countries. At the same time, it will incite co-operation on information level between two news agencies which is in accordance with regional co-operation and ideas of the Stability Pact.

III Content and realisation of the project

STINA and SAFAX news agencies will start informative-educational news services which would cover the following subjects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia which would be realised in several forms:

a) weekly news service of news items and articles

b) trimonthly brochure with dossiers, analyses and comparative examples

c) periodically special radio shows to be used by local radio stations and other audio users

Ad a - Weekly news service of news items and articles will provide all the relevant and current information regarding:

• state of minority rights
• harming minority rights
• procedures of protection of minority rights
• announcements of legal changes
• political attitudes regarding minority rights
• news related to return of refugees, realisation of their rights, functioning of inter-ethnic relationships, etc.

Ad b - trimonthly brochure providing dossiers, analyses and comparative examples will have: expert analyses of individual groups of problems (for example, organisation of school systems in multi-ethnic communities, protection and development of cultural traditions and national identities, language, religion, role of NGOs, protection of special (discriminatory) rights, securing political representation, economical development and job policy, relationships with mother states, role and organisation of localgovernments, role and acts of central authorities, etc.)

These subjects will be presented via dossiers – analyses containing genesis of the problem, relevant information for better understanding of certain problems - for example comparative world standards in their solution and methods of their implementation.

Ad c - Periodically radio shows to be broadcast on local radio stations to popularise these issues and make them familiar to public. These shows will paint a certain problem taken from real life and ways it manifests in some communities (for example school system, language, political representation, etc.) Competent experts will comment on the core of the problem and point out how it could be solved.

Duration of the project is 12 months. During that time, we will produce:

-         52 weekly news services (each containing 15-20 items)

-         4 brochures

-         24 radio shows (12 from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia each)

All contents will be also available on a special mutual STINA and SAFAX web page, in their complete or digest version.

Users: media, public institutions, NGOs, local government, international organisations active in B-H and Croatia, etc.

In realisation of this project STINA will also use the help and consultations of European Centre for War, Peace, and the News Media (ECWPNM) - London, UK

IV. Information about  STINA and SAFAX

a) STINA news agency

STINA, founded in 1991, is an independent media agency located in Split, Croatia. STINA is founded with a goal to help reconnect the broken lines of communication in the informational system in the region of former Yugoslavia and with objective reporting challenge media abuse used in conflicts in the regions of former Yugoslavia.

STINA is already a well known and respected independent agency in Croatia (STINA is the only independent news agency in Croatia, the other is the state agency HINA ), which momentarily collaborates with almost 100 media: in Croatia, with independent media in other states from the regions of former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Hercegovinia, Slovenia, Macedonia, SRJ-Srbia, Montenegro, Kosovo), with independent media from Eastern and Central Europe and ex Soviet Union (Romania,Bulgaria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary,Poland, Russia, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus,Azerbaijan, Armenia,Georgia, Kyrgystan) and certain media in the west (USA, Austria, Switzerland, Germany).

STINA has the strongest international cooperation of all media in Croatia.

STINAs headquarter is based in Split.

STINA has a correspondence and collaboration net in Croatia, Bosnia and hercegovina and other regions of former Yugoslavia, Central and eastern Europe. This collaboration net consists of about 50 coworkers.

STINA has a daily service in the croatian language that covers most significant occurences in Croatia and events and processes in parts of Bosnia and Hercegovina (mostly Federation of BiH).

STINA also emmits analysis, comments, interviews, reports for the independent media users in the regions of former Yugoslavia.

STINA has a weekly service in English language for the Eastern and Central Europe (Network of Independent Journalists) which provides independent media in this region with analitic articles about political, ecomic, social, ethnic and other problems and processes of postotalitarian societies in transition.

STINA also has strong cooperation with radio stations Free Europe, DW, WDR, BBC, Sweedish radio ect.

STINAs total production is more than 700 items a month (news, articles, comments, reportings, interviews, etc..).

STINA also realizes special projects like news information service for refugees (special radio shows, newsletters, etc.), special information items related to elections (in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina), analysis of the media situation in Croatia, etc.

Together with its partner, STINA is realizing several new projects like economy news service, educational-information service for inter-ethnic relations and minority rights and special phono news service for the local radio stations.

b) SAFAX news agency

SAFAX is news agency realised by Media plan Sarajevo. It started working in 1994. It is specialised in issues of media development, transition of developing countries, human rights and civil society. Main project: bi-weekly internet service News about media. The agency broadcast news service Our chances for the refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina. SAFAX has its own phono service for producing radio news and shows and is co-operating with many local radio stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. SAFAX editor-in-chief is Radenko Udovicic.

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