ANEM'S WEEKLY REPORT ON MEDIA REPRESSION IN SERBIA

APRIL 15 - 21, 2000

Power cut to Studio B transmitter

BELGRADE, April 15, 2000 - About two million regional viewers of Belgrade's Studio B Television have been unable to receive the station's transmissions since early yesterday morning after power was cut to a transmission facility on Mt Kosmaj. Studio B is Serbia's largest independent television station. Director Dragan Kojadinovic told media he had been informed by power authorities that a pole carrying power lines had fallen, cutting power to the transmitter. Kojadinovic denied that any pole had fallen, saying that the power had been cut to prevent people from central Serbia watching today's opposition rally in Belgrade.

Most Belgraders were also unable to receive Studio B broadcasts today because of signal disruption. Many viewers reported that the jamming which has plagued the city television's current affairs programs for months appeared to have intensified today.

"The jamming of Studio B signal has never been more intensive", Kojadinovic told B2-92 yesterday. "Our signal is being jammed from at least twenty locations in and around Belgrade. However, the number of people who've gathered in the main city square and neighbouring streets proves that, despite the jamming of Studio and many other stations, the citizens know very well what's been going on in this country so they've come to participate in this grand political event", Kojadinovic said.

Appeal for abolition of Public Information Act

BELGRADE, April 15, 2000 World Association of Newspapers and World Forum of Editors have appealed to the President of Serbia Milan Milutinovic to revoke fines imposed on weekly Vreme and TV Studio B, reported Beta news agency. In a letter sent to President Milutinovic these organisations called on the Serbian government to repeal the Public Information Act and comply with its international obligations regarding freedom of expression.

Fonet and Danas reporters personae non grata for Federal Justice Minister

BELGRADE, April 15, 2000 Reporters of Fonet news agency and daily Danas were barred from attending the press conference of the federal justice minister Petar Jojic. At the press conference the justice minister spoke of the arrest of the former member of Bosnia-Herzegovina presidency Momcilo Krajisnik. Both Fonet and Danas had been informed by the Federal Information Ministry of Jojic's press conference on Thursday so they requested accreditation for this event. "I suppose the minister demanded that you should be removed from the list", a security guard at the Federation Palace, who refused identify himself, explained to Fonet and Danas reporters. Federal Justice Minister Petar Jojic is a senior official of the Serbian Radical Party.

United film distributors vs. pirates

BELGRADE, April 15, 2000 State controlled TV Politika broadcast a film marathon during the opposition protest rally in Belgrade yesterday. In order to divert attention from the rally, TV Politika broadcast pirate copies of the latest blockbusters such as the latest James Bond film, Oscar winning American Beauty and the last Stanley Kubrick's film Eyes Wide Shut which are being screened at cinemas around Serbia.

The latest James Bond film "The World Is Not Enough" has recently had its Belgrade premiere and is currently being screened in Serbian cinemas. Film distributor Vans owns the copyright for screening this film in Yugoslav cinemas. Vans director Dejan Vrazalic, shocked by this move of the state-controlled TV Politika, said that Yugoslav distributors should meet again to consider possible actions for the protection of their rights.

We remind you that TV Politika broadcast a pirate copy of a Hollywood blockbuster Matrix on March 31. Matrix had its Belgrade premiere yesterday. Distributors reacted to this and demanded that the state protect their rights.

Free media only in free Serbia

BELGRADE, April 15, 2000 Dragutin Rokvic, Secretary General of Independent Association of Serbian Journalists (NUNS) addressed the crowd gathered for the rally of the unified opposition bloc held yesterday in Belgrade. Rokvic emphasised that free media were possible only in free Serbia which was why democratic elections were needed. Rokvic also said that his position on the stage with citizens in front of him and politicians behind symbolically represented the present position of independent journalism in Serbia. "Honourable politicians have qualms of conscience while those with no conscience at all are annoyed by free journalism", added Rokvic.

JOURNALISTS BARRED AS STATE OFFICIALS VISIT COMPANY

SABAC, April 16, 2000 -- Journalists from Radio Free Europe and Belgrade daily Danas were expelled from the grounds of the holding company Zorka in Sabac on Saturday. Senior Serbian state officials were visiting the company's chemical factory at the time. When the journalists demanded an explanation, security guards called two men who identified themselves as Secret Service officers.

Radio Television Serbia later reported that the state officials were visiting Zorka on the occasion of it beginning production of fertilisers and other chemicals. The party included Agriculture Minister Jovan Babovic and the president of the Serbian Parliament, Dragan Tomic.

STOP FOR FREE SERBIA

BELGRADE, April 16, 2000 -- The live Internet coverage of Friday's opposition rally in Belgrade did not begin until 5.00 pm, two hours after the rally began.

Plans had been made for live coverage to be webcast from the premises of G17 Plus, near the rally podium. Fifteen television crews were to have covered the rally from the G17 Plus preemies. However police blocked the entrance to the building several hours before the rally began and barred journalists from entering the building. The FreeSerbia team which was to have produced the webcast was thus prevented from setting up. The technical problems resulting from a hasty change of venue resulted in the coverage beginning late.

STATE MEDIA ON OPPOSITION RALLY

BELGRADE, April 16, 2000 -- State electronic and print media paid scant attention to Friday's opposition rally. Radio Television Serbia political editor Zeljko Avramovic told viewers on Friday evening that the media had initially overestimated the number of people in Republic Square, saying "It took only half an hour for their supporters and casual passers-by to realise that the issue was treason against the country".

Radio Television Politika reported that a rally of NATO supporters had been held in the Belgrade city centre. The daily Politika newspaper carried only a Tanjug editorial saying that the rally had been organised to support NATO and that the US had disavowed the opposition rally because they had no hope that the opposition bloc would succeed in toppling the current government .

Of all state media, only daily Vecernje novosti sent reporters to cover the rally. They subsequently wrote that there were "many differences among the opposition leaders at the rally".

BELGRADE MEDIA AT INSTITUTE FOR PEACE IN WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2000 -- The president of the Association of Independent Electronic Media, Veran Matic, and Belgrade weekly Vreme columnist Stojan Cerovic today briefed US politicians on the current media situation in Serbia at the Institute for Peace in Washington. "There is ever-increasing pressure being applied by the regime on Serbian independent media and I fear that Milosevic may close more media outlets in the months ahead. The pressure is being intensified and is becoming extremely dangerous, so that, in my view, there will be some sort of strong resistance," said Cerovic.

Asked what NGOs and government organisations from the West could do to help independent media in Serbia, Matic proposed that the US appoint an ambassador to what he described as "alternative Serbia".

"I'm afraid that the best you can do is to pay our fines," added Cerovic.

KIKINDA ASSEMBLY TO PAY NEWSPAPER FINE

KIKINDA, April 17, 2000 -- The executive board of Kikinda Municipal Assembly has decided to pay 280,000 dinars in fines imposed on weekly Kikindske novine under the Public Information Act, Board President Dusan Tolicki told Belgrade daily Danas today.

Magistrate Nada Petrov fined Dom omladine, as publisher of Kikindske novine, 150,000 dinars on March 31. Editor-in-chief Zeljko Bodrozic and Dom omladine Director Dusan Francuski were fined 70,000 and 60,000 dinars respectively.

Bodrozic and Francuski have been fined three times previously on charges brought by local Socialist Party of Serbia official Rajko Popovic, who edits a state media network magazine in the Vojvodina town. The fines were also paid from the budget of Kikinda municipality.

INFORMATION MINISTER TAKES MEDIA TO COURT

BELGRADE, April 18, 2000 -- Goran Matic, Federal Information Minister, laid charges under the Public Information Act yesterday against Beta news agency, its editor-in-chief Ljubica Markovic and director Radomir Dakic as well as the founder and publisher of daily Blic, its director, Miodrag Djuricic, and editor-in-chief, Veselin Simonovic. The hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. today before the city magistrate. Matic filed charges over a report about the student movement Otpor action in Sremska Mitrovica carried by Beta news agency and published by Belgrade daily Blic on April 12 under the title "Otpor asks the minister".

The contentious article alleged that Matic was the owner of Sremska Mitrovica Radio M and that Otpor activists carried out an action entitled "Goran Matic, who killed Slavko Curuvija?" in front of Radio M building on April 11 to mark the anniversary of the murder of independent newspaper proprietor Slavko Curuvija. Minister Matic also delivered to the court an entry from the register of the Commercial Court confirming that Radio M had been founded by the Socialist Party of Serbia and stressed that, given his being in the capacity of Federal Information Minister, he was not in charge of pursuing, tracking down, or apprehending criminals or taking any decisions about criminal proceedings".

EIGHTH DAY IN COURT FOR KIKINDSKE NOVINE

KIKINDA, April 18, 2000 -- The weekly Kikindske novine in the Vojvodina town of Kikinda was again in court today facing charges under the Public Information Act. The hearing is the eighth against the paper on charges brought by local state media editor Rajko Popovic. The latest charges in Popovic's campaign against the paper relate to the publication of a statement from the Independent Association of Vojvodina Journalists. The statement, under the title "Stop Rajko Popovic", refers to Popovic as "the biggest tattle-tale". Kikindske novine has been fined a total of almost a million dinars so far on previous charges brought by Popovic.

REPORTERS SANS FRONTIERES APPEAL

BELGRADE, April 18, 2000 -- The organisation for the freedom of press Reporters Sans Frontieres has called on the international community to condemn repression on the media in Serbia and support their resistance, Beta news agency reports.

"Given the proportions of the repression imposed by the Serbian authorities on the opposition media, Reporters Sans Frontieres calls on the representatives of the international community, and the United Nations envoy for human rights in Yugoslavia, Jiri Dienstbier, in particular, to condemn this campaign and do everything in their power to support the resistance of the media under threat", said the organisation.

Rocket attack on Pristina independent radio

PRISTINA, April 18, 2000 -- KFOR troops evacuated staff of Pristina independent broadcaster Radio Kontakt last night after a rocket attack on the building housing the station's premises in the city centre. The attack coincided with a meeting of the staff of Radio Kontakt, the only multiethnic radio station in Kosovo, on the premises at the time. The rocket hit the balcony of an apartment in the building adjacent to the Kontakt premises. The station's editorial team has been placed under heavy protection by KFOR and the premises were sealed. Beta agency reports that two people injured in the blast were admitted to hospital.

NEWS AGENCY FINED

BELGRADE, April 19, 2000 - Independent news agency Beta was yesterday fined a total of 310,000 dinars after being convicted on charges brought by Federal Information Minister Goran Matic. The agency itself was fined 150,000 dinars and Director Radomir Diklic and Editor-in-Chief Ljubica Markovic 80,000 dinars each. Magistrate Radovan Bjelobaba dismissed similar charges by Matic against Belgrade daily Blic, which published the Beta report.

The magistrate heard evidence from Blic Director Miodrag Djuricic and Editor-in-Chief Veselin Simonovic as well as Beta news agency Director Radomir Diklic and Editor-in-Chief Veselin Simonovic in relation to a Beta news item under the title "Otpor asks the minister" carried on April 11 and 12. The plaintiff, Goran Matic, did not appear in the court. Matic alleged that his reputation and honour had been damaged by information published by Beta that he was the owner of Radio M in Sremska Mitrovica and by a report of an Otpor protest under the slogan "Goran Matic, Who Killed Curuvija?" intended to mark the anniversary of the murder of newspaper publisher Slavko Curuvija in Belgrade.

Ljubica Markovic said that the only incorrect information carried by Beta was that Matic was referred to as the owner of Radio M in Sremska Mitrovica. She asserted that the agency would have carried a correction of the news the same day or the next day had Matic reacted promptly and added that the Otpor protest had been organised in front of the Radio M building because Otpor activists and local residents had been convinced that Matic was the owner of this radio station.

COURT SECURITY GUARD ASSAULTS STUDENT PROTESTER

BELGRADE, April 19, 2000 A security guard at the Belgrade Business Court yesterday assaulted a member of the student organisation Otpor in the street outside the court building. Several Otpor activists had earlier displayed a banner reading "Goran Matic, who killed Slavko Curuvija?" in front of the court. Security guards asked the protesters to leave. After they complied, one guard ran from the building into the street and struck the student.

The injured Otpor activist, who has asked to remain anonymous, described this incident for Radio B2-92: "A security guard at the Belgrade Business Court seized our banner. We actually gave him the banner without uttering a single word and he turned to us quite enraged. He slapped me and broke my spectacles. He tried to hit me again, but he couldn't because of the banner he was holding in his hands and a man who came out of the court building to stop him. Then he threatened a cameraman who was shooting the scene that he would catch him and beat the living hell out him. Finally he went back into the court building." This incident was taped by a VIN TV production cameraman and was broadcast by TV Studio B last night. At the scene of this incident Otpor activists sprayed on the pavement "Goran Matic, who killed Slavko Curuvija?".

The court was hearing charges brought by Information Minister Goran Matic against Beta news agency and Belgrade daily Blic. Matic alleges that a story carried by Beta and published by Blic about an Otpor protest had damaged his reputation and honour.

ZVONKO TARLE ON ROCKET ATTACK AGAINST RADIO KONTAKT

PRISTINA, April 19, 2000 Commenting on a rocket attack on April 17 on the building housing Radio Kontakt's premises in central Pristina, the station's owner, Zvonko Tarle, said that if Radio Kontakt had indeed the target then this act had to be interpreted as an attack on the only independent broadcaster without any official backing and protection in Pristina. Two people were injured in the blast which occurred while the staff of Kosovo's only multiethnic radio were meeting in the building.

"I don't think that anyone missed their target. I was in a room with the editorial staff at the moment when the rocket blasted the apartment next door", said Tarle going on to say: "If they closed down our station they wouldn't achieve anything because censored and filtered information programs won't take Kosovo into the future".

The investigation has so far indicated that the rocket was fired from the balcony of the Grand Hotel. Several rockets were found in a vehicle stopped at one of the checkpoints in the city. KFOR troops detained the driver.

ANTENNA FOR RADIO 021

NOVI SAD TV DUGA TO RESUME BROADCASTING

NOVI SAD, April 19, 2000 TV Duga, whose studio and equipment were destroyed in the fire which gutted Novi Sad's Open University building two weeks ago, will resume broadcasting in the next few days from a makeshift studio in the Park Hotel. The station's transmission facilities are located on Mount Fruska Gora and TV Duga representatives have announced that the signal will reach all of Novi Sad.

ANOTHER 200,000 DINAR FINE FOR LOCAL DAILY

KIKINDA, April 20, 2000 Kikindske novine was fined 200,000 dinars yesterday under the Public Information Act after being convicted on charges brought by Rajko Popovic, director of state media company Komuna. The publisher and founder of Kikindske novine, public company Dom omladine was fined 100,000 dinars and Kikindske novine Director Dusan Francuski and Editor-in-Chief Zeljko Bodrozic 50,000 dinars each.

Rajko Popovic sued the newspaper for its having published the press release of the Independent Association of Vojvodina Journalists entitled "Stop Rajko Popovic". This is the fifth consecutive fine imposed on Kikindske novine on charges brought by Rajko Popovic, Director of state media company Komuna. The total amount of fines imposed on Kikindske novine is 1,080,000 dinars.

BETA TO PAY FINE UNDER PROTEST

BELGRADE, April 20, 2000 Beta news agency will pay the 310,000 dinar fine imposed after the company was convicted on charges brought by Federal Information Minister Goran Matic under the Public Information Act. Editor-in-Chief Ljubica Markovic said yesterday that this news agency enjoyed no protection from the state, political parties or the city government which would defend it if the fine was not paid. "Beta has only computers and its staff who would be left without those computers if we chose not to pay the fine", said Ljubica Markovic. She added that Beta would continue to do its job as before even though she did not expect anything good to happen in this election year in which, among other things, more media shutdowns were yet to take place.

GOD WON'T HELP MEDIA: MARKOVIC

UZICE, April 20, 2000 The federal telecommunications minister and spokesman for the Yugoslav United Left, Ivan Markovic, yesterday accused Montenegrin television and Belgrade daily Blic of having fallen into a deep abyss of treason and unprofessionalism.. Markovic, speaking during a visit to Uzice, also said that he was presenting his political view of the media as the secretary of the Yugoslav United Left directorate, but that he would issue licences to any media which met technical requirements even when his personal opinion about them were the worst possible.

"God won't help them preserve a single transmitter. We'll remove every transmitter if the debts haven't been paid and licences granted. The issue is not their editorial policy, but whether they have paid fees and obtained frequency licences. We now have so many inspectors that I could close down three times more media outlets than Serbia and Montenegro actually have at present", said Markovic.

SUPREME COURT GUARDS HARASS BBC TEAM

BELGRADE, April 20, 2000 Supreme Court security guards yesterday detained the president of the Yugoslav Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights, Biljana Kovacevic Vuco, and a BBC television crew for about an hour with the explanation that the crew was not permitted to take film in front of the Supreme Court building. "I was being interviewed by journalist Jackie Rowland and when our interview was over all of us were detained by security guards; they asked for our identity cards and kept insulting us", Biljana Kovacevic Vuco said for Radio B2-92. "We were powerless to do anything while they were harassing us. Even I, as a lawyer, couldn't protect myself and he was insulting me in the worst possible way. After that they released us without having taken either camera or tape or anything else which meant that it was actually permitted to film in front of that building. There is no a sign or anything indicating that it is forbidden to take there so this is an instance of harassment on the part of the Supreme Court security chief", said Biljana Kovacevic Vuco.

YOUTH TARGET GROUP OF WESTERN STRATEGISTS

UZICE, April 20, 2000 A branch of the Patriotic Alliance of Yugoslavia in Uzice accused in its yesterday's press release "western strategists", and particularly George Soros who had established "an American foundation in our country", of organising and financing programs aimed at "changing consciousness, psychology, culture and tradition of our people" through their work with children, youth, women and other sensitive segments of our society.

"American nation without history, origin, culture or tradition, built on Indian graveyards, sucks the blood of the Negroes, Chinese, Mexicans, immigrants and the whole world and it is inflating like a balloon before it bursts", stated Patriotic Alliance in its press release adding that "the U.S. people are expanding their global information systems and financing allegedly independent media to all the corners of the globe instead of fighting for the rights of children, women, dissenters and homeless people in their own country".

"America wants to present and prove a thesis fabricated by the media that freedoms and rights of women, workers and pensioners are being threatened in our country. America uses UNICEF, Women's Centre, WHO (World Health Organisation), Civil Forum, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and other organisations", emphasised the Uzice branch of the Patriotic Alliance of Yugoslavia.

"They tend to forget that there are no Indians in Europe whom they have almost exterminated and placed in reservations", concluded the Patriotic Alliance of Yugoslavia and sent the following message: "Spare our children from your democracy!"

TELECOMMUNICATIONS MINISTER ABOUT UZICE TV 5

UZICE, April 20, 2000 Federal Telecommunications Minister told a press conference in Uzice, after being asked by a journalist of the local TV whether this TV station would be granted a frequency licence and what the future held for this station and its employees, that Uzice TV 5 would not be closed down if it obtained a broadcasting licence, paid 80,152.28 dinars in fees for using TV channel and submitted complete documentation to the ministry.

"You have to abide by the law", said Markovic and stressed that debtors had received at least five warning notes specifying the amount to be paid into the account of the Federal Telecommunications Ministry. Markovic also added that the media outlets became all of sudden more interested in paying their dues after "two or three transmitters had been disabled by telecommunications inspectors".

TV MLADENOVAC RESUMED BROADCASTING

BELGRADE, April 20, 2000 After almost nine months TV Mladenovac, TV Studio B affiliate, resumed broadcasting on channel 59 UHF, said TV Mladenovac director Milos Maslaric. TV Mladenovac signal had been disrupted when federal telecommunications inspectors had confiscated essential parts of broadcasting equipment. Early this year the equipment of both TV Mladenovac and TV Studio B was stolen from their transmission facilities on Mount Kosmaj. New equipment is currently being installed. Channel 59 UHF is already being used to broadcast so that the citizens of Mladenovac will be able to watch their television.

TRIAL OF PUBLIC NEWS COMPANY "SLOBODA" IN PIROT

PIROT, April 20, 2000 Srdjan Mitic, a lawyer representing public information company Sloboda and Director Boban Nikolic, requested yesterday from magistrate Olivera Todorovic that the hearing scheduled for April 21 be held in a hall of the Pirot Municipal Assembly building which could accommodate the members of the public, journalists and defence team of this media outlet. Federal telecommunications inspectors Jovica Plavsic and Slaven Moravcevic previously filed charges in the Pirot Magistrates' Court under Federal Telecommunications Act alleging that the public information company Sloboda and Director Boban Nikolic were operating a local television station without a proper broadcasting licence.

"We will endeavour to prove that the Federal Telecommunications Ministry has not been doing its job properly and in accordance with the existing regulations and that it has not responded for two years to TV Pirot requests to be granted a broadcasting licence. Had they reacted promptly to applications submitted by TV Pirot, this would not have happened in the first place", said Mitic.

TRIAL OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY OFFICIAL

BELGRADE, April 20, 2000 Today's hearing in the Belgrade First Municipal Court of criminal proceedings brought against Democratic Party official Cedomir Jovanovic by the First Municipal Public Prosecutor's Office, acting on a complaint by Deputy Information Minister Radmila Visic, over articles published in the civil protests' bulletin "Promene" (Changes) has been adjourned for May 25 since the witnesses proposed by the defence have not appeared in the courtroom. The defence's witnesses are leaders of the opposition Alliance for Change attending a meeting of opposition parties, NGOs, the Serbian Orthodox Church and representatives of diaspora being held in Athens at the invitation of Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic.. Deputy Information Minister Radmila Visic has failed to appear in the court to give her testimony for the second consecutive time.

Democratic Party announced yesterday that "since there was no proof of Cedomir Jovanovic having written those articles, this process could only be considered a political trial".

HACKERS OF "SERBIAN INTERNET ARMY" REFUTED MINISTER VUCIC'S ACCUSATIONS

BELGRADE, April 20, 2000 After a recent statement of Serbian Information Minister Aleksandar Vucic given at a press conference held on April 15 when he accused the U.S. company Network Solutions of assigning the Serbian Information Ministry Internet domain to "American and Albanian extremists" who allegedly changed the appearance and content of the ministry's Web site, a hackers' group known as the Serbian Internet Army and its self-styled "supreme commander" calling himself "Regent" responded via e-mail distributed to a large number of e-mail addresses claiming that the ministry had staged this whole affair. "Webmasters and other people at the Serbian Information Ministry have created a fake version of their Web site to attract Internet surfers to their Web pages. Stop the lies, long live the truth!", Regent said in his statement distributed via mailing list going on to say that the very fact that documents containing a fake e-mail account of the ministry were being distributed from the Information Ministry's computer actually proved that this affair was staged by the ministry itself".

"Regent" became known to the public after having penetrated the servers of Belgrade daily Blic, Federal Foreign Affairs Ministry and Serbian Information Ministry. "Regent" also falsified and distributed e-mails of Media Centre, Radio B2-92, Democratic Party of Serbia and Social Democratic League of Vojvodina. According to unofficial sources, "Regent" is a minor with initials M.B. attending the secondary school in Sabac. He connects to the Internet via Eunet Yugoslavia ISP. So far no one has pressed charges against him most probably because of the outdated criminal laws which do not cover this area.

DAILY CONTRIBUTES TO AGENCY PUBLIC INFORMATION FINE

BELGRADE, April 21, 2000 Belgrade daily Blic will contribute 100,000 dinars to assist payment of fines totalling 230,000 dinars incurred yesterday by independent news agency Beta. Blic and Beta were both in court yesterday on charges brought by Federal Information Minister Goran Matic who alleged that a story carried by the agency and published by Blic damaged his honour and reputation. Beta was convicted on the charges while those against Blic were dismissed on the grounds that the paper had merely reported the contentious statement. Magistrate Radovan Bjelobaba dropped charges against Blic because this daily had accurately carried the news of Beta news agency.

"If there were a breach of the Public Information Act, we did it together. Beta is a news agency which carries the news and hadn't we published that story the agency wouldn't have been fined. Therefore, in a way, we're accomplices to this act and we've decided to show our solidarity and help them with 100,000 dinars. I know it's not a large amount, but we want to give our support and we'll keep on publishing their stories so that they could be aware of the fact that they could work freely, that there's someone to publish their news. Of course, if they're fined again because of this, we'll assist payment of their fines to show our solidarity", said Blic Editor-in-chief Veselin Simonovic.

NO INFORMATION ON INCURRED DEBTS IN FREQUENCY FEES

BELGRADE, April 21, 2000 Most of 100 members of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) and the Association for Development of Private Radio Diffusion "Spektra" has still not received detailed information from the Federal Telecommunications Ministry on fees for using their temporary frequencies. Milorad Tadic, Co-ordinator of the ANEM Network comprising 34 stations in FR Yugoslavia, said that the majority of those media outlets had not received written notices of their debts in frequency fees from the Federal Telecommunications Ministry which was why the figures of incurred debts were based on assumptions or information obtained in direct contact with the employees of the Telecommunications Ministry. Tadic told Beta news agency that most of the stations had not paid the fees because they did not know "what was the actual amount owed to the Telecommunications Ministry". Tadic also said that the ministry had not responded to the requests of the media outlets that they be granted temporary frequency licences. The stations had applied in a public competition for frequencies announced by the ministry in spring 1998.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO SUE LESKOVAC WEEKLY AND DISTRICT HEAD

LESKOVAC, April 21, 2000 Leskovac branch of the Democratic Party has announced that it will file charges under the Public Information Act against Leskovac weekly Nasa rec as well as criminal charges against the municipal branch of the Socialist Party of Serbia and the head of the Jablanica district Zivojin Stefanovic because of "disseminating false information". President of the local municipal board of the Democratic Party, Milorad Marjanovic, told a press conference that the charges would be brought against weekly Nasa rec under the Public Information Act unless it published a retraction of the Stefanovic's statement about the Leskovac opposition bloc carried in the article entitled "Treacherous Opposition Inadequate for Leskovac".

NEW PREMISES FOR NOVI SAD MEDIA

NOVI SAD, April 21, 2000 Radio 021, Belgrade daily Danas and TV Montenegro, whose premises were destroyed in a fire which gutted the Novi Sad Open University building, have moved into new premises. The executive board of Novi Sad assembly stated in its yesterday's press release that new premises were provided for these three media outlets in co-operation with the Novi Sad public company Poslovni prostor.

COMMEMORATIVE GATHERING OF RTS LABOUR UNIONISTS

BELGRADE, April 21, 2000 Labour Union of Radio Television Serbia (RTS) organised a commemorative gathering to mark the anniversary of the deaths of 16 employees of the state-run television in the bombing of Radio Television Serbia building on April 23 last year. President of RTS labour union Miladin Jaric accused the great powers of murdering the RTS workers. "Creators of the new world order with the U.S. as their leader murdered 16 of our friends", said Jaric. His speech was carried by Radio Television Serbia. However, there was no mention in the RTS report of who of the family members attended the commemorative gathering.

PUBLIC INFORMATION CHARGES AGAINST BELGRADE WEEKLY

KIKINDA, April 21, 2000 Editor-in-Chief of state media company RTS-Komuna and a representative of the Socialist Party of Serbia in the Kikinda municipal assembly, Rajko Rajo Popovic, has sued Belgrade weekly NIN under the Public Information Act over an article entitled "Charges against a Dead Journalist" published on March 30, said yesterday his lawyer Nikola Markov. The charges were also brought against Director Todor Bjelica, Editor-in-Chief Stevan Niksic and the author of the article Ivana Jankovic. The contentious article presented a chronological analysis of several court proceedings and subsequent fines on charges brought by Rajko Popovic under the Public Information Act against local newspaper Kikindske novine. The amount of fines imposed on Kikinda newspaper Kikindske novine totalled 1,080,000 dinars.

LET'S DEFEND MEDIA

BELGRADE, April 21, 2000 The opposition bloc should support the media which refuse to pay the fines imposed under the Public Information Act, said Vladimir Cvetkovic, President of the local board of the Civil Alliance of Serbia at the yesterday's press conference held in Belgrade. Citing the case of Nis daily Niske novine which did not pay the fine imposed under the Public Information Act, Cvetkovic called on other media outlets not to pay Public Information fines. Of course, Cvetkovic said, the opposition parties must invite the citizens to rally in the case of the regime's attempt to confiscate the property of the previously fined media outlets. Cvetkovic went on to say that one of the ways to fight those people enforcing the Public Information Act might be to have posters all over the city with pictures of the people from the judiciary who handed down such rulings. Such campaigns yielded positive results in Nis, Cvetkovic said, given that more than ten magistrates refused to abide by the Public Information Act.

APHORIST REFUSED POLIKA'S AWARD

BELGRADE, April 21, 2000 Belgrade aphorist Aleksandar Novakovic has refused a prize "Vibova nagrada" awarded by state-run daily Politika to the best young aphorist in 1999. "I do appreciate Vib's satire and his contribution to our aphoristic tradition, but I can't accept an award from a media company which has become a symbol of intolerance and hate speech, said Novakovic in his statement carried by Beta news agency.

JOURNALISTS PERSONAE NON GRATA EVEN AT FOOTBALL MATCHES

BELGRADE, April 21, 2000 After several instances of independent media journalists being thrown out of sessions of the parliamentary committees, Belgrade daily Danas reported the first instance of dividing the journalists into "the eligible ones and those who are not" at sporting events. This daily reported that the journalists of state media Politika, Borba and Radio Television Serbia were accommodated in box seats at the stadium by the organiser of the Yugoslav Football Cup semi-final match between Red Star Belgrade and Milicionar held on Wednesday while the reporters of independent dailies Danas, Blic and Glas javnosti were placed behind one of the goals from where "almost a half of the field could not be seen at all".

TELECOMMUNICATIONS MINISTRY DISMISSED APPEALS

BELGRADE, April 21, 2000 Federal Telecommunications Ministry has dismissed appeals lodged by the Cultural Centre Pozega, the founder of local Radio Pozega, and public information company Sloboda from Pirot, the founder of TV Pirot, against the federal telecommunications inspectors' orders that these media outlets cease broadcasting and that their broadcasting equipment be confiscated.

We remind you that federal telecommunications inspectors assisted by local police broke into the station's transmitter building on March 12 seized equipment while another group of police blocked the entrance to the location where RTV Pozega journalists where gathered. A few days later on March 16 there was a break-in and seizure of TV Pirot essential broadcasting equipment by telecommunications inspectors at the Mount Sarlah near the town of Pirot. A ministry inspection note and a ruling instructing RTV Pirot to cease broadcasting were attached to the broken door.

The founders of Radio Pozega and TV Pirot have announced that they will initiate new proceedings in the Belgrade Federal Court.