FROM ANEM WEEKLY REPORT ON MEDIA REPRESSION IN SERBIA:

COMPLETE CHANGE OF MEDIA IMAGE IN SERBIA

BELGRADE, NOVI SAD, CACAK, JAGODINA, MLADENOVAC, LESKOVAC, 6.10.1999. - Belgrade TV stations Pink, Kosava, Palma and all three Radio Television Serbia channels stopped broadcasting their programmes yesterday afternoon. After demonstrators burst into the Politika building, the television station started to inform on events on the Belgrade streets, and DOS leaders Zarko Korac and Slobodan Orlion were the first guests to appear on the first programme broadcast on 'Free Politika' yesterday evening. The Politika strike board announced a 'free' issue of the newspapers on Friday. BK TV also informed the public about the protests in Serbia, and TV Novi Sad broadcast information that this television belonged to the people once again.

New television Vracar started broadcasting unedited footage of the events in front of the Federal Parliament building. A team of journalists who had been forced to leave the television station in May when the city TV was seized by the Serbian Government resumed broadcasting from Belgrade TV Studio B. Studio B news was read by Marko Jankovic, who worked for the media house for many years. He addressed the citizens saying that free studio B would remain with the citizens in the future. Jankovic thanked the citizens for coming in such large numbers to defend what they had already won with their ballot papers.

Demonstrators entered Radio B92 premises, which had also been seized by the regime. The team which was present in the radio premises withdrew peacefully, and the Radio B2-92 crew from the original B92 resumed broadcasting programmes at the radio's original frequency of 92,5 MHz.

Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti journalist Biljana Nikolic today called on all those participating in demonstrations in Belgrade not to demolish the building housing the daily since Vecernje novosti was now free. Nikolic told Beta that all employees from the daily who were on strike yesterday, entered the building today and made it free. According to Nikolic, the daily editor-in-chief Dusan Cukic and management members Ilija Zurovac and Ivan Pajic had left the building.

The TANJUG agency stated that it was with the people of its country and that from now on, would inform only on the grounds of professional principles. The statement signed by the 'journalists of free TANJUG' added that the agency would inform 'truly and objectively, in accordance with the fundamental interests of the people and the country. The TANJUG agency addressed Vojislav Kostunica as 'President-elect Vojislav Kostunica'.

All Radio Television Serbia channels began new programming at 9.20 yesterday evening. The programming was opened by Radio Television Serbia cultural editor Bojan Bosiljcic who told the viewers that this was their television. Bosiljic announced Vojislav Kostunica as a forthcoming guest on RTS programmes addressing him as the newly elected Yugoslavian President. Bosiljcic also said that reports from radios B2-92 and Index would be used on all RTS channels. The first guest on new RTS was one of the leaders of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia, Nebojsa Covic RTS informative programme editor Zeljko Avramovic who left the television building on Thursday when the demonstrators burnt it, stated that he felt safe and sound. "My school friend dragged me out of the RTS building", Avramovic told Beta adding that all he wanted now was a good sleep. Around 30 uniformed and armed persons entered the Radio Television Serbia building in Belgrade at around 2 p.m. yesterday. A further 30 were placed around the building preventing anyone from entering or leaving the premises. TV Novi Sad Director Milan Todorov today met with Novi Sad City Council representatives to inform them that he had returned to TV Novi Sad to the citizens of the town. Todorov said that all strikers who had been sacked had returned to the TV station to prepare programmes which would belong to Novi Sad and the citizens of Vojvodina.

>From 4 p.m. on Thursday the RTS transmitter on Ovcar Mount near Cacak stopped broadcasting the first and the second channels of Radio Television Serbia. Cacak local media reported that a group of Cacak citizens had seized the RTS transmitter on Ovcar Mount thus making RTS program broadcasting impossible.

Jagodina Democratic Opposition of Serbia supporters entered Radio Television Serbia Jagodina branch at around 6 p.m. The commander of police forces in the outer Belgrade suburb of Mladenovac, Miroslav Antic, this afternoon congratulated representatives of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia on their victory and gave them the keys to TV Mladenovac, which police had seized and put under regime control on May 17. According to information from the local magazine Pecat, DOS members were in the television premises attempting to resume broadcasts. DOS representatives also entered Leskovac Local regime controlled television yesterday. As radio B2-92 correspondent reports, the television Director Aleksandar Davnic, who was a member of the Serbian Socialist Party, left the television premises to whistles and jeering from the crowd gathered outside. DOS representatives entered the television building at around 2 p.m. demanding that Davinic leave the building immediately, and the employees begin informing according to the journalist code. The editorial team agreed with the demand, Davinic signed his resignation, followed by a celebration of around 20, 000 Leskovac citizens.

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