RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

RFE/RL (Un)Civil Societies Vol. 1, No. 10, 20 July 2000

"Freedom of information is ... the touchstone of all the freedoms." (UN Freedom of Information Conference, 1948)

SERBIAN JOURNALIST TO GO ON TRIAL.

Officials of the military court in Nis said on 12 July that journalist Miroslav Filipovic will go on trial on 25 July for "spreading false news reports" and "espionage" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 June 2000). (RFE/RL Newsline, 13 July)

PHOTOGRAPHER BEATEN. Followers of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church assaulted FoNet photographer Zivota Ciric in the village of Njegusi on 10 July. His camera was broken by church official's bodyguards and police later exposed Ciric's film. (ANEM Report, 10 July)

INDEPENDENT DAILIES WITHOUT NEWSPRINT.

Most of Belgrade's independent print media -- "Blic," "Glas javnosti," and "Danas" -- are not receiving supplies of newsprint from Matroz, Yugoslavia's only domestic manufacturer. As a result, they face a reduction in printruns or even cessation of publication, reported the Beta news agency on 13 July. Matroz director stated that a section of his plant is under repair and was attempting to distribute newsprint equitably. The three dailies plus the weeklies NIN and "Vreme" recently requested that the Federal Ministry of Trade give them licenses to import paper, but no reply has been received. (ANEM Report, 13 July)

SATIRICAL WEEKLY SHUTS DOWN.

During celebrations of "Nasa krmaca's" fourth anniversary on 11 July, its editor in chief announced the satirical weekly's closure. The weekly had produced eighty issues, six special editions and fourteen books. The editor noted that the "Nasa krmaca" staff had not only been under pressure from the government but also from the opposition which felt that the weekly's existence gave an illusion of press freedom. The decision to close the journal was due to lack of newsprint and harsh new laws. (ANEM Report, 11 July)

INDEPENDENT REPORTERS BARRED FROM PARLIAMENT.

Journalists from a number of Belgrade media outlets ("Blic," "Danas" and the Beta agency) were barred on 11 July from reporting on a session of the Serbian Parliament Legislative Committee, by order of the parliamentary information service. This is the first time such an expulsion order has been issued by a member of a party other than the Serbian Radical Party. (ANEM Report, 12 July)

MEDIA 'COMPLETELY FREE' SAYS YUGOSLAV MINISTER...

Pointing to "almost a thousand radio and TV stations, most of which are private property,' Ivan Markovic, the Federal Telecommunications Minister said in an interview with "The Voice of Russia" that he could "proudly state that the media in Yugoslavia were completely free." (ANEM Report, 11 July)

... BUT OSCE MEDIA ENVOY EXPRESSES CONCERN.

In his report to the OSCE Permanent Council, OSCE Envoy for Media Freedom Freimut Duve expressed concern over the problems of the media in Yugoslavia, noting that 15 media organization had been closed in this year. Duve also reported to the representatives of the 54 OSCE member states that he had sent Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic several letters of protest about the repression of the independent media. (ANEM Report, 14 July)

DAILY ORDERED TO PUBLISH SERB RESPONSES TO ACCUSATIONS.

Kosovo's temporary media commissioner, Douglas Davidson, ordered the Albanian-language Pristina daily, "Dita," to publish responses from people whose names and personal information were published in the paper on June 26 and July 4, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo announced on 13 July. (ANEM Report, 13 July)

SERBIAN TOWN BLOCKS ROMA FROM USING POOL.

Serbia's independent news agency FoNet reported on 13 July that "Romanies cannot swim in the swimming pool of the Krsmanovaca sports centre in Sabac - which is owned by Cedomir Vasiljevic, chairman of the local committee of the Serbian Radical Party [nationalist party, junior member of the ruling Serbian coalition] - the Fund for Humanitarian Rights announced today. In cooperation with Romany NGOs the fund has confirmed this allegation by Romanies from Sabac and concluded that this is a case of extreme racial discrimination."