B&H JOURNALISTS IN A STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE

PROFESSIONALISM AGAINST THE SDA

AIM, SARAJEVO, January 10, 1995

The latest suspension of journalists from Radio-Television B&H was not much of a surprise for anyone. It was expected ever since the day Ms. Amila Omersoftic took over the office of the director and said that she would "cleanse" the house of all journalists who gave the preference to objectivity over aptness. Starting probably from her own example of exreme loyalty to the President of the party of Democratic Action (SDA), Alija Izetbegovic, but from the requirements of his party as well, Ms. Omersoftic handed a dismissal to TV journalists Raska Denjalic and Mladen Paunovic, and Mladen Bosnjak from the state Radio. The reason for suspension - their latest reporting from the session of Bosnia&Herzegovina Parliament in Zenica.

The accused (incriminated) journalistic trio, "carried away" by the customary standards of their profession, reported from Zenica according to the principle "I note what I see or hear", forgetting that since Ms. Omersoftic became the head of their house, it was not popular to report about the failures of the ruling SDA, its internal variances, or, God forbid, stances of the opposition unfavourable for the authorities. Due to such negligence, as much before Ms. Denjalic, Mr. Paunovic and Mr. Bosnjak, some of the other journalists had felt (Mehmed Agovic, Boro Kontic, Arif Mesihovic, Zoran Pirolic), you get suspended, as the new Director explains, "for not obeying the rules of the house"?! But, contrary to their predecessors - who have, again as the new Director claims, "gone by their own free will, although they were offered to work in RTV B&H as educators of the young staff" (presumably for the sake of removing them from sitting in front of TV cameras) - the suspended trio (Denjalic, Paunovic, Bosnjak) persistently stuck to their belief in professionalism at the single-party RTV, and lived to experience open harassment.

But, what really catches attention in the situation, which was more than expected in view of the party dictation in RTV B&H, is the reaction of the Independent Union of Professional Journalists of B&H. Namely, for the first time since the dissolution of the former Bosnia&Herzegovina Association of Journalists, actually a part of the the same association of former Yugoslavia, employees of the media in B&H have a professional organization which truly defends their interests. It is true though that some time in the beginning of the war a certain Union of Journalists of B&H was established with a president who had extremely dubious moral and professional qualities, but obviously with the tendency to offer its services in the sphere of distributing information primarily to Izetbegovic's party and political beliefs. Gradually, the remaining B&H journalists started turning their backs to the mentioned union leaving this institution which did not serve in their, but solely in the interests of the authorities. That is why not long ago, the Independent Union of Professional Journalists was founded in Sarajevo, which, among other, defends dignity of the profession, freedom of public speech and democratic culture of the media. The Union the membership of which is based primarily on the individual will of journalists who are professionals for at least a year, declares itself as a non-party, free association of journalists, regardless of their national, religious or political affiliations, but with stances which are founded on the idea of an integer Bisnia & Herzegovina. The fact that the most numerous members of the journalists' Independent Union are journalists from the independent journals, such as Radio "Studio 99", newspapers "Dani", or that part of the editorial staff of Sarajevo "Oslobodjenje" which is persevering in defending this newspaper from the constant pressure of the authorities, is verified by the journalists' team which forms the Presidency of the Union. Namely, participants of the Founding Assembly of the Independent Union of Professional Journalists elected Mehmed Halilovic (Editor-in-Chief of "Oslobodjenje") to be its President, and its members are Senad Pecanin, Mehmed Agovic, Vladimir Bilic, Mehmed Husic, Boro Kontic, Senka Kurtovic, Zoran Pirolic, and its secretary Zoran Ilic.

The newly-established Independent Union of journalists reacted promptly to the latest case of suspending three radio-television journalists, stressing in its public protest that it "considers it intolerable that journalists are suspended for their professional and objective reporting, and speaks in favour of their free and undisturbed work in accordance with the criteria and codex of the profession". The Union opposed the attempt of manipulating journalists in the current political controversies, and demanded that the suspensions be immediately proclaimed null and void. Of course, it is doubtful how much power and what effect this professional association will have when it is known that the lady who stated the verdict of suspension, Director Amila Omersoftic, had come to this post directly from party premises, that she was engaged in dealing with the problems of refugees in a state agency, that she knows nothing more about radio and television and how it operates than any of its average viewers in front of the tv screens, but that her first move at the Director's post was the dismissal of the former Editor-in-Chief, Vladimir Bilic, and thus added direct interfering in editorial policy of the RTV B&H to her competences of being at its head.

Therefore, the ruling party and its not at all small power stand behind the fearless Director and her intentions. The irrevocable process of democratization and professionalism stand behind the journalists and their Union, and this usually destroys totalitarian protectors of similar small directors. That the Director of RTV B&H will not have an easy job getting rid of all the undesirable people from this medium despite all the affinities and support from the state top, is verified by the fact that she still had not been able to get rid of the dismissed editor Bilic, although "she had decided" to do so half a year ago. Namely, Bilic was appointed to the post of the editor at the beginning of the war by the Presidency of B&H functioning in the name of the Assembly which did not gather during the whole first war year, but since the parliament has been operational for months now with all its competences returned to it previously usurped by the Presidency - the deputies should be the ones to dismiss Bilic from the post of the editor. Regardless of the fact that Bilic's rating with the second ruling party in the parliament, the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), is more than dubious, it is not difficult to presume that they would not vote for the dismissal of a Croat at the leading post in RTV B&H in favour of a SDA candidate, first of all because the HDZ has never ceased to claim a portion of the state radio-television for itself. Therefore, Ms. Omersoftic dismisses the editor, the obedient journalists accept it, but the dismissed editor continues to come to his room every morning and leaves it without having done his editorial job, which is of course, whole-heartedly usurped by the Director.

The tumult which started after the suspension of RTV journalists surpasses all the previous similar cases in the B&H media directed by the state. On the one hand, professional rights are protected by the finally founded Independent Union of journalists, but on the other - the latest move of Ms. Omersoftic does not agree with some people in the ruling SDA either, like Prime Minister Silajdzic, for instance. This makes the epilogue of this suspension of journalists uncertain, and the possibility that this event may be the subject of a parliamentary discussion at the forthcoming session of the Assembly of Bosnia&Herzegovina cannot be excluded.

DRAZENA PERANIC