PROCLAIM VICTORY AND RUN

The struggle for the media in Belgrade

How the shift in the case of NTV Studio B came about

AIM, BELGRADE, March 9, 1995

On March 3, 1995, the Director of Independent Television "Studio B", Dragan Kojadinovic, announced that "the reason for organizing the rally for defence of 'Studio B' has ceased to exist".

That day, Kojadinovic had a talk with the Director of the Republican Agency for Capital Valuation, Nada Mijailovic, and then addressed a proposal to the Supreme Court of Serbia to "pause with reaching the decision" until social capital in "Studio B" is identified. The very same agency which annulled privatisation of Studio B will now determine the value of the capital, based on documentation which will be examined by the Service of Payment Operations.

The Service of Payment Operations began auditing in "Studio B" on March 6. Kojadinovic has changed his sharp tone, and now in a conciliatory manner declares that "Studio B" has no reason to have doubts about the existence of the state of law, "because its efforts to determine primarily the state of facts in 'Studio B' met with understanding of the Agency" and that Studio B goes by the slogan "we will not give up what is ours, but will not take what is somebody else's". The leader of the National Peasants' Party (NSS), Dragan Veselinov, declared after this that the appeal of the Director of Studio B, Dragan Kojadinovic, to the opposition not to organize the rally for the freedom of the press is a "disgrace" for this TV station. According to the assessment of Veselinov, Kojadinovic is "trading with the Socialists who have become frightened of the struggle of the opposition for independent media", "he mocked at the naive nationalistic opposition", "slapped Seselj, Kostunica and Djindjic in the face", who "allowed to be led by a Director of a TV station, instead of pursuing their independent party policy". Having stated that he does not believe in "the television and press whose freedom is defended by Seselj, Djindjic's Coca-Cola Serbs and Kostunica's national democrats, because they have not cared to protect journalists so far" actually reflects discomfort liberal groups felt when, for the sake of the principled defence of the media, they were expected to embrace with Seselj's Serb Radicals.

The President of the Executive Committee of the Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS), Miljenko Dereta, stated on February 22 that his party would not participate at the rally for the defence of Studio B with the man who had made lists of undesirable journalists and who had not given up this stance. "We support independence of Studio B, but do not wish to participate at a rally together with Vojislav Seselj", Vice-President of the GSS, Zarko Korac, explained. The leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), Vuk Draskovic, who has become known in the past four years for his struggle for the freedom of the media, was also restrained, promising that he would come to the rally, but leaving national parties to try to organize the protest, assessing correctly that they had no power to do it.

A deputy of the SPO in the Republican parliament, Aleksandra Jankovic, declared afterwards that this party "still has no information about when and how the rally in support of Studio B will be organized", adding, "had the SPO been the organizer of this rally, it would have already been organized and Studio B liberated, or President of the SPO would have been in jail". A deputy of the SPO in the Republican parliament, Milan Bozic, stated on March 7 that "Director of Studio B, Dragan Kojadinovic should not be blamed" for cancelling the rally of support to independent media, but the opposition parties-organizers, which "did not wish the rally in the first place".

It was announced that the rally for defence of Studio B and freedom of public information would take place in the middle of March, after the meeting of representatives of parliamentary opposition parties, independent media and independent journalists' associations, hosted by the Director of Studio B, Dragan Kojadinovic. The meeting was also attended by the President of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) Vojislav Seselj, Democratic Party (DS) Zoran Djindjic, Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Vojislav Kostunica, Serb Liberal Party (SLS) Nikola Milosevic, President of the Independent Association of Journalists (NUNS) Dragan Nikitovic, as well as editors-in-chief of the majority but not all Belgrade independent media. To a question of a representative of the Independent Trade Union of Journalists, Rade Radovanovic, whether Seselj would apologize for having made the lists of undesirable journalists, the leader of the SRS verified that his party had made such lists of journalists "who were politically condemned", but that other parties did that too. At the "working session" concerning organization of the rally held in the press centre of Studio B, no representative of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) appeared, but Kojadinovic said that the SPO would participate in the rally and that the President of this party, Vuk Draskovic, would give a speech. Leaders of three parliamentary opposition parties stressed that the struggle for the freedom of media would be permanent, it was announced that stifling of independent media would be discussed at an emergency session of the Assembly of Serbia and that the opposition parties were ready to leave the Republican parliament altogether, and all the other administrative agencies where they had their representatives. Deputies of the SRS also declared that they were ready to go on a hunger strike in the premises of Studio B, should it be necessary.

Presidents of opposition parties pledged that they would not put forward their separate party interests in the struggle for independent media, especially for Studio B. However, Seselj stressed then that the SRS wished a peaceful rally which would show its power by a large number of participants and the "weight of the words" that would be uttered at the gathering. President of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Vojislav Kostunica, stated that the authorities were not stifling the independent media for their political stances, but mostly for publicizing information which the authorities wished to suppress.

The leader of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) Vojislav Seselj, then stressed that "the battle for studio B was decisive". On March 1, before it was made public that the rally would not be held, Vojislav Kostunica stated that the problem of Studio B was "a minor issue in the broad political struggle which is going on", and that the solidarity rally with "Studio B" was a secondary issue for this party, since Studio B was just a drop in the sea of problems in Serbia, and that "our attention is mostly absorbed by the issue of the destiny of the nation", and that "opening of a tiny window, while all the others are shut" meant nothing. On February 23, at a rally in the centre of Kragujevac, the leader of the Serb Radical Party, Vojislav Seselj said that the authorities were stifling Studio B, "the only free oasis in Belgrade where the Radicals can say some things and which carries what Radovan Karadzic has to say". The President of the SRS then stated on March 2 that it was "high time" that protests of all dissatisfied social classes be united in a unique protest and that the "struggle for independent media is the critical point at which all other social problems will be refracted".

The national block in fact sought an opportunity in the announced rally to pressure Milosevic's regime in order to ease his pressure on Karadzic and dramatize again the so-called "national issue", while the independence of journalists was actually secondary for it. The National Peasants' Party (NSS) which had demanded in mid February that the opposition, for the sake of defending freedom of the press, withdraw deputies from all assemblies in the FR of Yugoslavia and cause a general political crisis, declared now that it regarded "with extreme aversion the attempts of the Democratic Party, Democratic Party of Serbia, Serbian Renewal Movement and the Serbian Radical Party to present themselves as privileged protectors of the freedom of the press". According to the assessment of the NSS, these parties did nothing to save independent "Borba". They had not offered it a dinar of support nor a single centimetre of new premises "and they have chosen the best locations in Belgrade for themselves and become involved in crime and approached the morality of the Socialist Party of Serbia", the statement reads. It is added that the NSS "does not accept the policy of Studio B which implies defence of the idea of free press with the help of fascists of Vojislav Seselj and national Democrats from Belgrade who are responsible for the support to belligerent dictatorship of Slobodan Milosevic". Dragan Veselinov also drew the attention of the public to a hushed-up problem when he mentioned that Studio B has deteriorated ever since "Lila Radonjic, Zoran Ostojic, Olja Beckovic, Nina Vidakovic and others left it because of immorality", and not a single party reacted to it at the time.

On February 21, at his monthly press conference, the mayor of Belgrade, Nebojsa Covic, "expressed regret" that the problem of Studio B had "entered political waters", because it was not, as he said, "the initial desire of the City Assembly, and, I trust, of Studio B either". Answering to the deputies of the Assembly of Belgrade who demanded a vote of trust to its President, Covic rejected accusations of the opposition once more that he had played the main role in "the prefidious scenario of stifling Studio B" which he described as "hypocritical and immoral" and expressed his expectations that the "correct cooperation" which had existed between the city and the studio B would continue, and that all possible misunderstandings would be resolved in an "acceptable manner" as soon as possible.

Deputy Nebojsa Lekovic of the New Democracy (ND) which has ministers in the Serb Government, declared on February 23 in Kragujevac, that the ND was in favour of the freedom of the media, but that it would not join the demand of the opposition for dismissal of Ratomir Vico, Minister of information in the Government of Serbia, since "there is no evidence that Vico in any way participated in discharging undesirable journalists and disabling them to work". Vice-Chairman of the Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, a member of the ND, Vojislav Andric, specified that "Studio B will continue telecasting", and that "all proprietary legal relations should be resolved between Studio B and the City Assembly".

The organizing committee of the rally for support to NTV Studio B (DS, DSS, SRS and a representative of NTV Studio B) gave a statement on February 28 that "technical details concerning organization of the rally have been determined", that "a contact has been established with independent trade unions, representatives of independent media and other organizations which will participate at the rally of support to Studio B", and that the time and place of the rally were set. Five days later, Kojadinovic declared that he had come to terms with the Agency and that everyone could breathe more easily. The Democratic Party (DS) assessed in a hurry on March 4 that "resoluteness of a large number of citizens and organizations to say "that's enough" of stifling independent media, "forced the regime to interrupt the attack on Studio B", that it became clear that the "issue of independence of Studio B is important for all the citizens, and not just a party isssue", that this victory should, however, be considered as a small step in the struggle against media darkness and that "major encounters are still to come".

Having assessed their weaknesses, all five actors seem to have decided to give up intensification of further confrontation, but they have not essentially corrected their standpoints - Kojadinovic somewhat reduced the presence of Radovan Karadzic on his channel, but did not make a single step towards reconciliation with his own dissidents, the national block assessed that it had not the populist power to shaken Milosevic, but put some liberal make-up on its image by defending the media, the Socialist regime avoided to give rise to uniting of various opposition groups in the sphere of the media, Vuk Draskovic, the Civic Alliance and trade unions and associations close to them resisted to be drawn into Seselj's scheming, but raised their voice against the regime. The free public lost the independent journal "Borba" in the struggle so far, but got an even more independent (although financially weaker) "Nasa Borba". Independent media received a clear signal that they have no serious strategic political support, but on the other hand, they are given the opportunity to disentangle themselves from the "embrace from necessity" with the confused opposition and to acquire yet another attribute of independence. The scandal showed that the complicated Serb political scene maintained its former complex "pentagonal" and not "bipolar" balance, and once again it proved that no "Berlin" wall would soon fall in Belgrade.

Milan Milosevic