OPERATION "MEDIA"

New Campaign in Serbia against "Foreign Mercenaries"

AIM Belgrade, April 7, 1996

It all began with Politika. It only carried a text of the Athens weekly "Pontiki" (Mouse) in which the European Commission and the foreign affairs commissioner of the European Union, Hans van den Broek, were accused of having donated unlimited funds to independent media. On the list of the happy recipients which received money from the Commission in 1994 and 1995, are some journals from Croatia (Feral and Arkzin), some from Bosnia & Herzegovina (Radio Tuzla), but all such media in Serbia, down to the last detail. "The so-called fighters for freedom of the press and television, our European friends, in the past two years were bent on gaining control of means of mass communication... aimed at weakening of the regime and, of course, controlling the public opinion, in order to make their plans easily effectuated", writes Pontiki. "It is well-known what those assisted by the 'famous' commissioner can be like, and it is also clear what their intentions are like, it is a case of a subversive activity against (primarily) Serbia", the Athens weekly adds. The text got a supplement in its version published in Politika: tables listing all the "traitors", which did not appear in the original. The list, therefore, included NIN and Vreme, and Nasa Borba and Has, and AIM and VIN, and Beta news-agency, and Ekonomska Politika and Borske novine... all of them with the amounts of money receeived, expressed in ecus.

Although it is no secret that the European Commission offers assistance to media in different states, and that the rules for application and the procedure for receiving the money are open for the public, the text was printed as an "exclusive" information, the tone is accusing, and some of the editors are claimed to be driving Mercedez cars and living in expensive villas they have "earned" by their subversive activities against (primarily) Serbia.

Nibbling of the "Mouse"

Pontiki is a pro-Socialist weekly which has never, as sources of Nasa Borba claim, published a single critical text on socialist regimes, and abuses of power which occurred, for example, in Cuba under Castro's rule were simply passed over in silence. It is a journal proud of its good connections in the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs which enable it to reveal restricted documents, and it is open to cooperation with other sources which offer it exclusive information.

It is no wonder that representatives of independent media in Serbia recognized these "other sources" as the Serb regime which had ordered the text, especially after the campaign which followed.

"Things do not move in a single direction only", says for AIM Eli Jurikova, correspondent of Radio Free Europe and an excellent connoisseur of circumstances in the Balkans. According to what she says, the text was ordered from Serbia, it was neither carried nor quoted anywhere else. "This is a part of a new campaign, and the Serb regime had to start from somewhere. Greece, as its traditional friend, could serve the purpose, and Serbia is doing it a favour by refusing to recognize Macedonia. When in 1992, Hans van den Broek took sides with Macedonia in the Greek-Macedonian dispute, he was not forgiven for it, so that with a single move, Greece was able to express gratitude to Serbia for its support and at the same time strike a blow against Hans van den Broek."

The day Politika carried the text, in the central daily regime tv news program watched by entire Serbia, the list of "mercenaries" was read along with the amounts of money they had received and by then it all acquired the looks of a serious campaign conducted in parallel against the opposition leaders who were "scheming with the enemies of Serbia" and the independent media which supported them.

In her well-known confession - diary, which has become an institution published in Duga, Mirjana Markovic, leader of the Left (JUL) and wife of the Serb President, also dealt with the Rightists on the political scene and media which belong to them, and according to her, all those who were not in favour of the regime in Serbia and JUL belonged to them. "Almost all pages of these journals are devoted to information that the current authorities in Serbia, with all their representatives from the Republic down to municipalities, are immoral, corrupt, treacherous, thieving, lazy and stupid... With its present political, moral and intellectual being, the Right in Serbia, at least judging by the press which represents it, will be a mere bearer of cheap nihilism, utmost vulgarity, national, religious and political hatred, destructive defeatism... the source of a new, Balkan fascism."

Hardly a couple of days passed when Politika appeared with a text in it, this time signed by its own journalist (Financing of Media from Abroad - Assistance with or without Obligations). After a short quotation of Toma Dzadzic, Director of NIN, who claimed that there had never been any conditioning of editorial policy, the floor was given to Dusan Cukic, President of the pro-regime Association of Journalists of Yugoslavia: "We know that for a few years already money has been distributed through the centre in Ljubljana and the National Bank of Hyngary. In Budapest there was a foreign currency account for financing independent media which have shown by the very fact that they receive assistance in money, who and where their master is. Everybody can be paid by anybody, but should not brag that they are independent".

After that the regime's Borba starts publishing a feuilleton. First there was an interview with Vlada Resetar, deputy Editor-in-Chief of state news agency Tanjug, who said that "there is no such thing as free lunch" and that "those who give the money from abroad know very well why they give it

• and those who receive the money must somehow earn it."

Then, stance of the Editor of Politika is published, who said that this newspaper has no sponsor, and that "any type of sponsorship, regardless whether economic or political, affects negatively the position and operation of the editorial staff and unbiased and professional information. The only sponsors of the journal Politika are its readers!"

A series of low retributions with editors of independent media follow. First, the case of Miomir Brkic, the editor of Nasa Borba was brought up, and immediately after him, Director of Monitor and editor of AIM Montenegro, Zeljko Ivanovic.

Why the Campaign

When the regime took over independent Television Studio B, it seemed that there was nothing else left to take, and that the independent media were practically pushed to the margins, harmless, with low circulation like the local media in Serbia, or with a small range, such as Radio Station B-92. After they had already taken everything on the powerful television, director Ljubisa Ristic, activist of Mirjana Markovic's party, is now organizing JUL's television, having taken the channel of former Jutel.

At this moment there is not a single tv news program that can be trusted, and among the independent media there is only Nasa Borba which is still managing to resist financial difficulties and has circulation of about 30 thousand.

Therefore, what could be the aim of this campaign?

"It is very difficult to find a reasonable answer to that question. This is a moment when the authorities need more than anything else not to do anything which will leave it isolated. If it is making moves in just the opposite direction at a time like this, it can either be a lack of orientation or persisting in the wrong belief that foreign partners would wink at internal moves such as this because they cannot do without Milosevic's services. Will there be new bans? Even everything done so far is very serious as it is, but who can be certain that those who have done it will stop now or that they will go on an even bigger adventures, even more fiecely attack the media, if fear of opening is that great", says doyen of Serb journalism Aleksandar Nenadovic.

"The aim of the authorities is to win the elections at all costs. The people are already cursing Draskovic, Djindjic will be the next. The aim is to discredit independent media and the opposition. For an ordinary man even a hundred German marks is a lot of money, and when he reads that someone has received 150 thousand marks, he is shocked. The authorities have practically completed the job when they read the mentioned list in regime TV daily news program", Eli Jurkova explains.

Filip David, Editor of the journal The Right to Picture and Word believes that assaults against the media are always repeated when elections are scheduled: "The authorities are doing everything they can to stifle any possibility of having different views heard. This only means that it feels highly insecure, and even afraid that it will fare in the way they do not wish to. Whether there will be new bans depends on the proportions this fear will reach".

Gordana Susa, Editor of VIN (video weekly which used to be telecast by Studio B) continues to make new programs, although the new "masters" of Studio B have banned their telecasting, so that at the moment efforts of the VIN's team cannot be seen by anyone.

"This campaign reminds of the situation on the eve of the war. This situation is quite familiar to me, both ridiculous and sad. Ridiculous, because when all the money given for two years to the independent media in the entire Serbo-Croat speaking region of former Yugoslavia are added, it amounts approximately to the money from a tax seized from all the citizens who possess electric-power meters in just ten days. This tax amounts to about 7.5 million marks a month. It is sad that since 1991, neither the model of the campaign has changed, nor the vocabulary, nor the call to lynch. If they seriously start with bans, I have no doubts that they will complete the job. Should that happen, I have nothing but gloomy forecasts."

The first ban has already happened. Veton Suroi, Editor-in-Chief of Prishtina weekly Koha, addressed AIM yesterday with the following statement: "Six Serb policemen interrupted printing of the weekly Koha on April 6. They closed the printing works where this weekly is printed and took its Director, Llutvi Zilivoda for an informative conversation to the police station, who was freed after a few hours. According to what the policemen said, printing cannot continue before the next volume of the weekly Koha is shown to the police. The weekly Koha has decided not to give up the material prepared for the next volume..."

(AIM) Gordana Igric