PROGRAM FOR DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES
Free Elections Radio Network (FERN)
AIM Sarajevo, July 14, 1996
On Monday, July 15, at six o'clock, Free Elections Radio Network (FERN) starts broadcasting the two-month election program for the territory of B&H and Bosnian refugees abroad. This radio was formed pursuant by a decision of the Temporary Election Committee of OSCE reached on April 22 this year, and it is a joint project of the OSCE Mission in B&H and Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.
Manager of the project, Dino Bornatico, says that the radio program will be free and open to all political parties and candidates who registered to run in the September elections in B&H.
"We will give everyone equal space for presentation in our program. We believe that this is the best approach and that in this way we will contribute to creation of a fair and democratic climate in the campaign and organization of the elections. This is very important in view of the difficulties B&H has experienced", says Bornatico.
Apart from presentation of parties, Radio FERN will prepare an education program for its listeners, about the elections and election campaign, specialized programs for refugees and displaced persons, and information blocks on current developments in B&H.
The framework of this radio will be the Dayton peace Accords and Rules on behavior of the media during the election campaign established by the OSCE. The program will be prepared by about 20 journalists, coordinators, translators, technicians... This is for the time being the only radio seated in B&H which will have correspondents from western Mostar and Republika Srpska.
"Apart from journalists from Sarajevo, our associates will be from Banja Luka, Bihac, Tuzla, Mostar, Zenica and other cities...", says Bornatico.
He also says that the program of FERN will be heard on 80 per cent of the territory of the Federation and 51 per cent of the territory of Republika Srpska, since there are certain difficulties with the network of transmitters in B&H. Out of the pre-war 186 transmitters and transducers, only ten are operational. The FERN will use eight and it will cover the regions of Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla, Bihac...
"We will not be heard in Bijeljina and the region around it, nor in Foca, Gacko and some cities of Republika Srpska. We are negotiating with the IFOR to let us use their mobile transducers in order to enable us to cover as much of the territory of B&H as possible and reach all its citizens", Bornatico explains.
Bornatico believes that the journalists and others who are engaged by the radio will be capable of fulfilling the difficult tasks of monitoring the election campaign in B&H, and that the FERN will be accepted by its citizens.
"We wish to contribute to development of democratic processes in this country and assist its citizens", says in the end the manager of the project of the election radio in B&H, Dino Bornatico.
For the equipment and operation of the FERN, Swiss Government has allocated about 1.3 million Swiss francs.
Listeners in B&H will follow the program in the FM region and on five channels: at 103.4 in the region of Sarajevo, 107.8 in Bihac region, 93.7 MHz is the channel for Tuzla, and 103.1 MHz in Banja Luka. For refugees from B&H, this program will be broadcast via satellite KUBAND 11 700.
BORKA RUDIC