HOMOGENIZATION OF CHANNELS

Media in RS before the Elections

AIM Banja Luka, July 17, 1996

Radio SIM and television SIM from Bijeljina have become part of the system Serb Radio-Television (SRT). The company which boasted with high autonomy in relation to the authorities and the system of electronic media of Republika Srpska (RS), was now deprived of it. Ilija Guzina, Director General of SRT, in the central news program, explained with a smile that "here and there, there were some misunderstandings" with the people from SIM, but they had been cleared up and, for the sake of the joint cause, they would proceed together from now. All the way to North and Central America, because in the beginning of May, new transmitters were installed on mount Kozara and Majevica and marked establishment of an auxiliary transmission network which enabled the SRT to broadcast program via satellite.

At the moment when even those with the least faith started to believe in democratization of media in RS, the same assembly which three years ago voted in favour of independence of SIM, was in session again behind closed doors and this time reached the decision to put it under control of the state. Without delay, Vice Prime Minister of RS Velibor Ostojic, Ilija Guzina and Minister of information Dragan Bozanic came to Bijeljina with the already prepared contract on placing the public information enterprise from Bijeljina under control of Pale.

Director of SIM, Pero Simic, confided in a journalist that the most decent among them was the Minister of information RS, Dragan Bozanic, but that it was immediately obvious that Ostojic was the boss, who, having seen that the "takeover" would not proceed smoothly, started threatening with arrests and shouting: "Traitors, I will arrest all of you. You are destroying the state", and similar. According to Simic's words, Guzina acted similarly, and he especially reproached SIM because Kasagic had appeared in its program and because other political parties than the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) were presented by it to the public.

It all started to resemble the first wartime days in Bosnia, when thanks to deputies with mentality of loyal subjects in Banja Luka municipality, the same thing happened to the daily Glas which became Glas srpski, and to TV Banja Luka which also earned the prefix "Srpski", when their current accounts were closed, and since when all editors must be approved by Pale.

Entertaining Programs

The barometer which indicates the situation in the media in RS has lately been going up and down. It is encouraging that magazines such as Panorama are founded or that publication of Ekstra Magazin from Bijeljina was restarted, although it was banned during the war because of texts which were unpleasant for the politicians in Pale. There is also Alternativa from Doboj. These are journals which are at this pre-election time doing their best to present all political parties in RS and, as far as possible, in the Federation B&H. On the other hand, total absence of criticism in reference to the ruling establishment in state-controlled media is disturbing, as well as increasingly open pressure on the media exerted by "information headquarters" from Pale.

The only daily in RS, Glas srpski, which is published in Banja Luka with circulation of 1,900 copies, is controlled by the SDS, just like Srpsko Oslobodjenje, Javnost, the radio which operates via 36 local studios, and two television stations. Apart from the mentioned journals from Bijeljina and Doboj, the only counterparts to them are Nezavisne novine and Novi prelom from Banja Luka.

"It is hard to tell who are our readers. I think that all strata are represented", says for AIM Nikola Guzijan, deputy director and editor-in-chief of Nezavisne novine. According to his words, and according to the contents of his newspaper, orientation of Nezavisne novine is to present different views, although those close to the ideological centre are the most frequent. "We are fighting by all permissible journalistic means for the SDS to leave power", Guzijan openly declares adding that his newspaper does not belong to any party and that after the elections it will remain oppositionist, regardless of who will be the winners. "Every scandal, regardless of who stands behind it, will be published", our interlocutor assures us.

Guzijan says that there were problems because of openness especially after prime minister Rajko Kasagic had been discharged, when the editor-in-chief and he were forced to seek shelter in Belgrade because, as he says, they did not feel safe in Banja Luka. Nezavisne novine whose publication began toards the end of last year, reached the circulation of 15 thousand at the most, and 4,500 copies at the least. Guzijan says that now circulation has stabilized in the middle

• around 7,000.

Students's journal BUM, published in Banja Luka is quite refreshing. The journal is lively and not burdened by any prejudices. While reading it, one gets the impression that it is made by people who cannot be fooled.

Concerning privately owned radio stations, including "078" from Laktasi, BIG Radio, studio A from Banja Luka, none can be said to be enthusiastic strugglers for freedom of information. It is true that their information services are richer and more diversified than those of the state-controlled radio, but globally their program is mostly entertaining. The only exception and quite a miracle in view of the fact that it is military, is Radio Krajina founded at the time of fall of western Krajina territories which had been controlled by Serb military forces with the initial intention to mobilize all political forces to prevent the fall of Krajina. From the first day, Radio Krajina has been inviting opposition politicians and leaders to be its guests.

Phenomenon of Military Radio

Owners of private radio stations seem to assess that it is best not to cause any commotion too early. Radio BIG has once tried to take a step forward and almost fell a victim of the attempt. It was at the time when mayor Predrag Radic was in the program, and it was the time when he was banned access to state-controlled media, in October last year. The outcome of this adventure of free-mindedness was that people from Radio BIG had their ears boxed, so that for a time they even had to lend their channels to Radio Banja Luka. Radio Krajina whose seat is in the Command of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in Banja Luka, from the beginning of its operation has been defying the official policy. When the order came from Pale that it had to be put into service of the state, it refused. It is a fact that this radio had been the first to present the entire alternative political scene much before pre-election campaign began. That is why it is the most popular station in the region of Banja Luka.

Connoisseurs of the conditions in media in RS would say that they were deteriorating. Propaganda is ahead of information again. Pressure on journalists has been increasing lately, which implies that the regime in Pale is losing self-confidence. The authorities of the RS used to be more tolerant to opposition media, but for a long time the only opposition journal was the Banja Luka fortnightly Novi Prelom which appeared again in the beginning of this year, after having been published in 1992 and 1993. Novi Prelom has lately found itself accompanied by younger and more powerful journals which are not cntrolled by the authorities. This is a significant step forward, because when all individual circulations are summed up it makes up a lot bigger number of copies. But nevertheless, it is very difficult to reach the broader public for technmical (distribution), but editorial reasons too. Attempts to open alternative eletronic media have remained attempts only. And unfulfilled promises of many who had made them.

(AIM) Radmila Karlas