ZHDANOV AMONG US

Media and the Crisis in Republica Srpska

AIM Banja Luka, 23 July, 1997

The political crisis in Republica Srpska is best illustrated by the narrow-mindedness of the media in its information system. This primarily refers to state media, but certain complaints can be addressed also to those which are classified among "independent", "oppositionist" or "alternative" media. Political conflicts between the president of RS Biljana Plavsic and the "group in Pale" infallibly divided the media into those in favour of the ones and those in favour of the others.

The "agitprop" behavior of the state media in the current conflict started with the declaration of the government on the occasion of rejection of the suspension of internal minister Kijac. This was a sign that, after Andjelko Grahovac, Radoslav Brdjanin, Voja Kupresanin, Rajko Kasagic, Nikola Koljevic and some other founders of the Serb Democratic party (SDS) yet another face will disappear.

An avalanche of accusations has started which claim that in the life of Biljana Plavsic nothing was good. She has become a traitor, collaborationist with the international community, uncooperative in relation to Slobodan Milosevic and everyone else in the top echelons of the SDS. Her looks, wardrobe have also become unlikable, but also her behavior, knowledge and commitments of her associates. It was almost impossible to believe that such torrents of tv commentaries in this sense could be seen on tv screens, and when this weapon ran out of ammunition, statements of various collegiate bodies and other institutions were quoted.

Between these tv attacks, state radio stations and journals (or those close to them) stepped in with their point of view. Stances were "elaborated" in groups in the good old communist party custom, and the approach to all texts has become multimedia: everything written in a journal was broadcast on radio and television. The vice versa was also valid - everything broadcast on radio and television was printed in journals.

In the political sense, the style was typically that of "Zdanov" - "the truth" viewed from one side only, was repeated a number of times. In the media sense, everything was typically in the style of "agitprop" - messages were sent to the address of the "disloyal", but in fact they arrived to the masses which were expected to condemn the opposite party. A great effort was made to have as many of them as possible, of course. In order to prevent things getting out of hand, even the slightest possibility of a different opinion was prevented at the very start - the studio of Serb Television in Banja Luka was suspended because it is believed that it has always been a latent threat to the existing editorial policy. Its contents was also "agitprop" style. The commentaries were not, like those in modern press, anticipation of the future, a foretaste of actions and programs, they were simply a propagandist instrument against a political opponent.

The attitude towards political developments had all the characteristics of a classical media war which is being waged in this part of the world for ten years already. Accustomed to one pattern of behavior, the state media had a hard time getting out of it.

The first appearances of Biljana Plavsic after breaking out of the crisis were carried in extenso by all the other television stations in Banja Luka - Independent Television, Simic Television, TV Bel, and Alternative Television as part of the TV IN system, which actually marked the beginning of its operation. The newly opened radio stations acted similarly (but they were the only ones!) - Independent Radio, Nes Radio, as well as Dnevne nezavisne novine (Daily Independent Newspaper) which also carried almost the integral text of public appearances of Biljana Plavsic. It is unnecessary to mention that all these media are seated in Banja Luka. Periodicals published in other places carried only parts of what the president had spoken about.

Although independent media tried to offer information from the "other side", it is impossible to avoid the impression that the approach was not quite professional and unbiased. Films were interrupted in order to broadcast news about Biljana Plavsic, and press conferences, rallies and other appearances were carried in extenso, which has not much to do with the rules of the profession. Everything was the expression of a wish to give as much weight as possible to something which is opposed to the current authorities. The story they presented greatly differed from the one created by state media. Unfortunately, the range of media which are not controlled by the state is limited solely to Banja Luka and partly its neighbourhood, but it does not reach other parts of RS.

Under pressure of the domestic and international public, reports about activities of Biljana Plavsic have nevertheless started to appear in daily news programs of Serb Radio-television (SRT) after all. Perhaps the greatest pressure was exerted by the sentence from item 70 of the document from Sintra according to which "the Office of the high representative is entitled to reduce or cancel a media network or a program which is contrary to the peace agreement" has obviously been taken seriously. There is no doubt that this is done unwillingly, but they had no choice any more. That this is done contrary to the will of those who control state media is best illustrated by the appearances of Biljana Plavsic on Serb Television, in which she appears all alone in the studio without an announcer, without an open telephone, without a wish to assist her in presentation of information from the aspect of the president of the republic, so that it is even impossible to tell that she is the president.

The international community is accused of exerting pressure, so that the director of Serb Radio-Television Miroslav Toholj says that it is racist, and even lists names of all the spokesmen of all international organizations present in B&H in his accusation.

Problems in programs of radio and television, and in state media have started to grow. And although not for the first time, but certainly in the most convincing manner so far, journalists have started to deny obedience. Four editors of television daily news program in Banja Luka studio of SRT have not only refused to edit the program, but even to go to Pale where they had been summoned by their director. Only two people have remained in the program of Banja Luka studio of state radio, and in the editorial staff of Glas srpski, a few most experienced editors and commentators resorted to a kind of abstention from work - went on sick leave or vacation. The same thing happened in Serb Oslobodjenje - workers began to drop out. One of the firmest strongholds of the regime has thus begun to break.

All things considered this is the last twitch of the totalitarian attitude to media which implies single-mindedness and constant struggle against the invented internal enemies. A long time will be necessary to organize this field in the spirit of democracy, but judging by the latest developments, it is clear that democratization of media has been initiated and that the simplified black-and-white image will not be a model for formation of public opinion any more. Hunger for information demands a different contents from the one which is served by the team in power.

Dejan Novakovic