Shutting Down Independent Media

Who Is Left Without A Channel

AIM Belgrade, 18 May, 1998

In the past few days Slobodan Milosevic undertook a great task: in parallel with the alleged pacification of Kosovo (extorted from himself and Ibrahim Rugova by Richard Holbrook), Milosevic is taking the opportunity to settle accounts with Milo Djukanovic and Montenegro, "unnoticed" as an elephant in a china shop, to pacify Serbian universities by the new very restrictive law which gives full freedom to the state and leaves nothing of the autonomy to the universities, and to shut down all the media which are disturbing him.

Like for who knows how many times before, independent electronic media are in the line of fire of the regime, since they are the greatest pain in Milosevic's neck (because the circulation of independent newspapers, especially the more serious ones, is so negligible that it cannot be cause of concern for Milosevic) and since they are the easiest to control. The state holds an efficient "stick" for them - it can deprive them of channles for broadcasting radio and TV signals. Chaos was created on purpose in the field of radio-diffusion for years, by enabling any "fool" to broadcast whatever he wished by using all kinds of non-professional equipment, and now the regime has decided to allegedly introduce "order". The ransparent intention of the authorities to eliminate from the air the voices which disturb them is hidden behind the latest developments.

Difficulties of the regime with electronic media started after the opposition Together coalition won local elections in a number of cities in autumn 1996. In this way the opposition also took over local, municipal radio and TV stations, which soon afterwards united, as well as an increasing number of private stations, into the ANEM network (Association of Independent Electronic Media). These stations started to transmit or carry satellite information programmes in Serbian broadcast by BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Deutsche Welle, etc., as well as the main information political programs of Belgrade B92, the station which became a specific "backbone" of ANEM. Before this network was created, outside Belgrade there were only stations which were either under direct influence of the regime or they broadcast exclusively commercial and entertaining "non-political" programs. For this reason the regime was not at all happy about connection of local stations with Radio B92 and foreign stations: this network enabled the uncontrolled and uncensored information and an attitude different from the official, nationalistic and populist one, enter free of charge the homes of many Serbian citizens.

The regime fears this more than writing of serious independent newspapers, because their readers are the remaining urban intellectuals who are opposed to such a regime in any case, who have a very modest influence on the population. Under the circumstance of the new (pre) war increase of tensions in Kosovo, the serious conflict with Montenegro which is perhaps just reaching its climax and the constant economic decline of the country and impoverishment of its inhabitants, the regime must take care to leave the least possible space for dissemination of uncensored news and articulation of different attitudes.

The result of this concern of the regime for its own survival is the following: the Federal Ministry of Telecommunications, which recently announced a new competition for channels, rejected applications of more than 200 radio and TV stations! This would not have been very indicative (since all sorts of candidates applied for the competition) if it were not for the fact that ALL the radio stations members of ANEM were rejected, except for B92 (which was too well known and respectable in the world...) and two TV stations from the network (TV Pancevo and TV Nis).

The very popular Belgrade station Index, Radio 021 from Novi Sad, Radio Ozon from Cacak etc. were also among the rejected ones. But it is interesting that channels were granted without any problem to media "giants" such as Radio Nashville from village Bogatic, Radio Zitoradja (birthplace of Ivica Dacic, SPS spokesman), newly established Radio FAN from Pozarevac, owned by Marko Milosevic, the President's son, or something called TV Eagle's Eye... Channels were granted to still non-existing Belgrade stations such as Radio SKC, Radio 10, Interspeed, etc. A cynical conclusion can be drawn, the less a station exists the more chance it has to get a permit...

Probably because non-existing stations have a good property never to cause problems. But the swindling of the regime does not end with the game with (not) awarding channels: the Federal Government introduced recently compensations to be paid for using radio and TV channels, which threaten to stifle stations which might somehow manage to legalise their status, by "subtle" financial pressure. The prices are so impudent and senseless that for example Radio B92, which is such a technological "giant" that its programme cannot even be heard on the whole territory of Belgrade, would have to pay to the state between 20,000 - 30,000 German marks a month as a sign of "gratitude" for the privilege of the allocated channel... There is now way the independent radio and TV stations can pay such a "tax on brains". If this act of the Government becomes effective, it would bring about a real "genocide" of radio and TV stations in Serbia, and only the State RTS mastodon would survive, together with local stations in the "obedient" towns (which did not vote for the opposition) and lavishly financed media monsters like Belgrade Radio Kosava, the boss of which is Marija Milosevic, and there is probably no need to explain to the reader who her parents are...

The regime has thus estimated that this is the suitable moment to "devour" too loud opposing voices. The scandal with the electronic media is only one "symbolic" sign that Serbia is heading from the authoritarian populist regime towards open dictatorship. While thinking about the best "approach" to this topic, this journalist was accidentally listing to Radio Novi Sad, incorporated in the state RTS system. Precisely at one o'clock after midnight, between Saturday and Sunday, news began: the announcer, with a voice as if trained in the Radio Moscow style of late forties, indifferently murmured about numerous enthusiastic reactions of the Chinese (!) press to the historical meeting of Milosevic and Rugova. It is hard to imagine who would be interested in the attitude of Chinese media about the Kosovo crisis in the middle of the night on a weekend. But, this is the existing media picture of Serbia, the picture the regime intends to make monopolistic: the twilight zone, canonised absurdity, absolute lobotomy which attacks the leftovers of common sense. As if we have all become characters from a bizarre tragicomedy; only no one knows how and when the play will end.

Teofil Pancic

(AIM)