State Media

Who is Hindering Editors?

AIM Banja Luka, 27 April, 1999

When bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) by NATO began, state media in Republika Srpska (RS) found themselves caught in the crossfire of political parties and Independent Media Commission (IMC). The stories about certain media being the puppets controlled by political parties became topical again.

In the first days of NATO strikes against Yugoslavia mass demonstrations were organised in Banja Luka in which a protographer of Nezavisne novine and a crew of Alternativna Televizija (ATV) were attacked. Eye-witnesses claim that in the film shot by ATV they recognised sympathisers and members of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and the Serb Radical Party (SRS) among the attackers against the journalists. The Independent Union of Journalists (NUN) of RS issued a statement that "in the background of this abominable attack against journalists of independent media were those who are used to have media in the service of their policy, and journalists who are carrying out their orders". The Union of Journalists of RS, which gathers journalists of state media, also sharply reacted to the incident.

A few days ago, thirteen editors of Serb Radio-Television (SRT) submitted resignations to their jobs of editting news and political shows because they were, as it was stated in the letter to the management board of SRT "prevented in discharging their professional work". Editors of SRT blame the Independent Media Commission for such treatment, stressing that they were working under its pressure which increased since the beginning of attacks of NATO forces on FR Yugoslavia. The editorial team of SRT demanded that the Management Board initiate in the National Assembly re-examination of interim arrangements according to which SRT operates.

Editors of SRT considered the letters that had arrived from the Office of the High Representative for B&H (OHR) as an attack on their professional conscience. In the first letter dated 26 March addressed to general director of SRT Andjelko Kozomara presonally by High Representative, Carlos Westendorp, concern was expressed because of "war-mongering and propagandist content of SRT reports on developments in FRY". Westendorp, among other, demands that SRT stop relying on reports of Tanjug's correspondents from outside FRY, and that reports on Kosovo by "eminent international TV stations such as BBC" be carried in the same proportion as reports of SRT. Failing to meet these demands, says Westendorp in his letter, "will result in withdrawal of international support and equipment donated to SRT, as well as further measures which I might consider necessary, in consultation with the Independent Media Commission".

To the same address, on 27 and 28 March, another letter arrived of similar content, this time from the deputy High Representative for media, Simon Hazelock. Hazelock demanded that SRT as a matter of urgency carry the address of USA president Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to the citizens of Serbia. The next day, in a letter addressed to Westendorp, Kozomara expressed astonishment because of such a demand, saying that the mentioned addresses were broadcast on 26 March in evening news.

Reactions and comments on the mentioned resignation of editors of SRT range from approval to the assessment that they have become "instruments of political option which is in favour of the government of national unity". This was the title of the Nezavisne novine review. Those who are in favour of the government of national unity (that is the Serb Democratic and the Serb Radical Party) claim that Nezavisne are under patronage of the current prime minister Milorad Dodik who is in fact its founder.

In this text they express the opinion that the tragedy after the beginning of military strikes of the western alliance against FRY was used as "a good catalyst because it had already been used by unformal centres of power in political struggle outside parliamentary and outside democratic procedures". The signatory of the text (psedonym Mirko Krnjajic) claims that the quantity of information on "aggression of NATO against FRY" on SRT has not been limited, and that during all this time "there has not been a single powerful show which would illuminate the aggression from a certain angle, fully and professionally". He further claims that a few editors who have signed their resignations receive additional pay from OHR, and that they were forced to do it.

Members of the Serb Radical Party were the first to react to resignations of editors of SRT, stating that they were a specific confession that SRT worked under control of Carlos Westendorp who was inclined towards Harmony coalition. They repeated like who knows how many times before that it was "treacherous and non-Serb television".

Vice president of SRS Mirjana Sainovic complained that president of RS Nikola Poplasen, who was removed from office by High Representatives, was not permitted to address the nation via state television. She corroborated this by three requests in writing sent to director Kozomara who answered that "the president has nothing new to say". A few days ago, in a show of Independent Television (NTV) Kozomara declared that in three months preceding his discharge the president of RS had appeared on SRT more times than Biljana Plavsic had appeared in a year and that in his letters he had set the condition that he had to speak alone and set the time and duration of his address.

Vice president of SDS Dragan Cavic did not miss the opportunity to criticise work and editorial policy of state media either, calling them bulletins of Harmony coalition, and Nezavisne novine a public media of Milorad Dodik's government.

Minister of information in the government of RS Rajko Vasic also criticised media on several occasions. As a guest in a SRT show Vasic accused BIG radio station and Sveti Georgije RTV from Banja Luka and BN Television from Bijeljina of being unobjective, biased and unprofessional.

The Union of Journalists of RS which gathers journalists from state media backed the discontented editors of SRT and came forward with a statement in which it stated that media in RS were "under terrific pressure exerted by the Independent Media Commission and Office of High Representative of the international community for B&H, Carlos Westendorp". IMC responded with a letter in which it expressed regret for "obviously wrongly interpreted position of IMC concerning broadcast programs of Radio-Television Serbia. IMC only asks for neutrality in respect to the current NATO operation in FRY and a clear distinction between commentaries and news", it is stated in the letter of IMC.

The story about resignation and the letter of SRT editors shows that among journalists of state media there is an excess of emotions and lack of professionalisms. The arguments they came out in public with are more a reflex reaction than defence of the profession. That is why fear is justified that state media might be tempted again to let politics turn them into instruments of propaganda again.

Olga Lola Stanic