Novi Sad weekly "Nezavisni" was the first to publish a more detailed analysis of the most recent media crisis in Serbia written by Tamara Kaliterna in its October 16, 1998 issue.

Serbian citizens receive electro shocks every six months. In March of this year, when the conflict in Kosvo turned into a war, Belgrade district attorney Miodrag Tmusic "took adequate measures" against the editors of "Nasa Borba, " "Dnevni Telegraf," "Blic," Demokratija," and "Danas," and "some" TV stations because of the "articles that encourage the terrorists and falsely present the measures against the terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija."

The unspecified measures were indicating towards the "elements of criminal acts of spreading false information as specified by article 218, paragraph 1 of the Serbian penal code." The matter was simple - the accused have called the "terrorists" as "Albanians," and at that time the threats ended in "informative conversations." Exactly six months later, after the decrees on real estate trade and reregistration of automobiles with Montenegrin licence plates, came the "Decree on special measures in the conditions of NATO threats to our country ." "The conditions of threat" are neither the constitutional "imminent threat of war" nor "threat of war," nor "state of emergency." "Our country" is probably Serbia, perhaps "Yugoslavia," or possibly the domain of the public prosecutor. The Decree stands above the constitution of Yugoslavia and Serbia which guarantee the "freedom of the press and other public means of information, " as well as the Law on public information, which does not recognize censorship.

The Law on information envisages something that is even unthinkable for the Decree - the right to a correction and denial. That things are being reduced to instigation of fear and new dipping into pockets is proven by the announcement that taxes will have to be paid by the owners of satellite dishes and Internet users. If the government continues in with this pace, the only people spared will be the owners of coal powered irons. The fact that the regime will not leave the Internet users alone, favoring propaganda, is proven by a recent example. BBC offered the Interent users to participate in a poll titled "Should the West attack Yugoslavia because of Kosovo." Eunet, one of the Yugoslav providers, owned by the Karic brothers dynasty, hurried to inform its subscribers about the poll with their translation of the poll titled "Your vote against the bombing." Is Eunet threatening or spreading false news ?

Immediately, the regime quietly and " in a dignified manner" closed Radio Senta and Belgrade Radio Indeks - which is founded by Belgrade university. Daily "Danas" received a letter marked confidential 9/98 from the Serbina Ministry of information that it is "spreading panic, fear and defeatism," by publishing translations of articles which could be bought at our newsstands, and that, if it continues, "it will be prevented from being published, and its work means confiscated." The similar letter with the same date and the number 8/98 was received by another independent daily, "Nasa Borba." Media outlets responded to the Decree in a different manner. "Zig" from Subotica appeared with eight blank pages, Radio Pancevo transmitted the news in Chinese, Chechen and North Korean dialects. "Dnevni Telegraf" published every single detail what it is not publishing, the TV station SAN from Novi Pazar sued the state, the telecommunications minister and the inspector on duty for theft of transmission technology.


Novi Sad weekly "Nezavisni" October 16, 1998