Media News

Media News is a fifteen-day service which speaks about the media situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the most important media events, media legislation, relations between the media and the state and international community…

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No 50, Vol I

Sarajevo, January, 24th 2000.

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¨       Journalistic Solidarity

Syndicate Narcissits

Five journalist associations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and three journalist syndicates (two in the Federation and one in the Republika Srpska) are proof that there is no professional solidarity whatsoever. Not one association can take pride in having journalists rushing to join it, paying membership fees and expecting speedy and efficient assistance. Divided by entity, national, political and narrow-minded interests, these associates are vegetating, while the journalist profession is on the verge of compromise, manipulation and social disaster.

¨      The EROTEL Case

SFOR’s Move Next?

EROTEL and Croatian Television continue to transmit their programming on close to 157 frequencies in Bosnia-Herzegovina without any legal decision. Meanwhile, reconstruction of Radio-Television Bosnia-Herzegovina, as the condition for the establishment of Federal RTV and a Public Broadcasting Service for the entire Bosnia-Herzegovina, is going slowly and meeting with resistance.

Independent Media Commission spokesperson Zinaida Babovic said the IMC sticks to its decision that EROTEL must transmit on approved frequencies only, or terminate activities. It has undertaken measures to ensure compliance with its decision. OHR spokesman Oleg Milisic said the High Representative has asked SFOR to enforce the IMC decision taken due to illegal use of frequencies. He did not say when SFOR will give an order to stop EROTEL’s transmission and in what way it will be done. Meanwhile, the new chairman of EROTEL’s board of governors, Mladen Bevanda, is trying to arrange to have a solution to this problem synchronized with the start of work of Federal RTV, because that would protect the interests of the Croat people. SAFAX received this information on January 21. However, in Sarajevo's Oslobodjenje of Saturday, Jan. 22, a news item quoted sources close to the Croatian Democratic Union as saying that the party is again ready to request the establishment of three public television stations.

¨      Responsibility for Libel

Citizens Against Imprisonment And Fines

Media News now present the results of a telephone poll on this subject carried out among 150 residents of Sarajevo and 100 from Zenica and Tuzla each. The poll was carried out on January 14-17. The polled people do not agree with imprisonment and big fines for journalists responsible for libel and defamation: 44.7 percent of the polled Sarajevans, 62 percent of residents of Tuzla and 68 percent of those in Zenica maintain that in cases of libel and defamation the journalist should be fined only symbolically, while the court decision should be publicized in the newspaper.

¨      Seminar Journalist Freedom and Responsibility to the Public

Propaganda Should Be Fought With Words

The Sarajevo-based Media Plan School of Journalism on January 18 hosted the first of three seminars on the theme “Journalism – Dilemmas and Challenges,” which are organized within the Communication Network for Free and Professional Journalism in Southeast Europe. The main topic of this seminar was “Journalist Freedom and Responsibility to the Public.”

¨      Internet Control – Yes or No? (1)

Control Would Deprive The Internet Of Being A “Global Junge”

(Mensur Camo, Radio Free Europe journalist, Prague)

Media News in its latest issue published an article on Internet control whose author, on behalf of Media Plan, took part in a Conference on New Media, held under the auspices of UNESCO in Paris in December. One of the most important conclusions of the conference is that Internet control must not be allowed because it would be a kind of censorship which would particularly suit totalitarian regimes in the world. Media News starting with this issue will publish articles featuring opinions of journalists and other public workers, as well as Internet surfing lovers, on the issue – does the Net need to be specially regulated.

¨      News

Entity Governments Against Payment of License Fees to IMC

The Independent Media Commission (IMC) decision to start charging broadcasting license fees as of January this year has provoked a strong reaction from the BiH Federation prime minister, Edhem Bicakcic, and displeasure with, as he says, the fact that the Government will be deprived of this revenue.

The Government of the Republika Srpska reacted in a similar fashion. Information Minister Rajko Vasic said his ministry will not accept the IMC decision, which he called a “theft of entity commodities.”

IMC Public Relations head Zinaida Babovic said no money has yet been taken from electronic media for licenses.Fees Now Charged for Broadcasting Licenses

Slobodna BiH Closes Down

Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina and other readers have been left without Slobodna BiH, the only daily newspapers dealing with so-called Croat interests. The reason, according to its owner, the Split news company Slobodna Dalmacija, is of a financial nature.

Repoter Sues Dodik

Reporter magazine intends to sue Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik for, according to the weekly’s editor-in-chief Perica Vucinic, lies presented in the Belgrade daily Blic.

Dani Journalist Threatened

Dani  journalist Hasan Hadzic, following a number of death threats received from armed men, left his apartment in Tuzla’s Slavinovici neighborhood and moved his family to a safe place, the Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje wrote. The reason for the threat is reported to be a series of articles that Hadzic wrote in Dani related to criminal activities of dismissed and incumbent ministers in the Tuzla Canton Government.

A statement issued by Dani magazine says police, who were called several times, failed to intervene when Hadzic and his family were harassed by armed men.

“Our magazine believes this to be the realization of publicly repeated threats to our journalists on the part of a dismissed minister in the Government of the Tuzla Canton, Abid Djozic,” said the statement.

Djozic told Oslobodjenje that he had nothing to do with the incident and that he was a witness in a court case that day.

¨ Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BH Report(1)

The Helsinki Human Rights Watch in Bosnia-Herzegovina issued a comprehensive report last week on the position of media in this country in the context of human rights for 1999, which Media News will publish in two parts. The report gives a good cross-section of attacks on media and journalists by authorities and individuals. The report contributes to better understanding of the difficulties that media are encountering in this transition period in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Position of Media in BH Within Context of Human Rights

Reporting period: 01.01.-31.12.1999

From the end of 1998, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BH has been monitoring with particular attentiveness the position of media in entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially the cases presenting various forms of pressures exerted by the authorities and individuals over the media, media workers and their families. Within the project, the analysis of the state in respect of freedom of expression, freedom of media and position of journalists in it is being made. On the basis of this project, i.e. analysis within it and through the co-operation with journalists’ associations, public media, all journalists individually as well as with other concerned, we are trying to get insight into media and to make estimate to which measure freedom of expression is respected. Essentially, we are trying to promote freedom of expression and journalists’ rights through joint effort and actions undertaken on that ground, i.e. to eliminate numerous negative appearances in this field.

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BH, shortly to say, estimates that the state in realisation of freedom of expression and freedom of media in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the reporting period is very difficult. For example, only in the May report of the International Helsinki Federation even three cases were recorded of violation of this aspect of human rights. Minister of Information in the Republic of Srpska was openly intimidated by the Serb ultranationalists and his car was burned down. The Mayor of the municipality of Zenica made direct pressure over the leadership of local media trying to put their editorial policy under his service. That report accentuated the case of beating of two journalists of Novi list from Rijeka in Mostar.

The assassination over the owner and director of Nezavisne novine (Independent Newspapers) and radio NES Željko Kopanja in Banja Luka in October, was a culmination in creating an atmosphere in which media and journalists become targets for killing. Kopanja is the pioneer in free journalism in the Republic of Srpska and was the first in that entity to support integration of BH media. That terrorist act is, as a drastic assault over independent journalism, a demonstration of force through which the voice of truth, democracy and reason wanted to be made silent. The investigation and search for perpetrators of this horrible crime has not moved from the starting point in this case also as in many previous cases. Unpunishment of perpetrators of the previous physical assaults over the journalists and media (murder of journalist in Zavidovići, throwing of bomb on the editorial office of magazine Dani, demolishion of equipment of “Studio 99”) stimulated hant after journalists and brought to assassination of Kopanja with extremely difficult consequences.

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BH estimates and expresses its fear  that pressures, intimidations and even physical assaults and assassinations over journalists and media can be expressed to a greater extent in the forthcoming pre-election period.

During the reported period, the Helsinki Committee, through public media, warned of the seriosness of the situation, initiated actions for the purpose of fighting against various forms of pressures over journalists and freedom of public expression and was engaged in establishment of legislative in this domain. The Committee has, among other things, given contribution to decriminalisation of defamation and libel.

The Helsnki Committee, from the angle of protection of human rights, recognised six forms of attacks over free journalism and freedom of expression: threatening personal safety of journalists and physical assaults over media, making pressure over public media and journalists, closness of sources of information and inaccesibility of information, law regulations, misuse of media, and material position of media and journalists.

Threatening Personal Safety And Physical Attacks Over Media

As already mentioned, tragic culmination in assaults on journalists is the assassination of the director and editor-in-chief of Nezavisne novine and “NES Radio” from Banja Luka Željko Kopanja, after which both his legs were amputed. The monstrous assault took place after series of articles in Nezavisne novine about financial and other abuse of power-holders in the Republic of Srpska. The estimate is that Serb ultranationalists were especially angry with the series of texts in which, for the first time in a newspaper in that entity, through a research journalism, a file was opened in respect of crimes committed over Bosniaks, Croats and other non-Serb people by Serb nazi-fascists in the passed war. The intention was to have made Kopanja and his media silent as well as to threaten media and journalists in the Republic of Srpska and BH. Prior to assassination, Željko Kopanja and his family were receiving threatening letters and they were blackmailed. Fifteen days prior to assassination, he was asked to pay his personal and his family’s safety with 500,000 DEM. It is important to note that it was only by chance that his wife and son escaped the explosion.

Intimidating public media workers in the Republic of Srpska resulted also in intimidating Minister of Information in the government of that entity Rajko Vasić. His empty car was burned down. Acting President of the Serb Radical Party Mirko Blagojević, at one meeting, accused Vasić of “committing crime against Serb people” and because of that “Chetnik’s court-martial”  (Chetniks are Serb nazi-fascists) was in session, and decision of such courts, as a rule, is a capital sentence. Vasić was threatened because Serb extremists did not like some of his statements. Serb ultranationalists demolished an independent Radio Station “Osvit” (Down) in Zvornik thus causing considerable material damage. The Mayor of the city of  Doboj Mirko Stojičinović physically assaulted the correspondent of RTV BH and BETA agency Milan Srdić. Former Co-Chair of the Council of Ministers of BH, official of the Serb Democratic Party established by Radovan Karadžić, Boro Bosić, now director of thermo electric power plant Ugljevik, switched off the power to PIM, the first alternative RTV house in the neighbouring Bijeljina. Switching off took place when RTV took shots of Bosić attacking one officer of Bijeljina municipality for depriving him of his “right”. The crew of PIM wanted to dislocate the transmitter to another place in order to provide for alternative power supply but they found the place and equipment for new transmitter damaged.

Mika Damjanović Avdo, free-journalist from Orašje where the Croat Democratic Union is in power, addressed the competent institutions in BH because of threats with death sent by an owner of one local company, Ivica Benković Maršev. He threatened the journalist with cutting his head if he dares making picture of the locality where his company intends to build a market centre or writing about Benković himself. In the area in which HDZ is a dominating party, a serious physical assault happened over the journalists of independent Novi list from Rijeka (Republic of Croatia) who wrote about President Tuđman and Croatian nationalists in a very critical manner. Two unidentified persons took out from the hotel in western Mostar journalists Robert Frank and Ronald Brmalj and beaten them up heavily, smashing right fist of one of them “to prevent him from writing in future”. The international peace mission believes that assailants could be even local Croatian policemen. Setting fire to Radio Usora is one of the attacks on media as well. All copies of the independent weekly Nacional from Zagreb disappeared from newspaper-shop in Mostar.

Attacking journalists is also a characteristic of the area in which the Party of Democratic Action is in power. Thus, the journalists Branka Vrebac and reporter Pavle Čondrić from television of Kiseljak, both Croats, were maltreated by a group of Bosniaks in the Association of Killed Bosniak-Muslim Soldiers of the Canton of Sarajevo. The repeater of the independent RTV “Studio 99” in Sarajevo was mined with plastic explosive. The equipment of RTV Bugojno was robbed.

Pressures Over Media and Journalists

The anonymous letters, threatening phone calls, unexpected coming across and sending threats are everyday appearance in media life in BH. We should emphasise that public and competent institutions got to know only for some of the pressures. Namely, many journalists do not want to publicise the threats sent to them considering them as price for their professional engagement, while some of them do not want to further provoke new intimidation directed to them or their families.  The Independent Media Commission (IMC), among else, introduced a phone line, through which journalists throughout BH, can register all kinds of behaviour affecting their rights and professional privileges. Through IMC, the journalists can obtain legal assistance.

Editor-in-chief of TV Zenica Medina Delibašić, editor-in-chief of Radio Zenica Spahija Kozlić and chief of Information-Market Centre of Sarajevo’s Večernje novine (Evening Newspapers) in Zenica Selvedin Avdić sent a letter to the High Representative following the pressures and unacceptable demands of the Mayor of Zenica Ferid Alić. The direct cause was a demand of Alić to Director of RTV Zenica Remzija Hukeljić to dismiss Delibašić and Kozlić or he would be dismissed otherwise. The reason for his demand is the fact that RTV Zenica publicised the letter of one association to Alija Izetbegović and Carlos Westendorp, speaking critically of the situation in Zenica, in which SDA of Alija Izetbegović is in power. Threats of the Mayor were sent even after refusing repossession of the apartments to Serbs and Croats, their pre-war tenants.

The size of political paranoia toward independent newspapers can be shown in a fact that the Vice President of the Party of Democratic Action Halid Genjac used a cartoon in a new year quadruple issue of Oslobođenje for severe attack on editorial policy of that renowned independent newspaper, accusing it of equalising the role of the three leading national parties during the war – Serb Democratic Party, Croat Democratic Union and Party of Democratic Action. Then editor-in-chief of Oslobođenje Mehmed Halilović with arguments proved that Genjac had wrongly “read” the cartoon and that accusation of equalising the roles of the parties during the war was ungrounded. However, Halilović emphasised that that was against the concept of national political organisation in respect of tragic effects of that option and that in that context, the SDA was also under critical magnifying glass of the said newspaper. Dika Bejdić, correspondent of Oslobođenje received threats after publishing article with names of local functionaries living in someone else’s apartments.

There is a characteristic example of acceptance of censorship in Gradačac. Thus, the SDA keeps under the control the local radio-station financed from the municipal budget, whose journalists are at the same time the correspondents of Dnevni avaz and of RTV of Tuzla Canton. Besides, the Secretary of the Municipal Secretariat for Administration and Social Affairs asked from journalists to submit to him first all “doubtful” texts while the Secretary of the Secretariat for Economy and Utility Issues asked that none information from his field of work could be published without his knowledge and permission.

BH Muslim religious leader reisu-l-ulema Mustafa ef. Cerić publicly accused editor and speaker of BH TV news Midheta Kurspahić of using, among else, the formulation Jesus Christ, but not Isa – according to Kur’an, during the Ramadan, and on occasion of the Catholic Christmas. Cerić accused Kurspahić of not being good Bosniak, Muslim as well as the RTV house where she works for “catholicising Muslims”. Reis spoke of some “magazines” spreading hatred toward Islam, thinking of critical articles in the independent press. Such ungrounded accusations were also sent by the association of Young Muslims (organisation established before the Second World War, the member of which was from early young days, Alija Izetbegović, President of the Party of Democratic Action and the member of the BH Presidency) after the articles in Oslobođenje criticising efforts to put RTV of BH under service of Bosniaks, Muslims and statement of Cerić as well.

Rade Popović was arrested in Sarajevo and following the reaction was set free. He was cameraman of Serb RTV from Banja Luka, and was arrested on the grounds of criminal charges from 1992 according to which he, as a former worker of RTV of BH took away a car of that institution. After the hearing, Popović was released and he will defend himself before the court in regular court procedure. He estimated the overall behaviour toward him as correct. However, basically, this is also a case of threat to freedom of media and freedom of movement in BH.

The journalist of Dnevni avaz from Sarajevo Almasa Hadžić was bluntly met by the police of Serbia (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) at the border of BH while she was returning from journalist task in the Yugoslav autonomous province of Sandžak where a great number of Bosniaks live. Hadžić was kept for three and half-hours during the night and early morning. She was investigated about her trip and contacts she had.

The reporter of TV BH Sanela Prašović and her family were exposed to severe threats after her reportage in which she disclosed illegal network for provision of passports to Serbs from BH. Threats were sent particularly from Celje (Republic of Slovenia) in which the agency dealing with this unlawful job is located. The Association of Croat War Veterans of Herzeg-Bosnia (HVIDRA HB) threatened three journalists of Croat ethnic origin – Pejo Gašparević (HINA news agency, based in Zegreb), Marija Topić – Crnoja  (EROTEL) and Blažica Krišto (HRTV Oscar C) – accusing them of betraying Croatian interests in BH because they attended expert seminar organised by the Independent Media Commission (IMC) in Mostar. HVIDRA is an exponent of the Croatian ultranationalists.

The Association of the Croatian Journalists strongly protested when members of SFOR, during the action in western part of Mostar (led in order to collect evidence about activities of illegal Croatian information service in BH) “forcefully entered the premises of EROTEL and literally detained their fifteen workers, forcing them to put a piece of paper in front of them with written down names and surnames and photographed them in such a position, keeping them detained for four hours”. SFOR stated that EROTEL was not an aim of the operation, but that it was located in a building that was an object of the action.

Pressure of the authorities over media and journalists is also expressed in court disputes following journalists’ articles. Editor-in-chief of the independent daily Slobodna Bosna Senad Avdić was twice sentenced to suspended sentence while the third time he was released.  If he had been sentenced for the third time, he would have had to go to jail. However, even in that case, the authorities demonstrated their power sending court policemen in early morning hours to take Avdić from the editorial office when the magazine was in a final phase of preparing magazine for publishing. The policemen did not allow him to communicate with anybody. 15 criminal charges are filed against Avdić but Senad Pećanin, editor-in-chief of the independent magazine Dani is in the similar situation, as well as editors and journalists of that editorial office, who are also exposed to physical, verbal and court pressures.

Arrival of court policemen in order to take Avdić as well as his releasing sentence happened when the High Representative Carlos Westendorp, within the scope of his  intervening measures in respect of the judiciary system, suspended libel and defamation as criminal acts and included them in civil proceedings. The arguments spoke in favour of protection of research journalism.

Pressures over journalists and media were exerted in Tuzla as well. Front slobode  (Front of Freedom) is exposed to permanent pressures. After a series of texts in which this newspaper produced evidence, giving arguments, that Tuzla named one street after the SS-officer Muhamed Hadžiefendić, the editorial staff was receiving threats over the phone. One day, Nazi Germany Swastika appeared on the entrance door of the editorial office while the next time a list of people who are to be killed was put under the door. Editor-in-chief Sinan Alić receives anonymous threats with a note “take care of your behaviour, you have a beautiful son”. After the serial “Right to be Irresponsible” in which the behaviour of ex-Minister of Justice of Tuzla Canton, Šemso Softić, was disclosed, the author of the text Sinan Alić was receiving anonymous telephone and written threats. During the last year, there were two court disputes held against this author in which the plaintiffs were the Chancellor of the University of Tuzla Sadik Latifagić and the President of the BH Federation Ivo Andrić Lužanski. Both cases were suspended because the plaintiffs surrendered their accusation after one year of dispute.

The correspondent of the Radio Slobodna Evropa (Free Europe) from Tuzla Marko Divković was pushed out from the premises of the Tuzla HDZ by a body-guard of Ante Jelavić in unprecedented and bullying manner, just for putting a question “How long are we to wait for statement?”

TV STUDIO FS-3 (ownership of Front slobode) one day, without receiving any warning, remained without power supply with an explanation that they were in debt to Power Distribution Company. Later it was found that there was not any debt and in Power Distribution Company it was never established who and why had left the studio without electric power. This TV station is recognisable for playing music and showing films from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

            (to be continued)

Listen with your ears!

Look with your eyes!

Think with your head!

Council:Media Plan Institute

Prof. Dr. Muhamed Nuhić, Hamza Bakšić (Sarajevo); Perica Vučinić (Banja Luka); M.S. Lenart Šetinc (Ljubljana); Prof. Dr. Mario Plenković (Zagreb); M.S. Loius de la Ronciere (Paris); M.S. Aleksandar Todorović (Montreaux); Prof. Dr. Slavo Kukić (Mostar), Prof.Dr. Miroljub Radojković (Beograd).