SUBSCRIPTION

No 64/65, Vol I 

*   Our View

Recent removals and resignations in the world of BiH media have stirred the public both in Sarajevo and Banjaluka so much so that a naive observer could have thought that these would result at least in the resolution of the overall Bosnian crisis, if not something even bigger. For days now, Sarajevo dailies filled their front pages with texts on either 'removal' or 'resignation' of Senad Hadzifejzovic, the Editor in Chief of TV BiH, and statements by members of the management considered responsible for either 'acceptance of the resignation' or 'removal'. 
In the atmosphere of a bit less excitement but an equal share of press and TV coverage, the RS public has been flooded by arguments, counter-arguments, accusations and speculations concerning the removal from office of the former RTVRS Executive Board - followed by appointment of the new one - as well as the 'removal' or 'resignation' of Andjelko Kozomara, the Director General, the resignation of Dragan Gasic, the International Supervisor of RTVRS - currently in discord with the OHR, his superior that appointed the new Executive Board - and the resignation of Rajko Vasic, the RS Minister of Information, 'motivated by inability to exercise legitimate powers of the Ministry of Information', or rather, as assumed in the media circles, due to his resistance to the reconstruction of RTVRS. 
What is now happening in these quasi-national radio and TV broadcasters is only a tip of the iceberg that is made of obstructive policy of local authorities in this important area, pragmatic and inconsistent strategy of international community and decline of professional ambitions and solidarity among those working in these broadcasters.
 

*  TV Commentary (3)

In issue No. 62, Media News - prompted by the Croatian Government’s proposal to ban commentary in Croatian Television (HRT) news programming - brought about an article entitled “A Compromised Genre in Journalism,” dealing with the misuse of commentary in the countries effected by the Balkan conflicts and presenting an overview of the use of commentary by public TV stations in Southeast Europe. Assessing that this issue provokes different reactions in professional circles, we asked a number of prominent journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina to comment.
In this issue, Zlatko Dizdarevic, formerly a columnist and editor of Oslobodjenje daily and Svijet weekly - nowadays a free lance journalist, gives his view of commentary.
 

*  Political Intimidation of Journalists

IREX ProMedia, a US non-governmental organisation most actively involved in the support of free and professional journalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, produced a comprehensive report on political intimidation of journalists and the media in BiH, containing also recommendations of remedies. The report was a subject of discussion among prominent BiH journalists at the round table held in Sarajevo on the 27th and the 28th of July. The report was done by Robert Gillette, the Director of IREX. 'Media News' are bringing a summary of the report, compunded by the overview of discussion at the round table.
 

IREX ProMedia, a US non-governmental organisation most actively involved in the support of free and professional journalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, produced a comprehensive report on political intimidation of journalists and the media in BiH, containing also recommendations of remedies. The report was a subject of discussion among prominent BiH journalists at the round table held in Sarajevo on the 27th and the 28th of July. The report was done by Robert Gillette, the Director of IREX. 'Media News' are bringing a summary of the report, compunded by the overview of discussion at the round table.

We offer a number of detailed recommendations to address the dual problem of political pressures on media and the vulnerability of media to those pressures. Some steps, we believe, could improve the current situation almost literally overnight. These recommendations—subject to comment obtained from a two-day roundtable discussion with independent media houses, associations, lawyers and representatives of international organizations on 27-28 July—fall into the following six broad categories:
1. Monitor, rigorously investigate and publicize authentic examples of intimidation whenever possible and penalize officials who can be identified as responsible.
2. Attack the main instruments of pressure: Abuse of libel law, political manipulation of advertising by state enterprises and abuse of tax enforcement and the financial police. 
3. Reduce the institutional vulnerability of journalists through judicial reform and training, and the privatization of state enterprises.  Privatization of media outlets poses special implications for the quality of democracy.  Media privatization will not in all cases lead to greater media independence.
4. Self-regulation by the journalism profession (not self-censorship) can raise professional standards, reduce vulnerability to libel charges even under existing law and provide out-of-court safety valves for voicing and arbitrating complaints.
5. Reduce the physical vulnerability of journalists to violent attack through training in basic techniques of personal security and by developing working professional relations between media and police.
6. Raise public awareness of the crucial importance of media to the development of democracy and a successful market economy and educate public officials in their rights and obligations with regard to media.    

* Macedonia

The long awaited Information Law, although still in the draft form, attracted a considerable degree of attention in the Macedonian public. For long enough, expansive media development in this country has been in need of modern media legislation that would regulate the sphere of media while not imposing an iron framework on freedom of media. In this issue you can find texts by Mirce Tomovski, the Editor in Chief of Puls magazine,  and IWPR analyst Tom Hughes, concerning this problem.
 

*  The Dita Case

The news that issue of Dita Daily has been banned in Prishtina has just been broken. In his farewell editorial, Behlul Becaj, the Editor in Chief, writes that Dita has decided to comply with the decision of Douglas Davidson, the Kosovo Provisional Media Commissioner, directing the daily to pay the fine of 25,000 DEM for violating the codex of journalism or else cease the issue instantly. For the time being, this seems to be the outcome of a fierce dispute arisen between international administration in Kosovo and this daily paper supported by the majority of Albanian-speaking media.
But let us go back to the beginning of this story.
On the 3rd of June, Bernard Kouchner, the UN Administrator based in Prishtina, suspended circulation of Dita for seven days due to the text brought about on the 27th of April, criticising international organisations for employing suspicios and criminal persons as well as criminals, i.e. murderers of Albanians. A photo of certain Petar Topoljski, a UN mission employee at the time, was incorporated in the text as well as his personal details including his address. A couple of days later, Topoljski was found strangled. Bernard Kouchner's administration based its decision in the provisional media codex, 'strictly prohibiting disclosure of personal names and surnames, addresses and work positions if such disclosure could threaten personal safety of the person in concern.' The codex is effectively a substitute for any media legislation in Kosovo and presents a similar yet much more rigorous framework than the one enforced in Bosnia and Herzegovina, defining powers of international community in the media sphere, and particularly with regard to propagandist journalism and rhetoric of hatred. In this specific instance, Kouchner assessed that the disclosure of details of this potential criminal - yet to be found guilty - could be perceived as a call to lynch or a vengeful text on special order. 
Having 'served the punishment', issue of the newspaper was resumed while the Editor announced that his paper would continue to search for Serb criminals. The paper also sued the UN administration, demanding 489 thousand USD worth compensation for seven-day suspension. Shortly afterwards, a list of 15 Serbs - all residing in Kosovo and accused by the newspaper of war crimes - was released, including their photographs. One of the persons in question responded to the newspaper allegedly denying the accusations but the Editor refused to publish the letter; this was followed by the decision of Media Commissioner Douglas Davidson, facing the paper with the choice between a fine amounting to 25 thousand DEM or the overall ban. At first, the Editorial Bureau of the paper had defied both options but subsequently changed their mind and chose the ban, as reported by Glas magazine dated the 29th/30th of July. Editor Becaj wrote: 'We shall insist at any cost on invalidation of this codex since the source of crisis does not rest with the disclosure of facts and testimonies concerning war criminals, but their concealment.'
International community has been repeatedly warning certain journalists and the media in Kosovo of the rhetoric of hatred they use, thus aggravating already complex situation in Kosovo. The Botu Sot magazine used to publish editorials reading that 'the Serb children are born as murderers and they remain murderers for the rest of their lives' and that 'all the Serbs living in Kosovo nowadays are criminals'. However, international journalists' organisations were explicitly opposed to any bans, insisting that the codex of behaviour should have been adopted by the journalists themselves or at least by international administration together with the journalists. 
The media codex has been received with almost unanimous disapproval on the part of journalists and their insitutions as it stipulates high fines in event of violation. Sanctions incorporated in the codex include warning, correction, apology, fine amounting to 500,000 DEM, equipment confiscation, ban, etc. Journalists believe that the daily was banned by a decree and not through any common procedure. In this sense, Veton Surroi, a renown publisher and journalist, asks whether Dita daily is indeed the gravest of Kosovo problems, adding that local institutional void allows the heads of UMNIK to act as law, judges and executors at the same time. The Kosovo Association of Journalists responded to the ban of Dita rather harshly, accusing the international administration of adopting the media codex without any consultations with either journalists or their associations. 
At the seminar on ethical dilemmas in journalism, held at Neum (BiH) in June, the views of Albanian journalists from Kosovo attending the seminar differed widely as to the moral justifiability of disclosing personal details of persons towards whom erratic retaliatory acts could be directed.  However, a majority of them believes that war criminals in Kosovo should be pursued by the means of investigative journalism. In his interview to TVBiH on the 31st of July, Hashim Taçi, an Albanian leader believed to be in control of Dita or at least exerting considerable influence upon the daily, stated that the case should have been considered as part of the struggle for active and independent journalism. In contrast, Bernard Kouchner states the following for Radio Prishtina in a rather frustrated tone: 'Despite criticism on the part of international organisations, I do not regret my decision concerning Dita. I was horrified and shocked having witnessed their persecution of people absolutely unfounded in any evidence.' 

(based on the information of SAFAX correspondent in Kosovo and Media Centre Belgrade)
 

* The Filipovic Case

On July the 26th, 2000, Miroslav Filipovic, a journalist of Danas daily from Kraljevo and an Associate of AFP and IWPR, was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Council of Court-Martial in Nis.
Colonel Radenko Miladinovic, the Head of the Council numbering five members, stated that the Council sentenced Filipovic to five years on the charges of espionage under the Criminal Law of FRY and to three years on the charge of dissemination of false information under the Criminal Law of Republic of Serbia but decided to pass a single verdict sentencing him to the total of seven years.
Numerous international organisations such as European Union, AFP, IWPR, Reporters without Frontiers, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International Press Institute (IP) and others reacted to this case and lodged a strong protest, denouncing the trial as politicised and as the best indicator how far Slobodan Milosevic could go in his persecution of independent journalists and media. 
 

* News

Wolfgang Petritsch, the High Representative, decided to terminate the mandate of the existing Executive Board of RS Radio and TV and to appoint a new board at the same time. As stated, the decision was motivated by the failures of RS authorities to adopt new legislation on RTVRS within several time frames set.

In the morning of July the 24th, a bomb was found on the desk of Alija Lizde, the Director of Mostar Radio Hayat. 'An unindentified perpetrator broke into the premises of the radio station, rummaged through it and left a bomb - an act that could be interpreted as a sign of warning.', stated for the public Lizde, also the Head of the BiH Associations of Journalists.
 

Perica Vucinic, the Editor in Chief of The Reporter magazine from Banjaluka, was summoned for an informative interrogation by the police on the 28th of July. He was interrogated by two police inspectors on the charge raised against The Reporter by the RS Department of Intelligence and Security in relation to the texts on illegal tapping of RS citizens by this Department.
 

SUPPLEMENT

* STABILITY PACT 

The participating States of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, drawing on the valuable reparatory work done within the framework of the Royaumont Process for the elaboration of this Charter for Media Freedom; 
hoping that the whole area, including the FRY, will soon be included in the Stability Pact and will implement the principles of this Charter; recognizing that lasting peace in the region based on stable democracies is crucial for peace in Europe in the 21st century;      
acknowledge that freedom of the media, free flow of information and ideas and open discussion, without the interference of public authorities, play a fundamental role in the development of free, stable and democratic societies; are prerequisites for the establishment of mutual understanding and good relations among states and their peoples; and deserve the full support of interested governments and organizations; 
reaffirm their adherence to the principles of freedom of expression, the media and free flow of information as laid down in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, OSCE principles and commitments and, as applicable, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and case law related thereto, and other international conventions and agreements including those of UNESCO and the Council of Europe; 
emphasize that the promotion of mutual respect, cooperation, stability and democracy requires respect for the interests, values and cultures of all communities in the region and for international commitments relating to democracy, human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law; consider that there is a need for a more active and better informed public debate in order to achieve the objectives of peace, stability and mutual understanding that underpin the Stability Pact; believe that cooperation among media professionals from the region contributes to enhancing mutual confidence and reducing the risk of tension in South Eastern Europe; 
The Participating States of the Stability Pact, and the interested parties and organizations associated with the Pact, will endeavor to cooperate to protect freedom of expression and encourage observation and implementation of the following principles in the region.

The Governments in the region will:

1. defend and promote freedom of expression, information and comment and act in accordance with the rule of law and international commitments relating to the above freedoms;
2. keep under review media and other relevant laws, including defamation laws, and take steps to identify and remove obstacles to media freedom and to the exercise of independent journalism, consistent with international standards and commitments, including removal of powers of censorship or suppression of the press or radio and TV programs;
3. encourage and actively support the development of pluralistic and accessible electronic and printed media which are professional and independent, and encourage the development of regional cooperation schemes to facilitate the flow of information;
4. facilitate the ability of media organizations to control their own means of production and distribution; recognizing that economic independence has a central role to play in the development and maintenance of free and pluralistic media;
5. remove by democratic process obstacles to free access to sources of information and facilitate the unimpeded flow of information;
6. recognize that the public interest is served by the right of journalists to protect their sources of information; any restrictions to this right must serve a legitimate interest in a democratic society and must be narrowly defined by law;
7. support the development of media networks which facilitate the free flow of information between neighboring states and which bring journalists together, in particular through the exchange of young journalists;
8. ensure an appropriate legal framework for Public Service Broadcasters and state news agencies, which should serve the interests of the public and not the parties in power or special interest groups;
9. facilitate the establishment of independent broadcasting regulatory bodies, where they do not already exist, charged with implementing the internationally recognized standards of transparency and accountable administration of broadcasting;
10. recognize the key role of media professionals in matters of media ethics and support self regulation and the establishment of appropriate structures independent of government in order to encourage professionalism, high quality and diversity in broadcasting and publishing. These structures should inter alia set standards and deal with complaints;
11. promote tolerance by facilitating access to the media for persons belonging to minorities;
12. apply, or where necessary enact, laws relating to the use of the media to incite unlawful acts of racism, xenophobia or violence. Such laws should be narrowly and clearly defined, requiring a direct connection between the incitement and an unlawful act;
13. give every encouragement to the media to promote the highest standards of professional journalism and to facilitate sources of independent and diverse information and opinion;
14. encourage media professionals in the region to develop their own code of ethics, taking into account standards developed by independent media organizations of democratic societies and principles and norms enshrined in international law and practice. These codes should take into consideration the special circumstances of the region and the need to respect human rights and minority rights.
15. encourage the independent media bodies referred to above to develop and apply standards appropriate to open and democratic societies, respecting fair business practices and political impartiality as well as  international agreements on intellectual property rights.

 June 2000

 

If somebody interfere with your professional, journalistic work call SOS – open line for journalists - 078 213 442 Media Plan Banja Luka

Council:Media Plan Institute

Prof. Dr. Muhamed Nuhic, Hamza Baksic (Sarajevo); Perica Vucinis (Banja Luka); M.S. Lenart Setinc (Ljubljana); Prof. Dr. Mario Plenkovic (Zagreb); M.S. Loius de la Ronciere (Paris); M.S. Aleksandar Todorovic (Montreaux); Prof. Dr. Slavo Kukic (Mostar), Prof.Dr. Miroljub Radojkovic (Beograd).