ANEM media update: Multilingual Pristina Radio Kontakt harrassed

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Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 22:17:14 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: ANEM media update: Multilingual Pristina Radio Kontakt harrassed

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Marija Milosavljevic <[email protected]>

ANEM media update: Multilingual Pristina Radio Kontakt
harrassed


RADICALS PROSECUTE INDEPENDENT MEDIA FOR REPORTING STATEMENT
 
BELGRADE, December 8, 1999 - The Association of Independent Electronic
Media condemns the bringing of charges by Vojislav Seselj and
Aleksandar Vucic, leaders of the Serbian Radical Party and senior
officials in the Serbian government, against Belgrade's Studio B
Television and the daily newspapers Danas and Blic. The charges relate
to a statement by the Serbian Renewal Movement which accused senior
state officials of involvement in terrorist actions, which these media
outlets reported.
 
ANEM emphasises that owing to the nature of the regulations of
Serbia's Public Information Act, it is most likely that convictions
will result from these charges. Under the regulations, media are
required to prove the truth of the claims made in the Renewal Movement
statement, although it is clear that such an onus should be
on the organisation or individual who makes a statement, not on the
media which report it. Furthermore, the judges of the municipal
misdemeanour courts are, in effect, officials of the Serbian
government and are thus directly under the influence of Vojislav
Seselj and Aleksandar Vucic who have brought the charges.
 
ANEM regards this case as demonstrating that the Serbian Public
Information Act is incompatible with pluralist democracy and,
furthermore, is incoherent: on one hand the Act's preamble guarantees
the right of the media to report on public issues, that is any matters
which the general public has an interest in knowing, and on the other
hand media are liable to pay enormous fines for carrying statements,
in this case from Serbia's largest opposition party. ANEM fears that
proceedings under the Act are the clearest manifestation of Serbia's
transition from covert to completely blatant dictatorship.
 
ANEM demands that all proceedings against Studio B, Blic and Danas be
dropped and reiterates its position that that the Public Information
Act should be repealed without delay.
 
MULTILINGUAL PRISTINA RADIO KONTAKT HARASSED
 
Belgrade, December 3 1999 - The Association of Independent Electronic
Media (ANEM) protests at the December 2 break in and theft of
transmission equipment to the value of 15,000 US$ from the studios of
ANEM�s Pristina affiliate multilingual, multiethnic independent Radio
Kontakt.
 
In light of this latest in a series of obstructions to the broadcasts
of Radio Kontakt, ANEM calls on UNMIK, KFOR and the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe to urgently provide adequate
protection for the station�s staff and ensure that the station�s work
can continue unhindered. Furthermore, ANEM urges the competent
authorities in Pristina to carry out investigations at the earliest
possible opportunity into the theft, and ensure that the stolen
equipment is returned to Radio Kontakt.
 
In its press release of November 29, ANEM condemned the constant and
systematic harassment of Radio Kontakt, which holds a valid
broadcasting licence.
 
Radio Kontakt was re-launched as a multiethnic, multi-lingual station
late this summer, broadcasting in Albanian, Serbian and Turkish, after
being closed down in summer 1998 by the Serbian authorities. Radio
Kontakt's journalists have stayed true to their commitment to provide
different ethnic and language groups in Pristina access to
professional balanced news, but now face various forms of obstruction.
Since its re-launch, the station�s transmissions have been frequently
jammed and a number of stories criticising the station have appeared
in the local print media in Kosovo. The director of Radio Kontakt,
Zvonko Tarle, reported to ANEM that a car belonging to the station was
stolen in broad daylight in Pristina town centre on November 25,
despite being clearly marked as a "Press" vehicle. The station�s
director has also reported that a journalist from the station had
experienced verbal threats, and that the station had been unable to
secure from local authorities a telephone connection.

-- 
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