(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: YUGOSLAV AUTHORITIES STORM FOUR MEDIA OUTLETS New York, May 17, 2000 — Shortly after two a.m. this morning, hundreds of Yugoslav police raided the offices of Serbia’s largest opposition television station, the Belgrade-based Studio B. The 23-story Beogradjanka building in central Belgrade also houses three other […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release:
YUGOSLAV AUTHORITIES STORM FOUR MEDIA OUTLETS
New York, May 17, 2000 — Shortly after two a.m. this morning, hundreds of Yugoslav police raided the offices of Serbia’s largest opposition television station, the Belgrade-based Studio B. The 23-story Beogradjanka building in central Belgrade also houses three other independent media outlets: Radio B2-92, the student-run Radio Index, and the independent daily newspaper Blic.
The raid was carried out by plainclothes and uniformed police, some wearing black masks, who prevented staffers from all four media from entering their offices. In an interview with CPJ, a Blic editor said the police carried no warrant and gave no reason for their actions.
In a later statement, Serbian government authorities said that the action against Studio B was taken in response to the station’s alleged calls for “an uprising” in the country and for “the violent overthrow of the legitimate authorities.” The statement, which was signed by Vojislav Seselj and Milovan Bijic, both Serb deputy prime ministers, did not mention the other media outlets.
After the raid, Studio B aired music videos and news from state television, according to the Beta news agency. Local sources told CPJ that radio B2-92 is currently broadcasting its own programming via satellite and on the Internet, and that local independent stations are picking up the reports for rebroadcast. Journalists with Blic, meanwhile, are working out of the offices of the opposition newspaper Danas, and plan to put out a special edition later today.
The government also announced that it was dismissing the management of Studio B and had appointed a new editor-in-chief, Ljuboslav Aleksic. News reports quoted the station’s former director and editor-in-chief Dragan Kojadinovic as saying the take-over amounted to “the beginning of a state of emergency,” and calling on people to resist the government. Two protest demonstrations were scheduled to take place today in central Belgrade.
Today’s Serbian government statement also argued that Studio B was state-owned and that the state had simply decided to take direct control of “its own property,” according to local reports. Studio B had been run by the Belgrade municipal government, which is currently controlled by the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO). The SPO, which is headed by Vuk Draskovic, is the largest opposition party in Serbia
“This is a dark day for press freedom in Yugoslavia,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. “Once again, the Serbian authorities have shown their contempt for democratic principles, among them the right of all people, including journalists, to express themselves without fear of harassment and intimidation.”
