(ANEM/IFEX) – The following is a 24 November 1999 ANEM press release: NEDELJNI TELEGRAF FINED STATE MEDIA NETWORK DROPS TV KURSUMLIJA B2 92 UNLICENSED BROADCASTER: SERBIAN INFORMATION MINISTRY Belgrade, November 24, 1999 – Belgrade weekly “Nedeljni Telegraf” was fined 160,000 dinars (c. 9,500 DM) yesterday under Serbia’s Public Information Act. The fines came after conviction […]
(ANEM/IFEX) – The following is a 24 November 1999 ANEM press release:
NEDELJNI TELEGRAF FINED
STATE MEDIA NETWORK DROPS TV KURSUMLIJA
B2 92 UNLICENSED BROADCASTER: SERBIAN INFORMATION MINISTRY
Belgrade, November 24, 1999 – Belgrade weekly “Nedeljni Telegraf” was fined
160,000 dinars (c. 9,500 DM) yesterday under Serbia’s Public Information
Act. The fines came after conviction on charges brought by the director of
the Yugoslav River Shipping Company, Dusan Stupar. They charges related to
an article published in “Nedeljni Telegraf” on November 10 entitled “Why is
the Yugoslav River Shipping Company, a Firm of National Importance, Falling
into Ruins?”
ANEM protests the sentence, as it was passed under the Public Information
Act, which does not permit defendants the basic right to a fair hearing.
TV Kursumlija, which has leased transmission facilities from Radio
Television Serbia for a number of years, was cut by the national broadcaster
on November 19.
This has considerably reduced the area of coverage of TV Kursumlija, whose
programs can now only be received in some parts of the town of Kursumlija.
TV Kursumlija protested strongly at this arbitrary action which was taken by
the state-run broadcaster without warning. The independent station’s
management said today that they believe the move was motivated by the fact
that TV Kursumlija was a member of ANEM and broadcast programs politically
unpalatable to the current regime.
ANEM joins this condemnation of Radio Television Serbia’s illegal action and
has pledged to assist TV Kursumlija in finding ways to extend its coverage.
Deputy Serbian Information Minister Miljkan Karlicic on November 22 informed
the Radio B2 92 newsroom that the program did not comply with the
requirements for radio broadcasting as it was not registered with the
Ministry of Information. Karlicic further informed Radio B2 92 staff that
they should immediately apply for registration if they wished to continue
broadcasting.
In his response to the ministry, the director and editor-in-chief of Studio
B, as the officer responsible for Studio B’s third frequency, on which the
Radio B2 92 program is broadcast, reiterated information he had given to the
deputy minister on August 4, 1999. This was that Radio B2 92 is not a radio
station but the legitimately registered third channel of Studio B radio,
broadcasting at 99.10 MHz FM.
ANEM, the Association of Independent Electronic Media, sees this as another
example of pressure on the program produced by the team which produced Radio
B92’s programs until April 1999. ANEM warns that this may be a prelude to
banning broadcast of a program which reaches not only Belgrade audiences but
a vast majority of Serbia and Montenegro via the ANEM Radio Network.
ANEM calls on all individuals and organisations concerned with the
protection of the right to freedom of information both at home and abroad to
protest to the Serbian Information Ministry at this and any further measures
which could endanger the operation of Studio B’s Third Channel Radio B2 92
and the entire ANEM Radio Network.
