(AMARC/IFEX) – The following is a 5 October 1998 statement by the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), distributed in its entirety by AMARC: **Updates IFEX alerts of 5 and 3 October, and 30 and 29 October 1998** The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) informs the public that a greater part of its affiliates […]
(AMARC/IFEX) – The following is a 5 October 1998 statement by the
Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), distributed in its
entirety by AMARC:
**Updates IFEX alerts of 5 and 3 October, and 30 and 29 October 1998**
The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) informs the public
that a greater part of its affiliates on Monday (5 October 1998) received
a note from Serbian Information Minister Aleksandar Vucic informing the
stations that the ministry had learned that a number of local radio and
TV stations broadcast “programs produced for the services of propaganda
and psychological war by the Western forces,” and that the participation
in the distribution of these programming contents represented an act of
espionage and a direct attack on the constitutional system and legal
order. The note said that those who participated in this would be
adequately punished.
As Mr Vucic’s note included very serious accusations, without specifying
any exact programs, or quoting any current regulations that would ban the
broadcasts of foreign programs, ANEM immediately sent a note to Minister
Vucic, demanding urgent clarification which would remove any chance of
misinterpretation of his note.
ANEM protests the behaviour of Minister Vucic, who deliberately overlooks
the years-old practice of rebroadcasting foreign programs by a majority
of broadcast media in Serbia. Furthermore, Mr Vucic is either unfamiliar
with Serbia’s existing media-related legal regulations or is deliberately
ignoring them, while using exclusively political qualifications to
declare certain media “spies” acting against their own people, and trying
to intimidate these media’s staff with threats of prosecution for the
gravest offense changes.
ANEM advises all its affiliates to continue their broadcasts in keeping
with the current laws, decisions by the competent state agencies and
professional ethics. ANEM will inform its affiliates and the general
public about the possible response from Minster Vucic.
