(WAN/IFEX) – In a 17 May 2000 letter to President Milan Milutinovic, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed their serious concern at the refusal of Borba, the state-owned printing plant, to print the independent daily “Blic”. On the evening of 15 May, one hour before printing was due to start, Borba informed “Blic” that […]
(WAN/IFEX) – In a 17 May 2000 letter to President Milan Milutinovic, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed their serious concern at the refusal of Borba, the state-owned printing plant, to print the independent daily “Blic”.
On the evening of 15 May, one hour before printing was due to start, Borba informed “Blic” that it would no longer print the newspaper.
“Blic”‘s management was told by telephone that the newspaper’s editorial policy, which is critical of the government, was the reason for the refusal. However, later that evening Borba officially claimed that the cancellation was due to technical difficulties, even though it did print that day’s issue of the newspaper “Vecernge Noviny”.
Under the terms of the printing contract, Borba must give fifteen days’ notice to cancel the agreement. As a consequence of Borba’s breach of contract, “Blic” was able to print only half of its usual run of 200,000 copies. Furthermore, the newspaper was forced to undergo the inconvenience and expense of securing replacement printing houses at very short notice.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– respectfully reminding him that if Borba has broken its printing contract with “Blic” for reasons relating to the newspaper’s content, it is a clear case of censorship and a breach of the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international conventions
– noting that the state monopoly of printing facilities continues to pose a serious threat to freedom of expression in Serbia
– urgently calling on him to do everything in his power to ensure that Borba honours its printing contract with “Blic” and that privately-owned printing houses are permitted to operate freely in
his country
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
His Excellency Milan Milutinovic
President
Republic of Serbia, Belgrade
Fax: +381 11 361 7513
Please copy appeals to WAN.
