Post-Soviet Media Law & Policy Newsletter
Issue 36 Benjamin
N. Cardozo School of Law April 20, 1997
ALBANIA
The Law on Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms provides
for freedom of speech and the press. In practice, however, the Government
sometimes restricted freedom of speech, including the freedom to criticize
the Government and its officials. In some cases, the Government used laws
against slander, insult, incitement to national hatred, and distribution
of anticonstitutional literature to prosecute persons, especially journalists,
for critical commentary.
Although financial and judicial harassment of journalists
increased, particularly at the time of the May elections, the print media
remain willing and able to criticize the Government. Publications in general,
however, are hampered by small circulation and limited revenue. Taxes on
publications, in addition to rising printing costs, made it difficult for
independent media to be economically viable without subsidies or loans
from their patrons, e.g., political parties, trade unions, social organizations,
or private businesses. Their dependence on outside sources for revenue
leads to pressures that limit the independence of reporting. Some journalists
believe that the Government is using excessive taxation as a deliberate
means to cripple the independent and opposition press. On December 24 President
Berisha told the heads of the main newspapers that he would lower some
taxes and levies. At year’s end, the reductions had not yet been implemented.
Between 150 to 250 different publications are nevertheless available. Three
Greek minority newspapers are published in southern Albania.
A 1993 press law assesses large fines for publishing
material that the Government considers secret or sensitive, permits confiscation
of printed matter or property by judicial order, and allows for criminal
punishment under certain circumstances. The media and the AHC denounce
the press law as being too imprecise and too harsh for a country with poorly
developed legal institutions. Under this law and general criminal laws
journalists have been beaten, detained, arrested, fined, and jailed, although
most sentences are reduced to fines.
Government officials invoked libel laws as well as the
press law against journalists. The Government prosecuted one reporter and
teacher, Ylli Polovina, accusing him on state television of provoking a
car bombing through an article he wrote following the October 3, 1995,
assassination attempt on the president of the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia. The article deplored the attack and stated that in the Balkans
corruption and political oppression are dangerous and should be fixed before
they lead to another such extreme result. In January there was an assassination
attempt against Tirana’s head judge. In February a car bomb exploded in
front of a Tirana grocery store killing four people. Polovina was taken
from his home 6 hours after the bombing incident, held for 12 days, brought
to trial, and convicted of instigating the violence through his article,
fined $300, and released. He was fired from his teaching job but was later
given another teaching job in a small village after he wrote a public letter
to the President.
The newspaper Koha Jone (KJ), which has the country’s
largest circulation, as well as other opposition papers, accused the Government
of systematic harassment, e.g., through higher taxes and increased printing
charges. Reporters claim regular harassment from police and threats from
unknown individuals. Police confiscated eight of KJ’s cars for various
reasons, such as no license, no documentation, or having tinted windows.
Police later returned six cars to the newspaper. KJ’s telephones were disconnected
from April 14 to December 8, ostensibly for technical reasons. Allegedly
based on two separate eyewitnesses who placed a KJ employee near the scene
of the February car bombing in Tirana, police detained the entire KJ staff,
including drivers and janitorial staff. Koha Jone reporters say that they
suffered physical harassment, including a relatively serious beating of
one KJ reporter by persons unknown early in the May election campaign.
Several newspapers complained that telephone/fax lines were cut for two
or more months during the campaign. Opposition newspapers reported that
police blocked cars and impounded copies of their newspapers before the
May elections.
Police clubbed several journalists, including some foreign
reporters, and confiscated cameras and film during the post-parliamentary
election demonstration in Tirana on May 28. Assailants almost killed one
independent journalist, Bardhok Lala, who was still in serious condition
at year’s end from the beating he received.
State-run radio and television are the main sources
of domestic news for the vast majority of people, giving the Government
a near-monopoly on domestic news. State-owned television relays international
entertainment and news broadcasts in some cities. Home satellite dishes
are common, and most Albanians, even in remote villages, have access to
international broadcasts. There is still no law on private radio and television
broadcasting, but there are at least four “pirate” private radio stations.
The Government has temporarily closed some stations but generally allows
stations to operate provided they do not heavily criticize the Government.
Since November 1991, the Parliament has exercised direct
control over television, delegating some oversight duties to an Executive
Committee of Radio and Television, which it appoints. The Executive Committee
comprises 11 members from outside the Parliament and meets occasionally
to review programming and the content of news broadcasts. This gives control
of programming effectively to the Democratic Party. International observers
and opposition critics noted, for example, that the Government-run television
was used to serve the interests of the Democratic Party during the May
parliamentary election campaign and its aftermath. Parliament amended the
local election law in September to provide a new formula for equal media
time dedicated to the campaign (50 percent for the Government and 50 percent
for all opposition parties) during the October local elections.
Local radio in the south broadcasts some Greek-language
programming, with its content translated directly from Albanian language
reporting. Also widely listened to are stations from Greece, the FYROM,
the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Voice of America radio.
The AHC has criticized the Government’s infringement
of academic freedom. Although student newspapers do not exist, there is
a relatively new independent student union. However, the university system
still operates with a number of its former faults intact. Grade corruption
is widespread, a large percentage of the student body bypasses exams and
enters university via political means, and decisions are thoroughly centralized.
There are reports that political criteria figure prominently in the tenuring
and promotion of professors. Ten professors who were opposition members
of the 1992-96 parliament have not been allowed to return to their jobs
after they lost their seats in the May elections.
Local and foreign observers reported a growing climate
of apprehension in the universities in the last quarter of the year. In
November a number of foreign professors were removed from their teaching
positions, ostensibly for lack of contracts of formal sponsorship by a
foreign university. Efforts to return these teachers to the classroom continued
at year’s end. There is no change in the status of the eight educators
fired last year under an amendment to the Labor Code permitting the release
of employees accused of obstructing democratic and economic reforms.
BULGARIA
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and
the press, and the Government generally respects this right in practice.
However, in September Parliament passed, over President Zhelev’s veto,
legislation that was publicly criticized by Council of Europe experts and
Bulgarian journalists for the inhibitions it would impose on freedom of
the broadcast media. Critics of the media law were concerned, for example,
that the makeup of the National Council for Radio and Television would
subject the media to political influence by the party in power. Asked by
74 opposition Members of Parliament to rule on the law, the Constitutional
Court in November declared this and numerous other provisions unconstitutional.
Until a revised bill is enacted, the broadcast media are left in a legislative
void.
The variety of newspapers published by political parties
and other organizations represents the full spectrum of political opinion,
although journalists frequently color their reports to conform with the
views of the political parties or economic groups that own their respective
newspapers.
In June the chief editor of the tabloid newspaper Noshten
Trud was convicted of libeling the Prosecutor General in a June 1995 article.
The editor was given a 3-month suspended sentence and 3 years’ probation.
Two journalists, correspondents for the national dailies Trud and 24 Hours
in Smolyan, were arrested in February and charged with “libel against a
government official” for writing unflattering reports about a local prosecutor.
Agter spending a night in jail, the journalists were released by order
of a local court. However, the official invesitgation against the two remains
open. Some human rights observers charged that prosecutors, especially
those in smaller towns, use their authority to issue arrest warrants to
intimidate reporters who criticize their work.
Pending the new media legislation, national television
and radio broadcasting both remained under parliamentary supervision. Some
media observers expressed concern that such parliamentary supervision fosters
censorship and a lack of balance in the state-controlled media. For example,
on new year’s eve 1995, the director of national television canceled the
broadcast of a comedy program claiming that the show was disrespectful
of political institutions. In June an agreement to give live coverage of
the “no to fear” concert and rally held in downtown Sofia was abruptly
canceled the day before, allegedly on the orders of a high-ranking government
official.
There are two state-owned national television channels
that broadcast in Bulgarian. There is also a national channel that broadcasts
Russian programming, and another that carries a mixture of Cable News Network
International and French language programming. Bulgarian national television
has been planning Turkish-language programming for at least 3 years, but
broadcasts have not yet begun. There is no private national broadcaster,
but a number of privately owned regional stations operate. After initial
government approval in the fall of 1994 of an application to create a privately
owned national broadcast television station, further progress has floundered,
with no action taken by the current Government.
Foreign government radio programs such as the British
Broadcasting Corporation and the Voice of America (VOA) had good access
to commercial radio frequencies. However, a request by Radio Free
Europe (RFE) to broadcast Voice of America programs on what was unused
time on its frequency has not been granted and remains in limbo many months
after the formal request was submitted. Television and radio news
programs on the state-owned media present opposition views, but opposition
members claim that their activities and views are given less air time and
exposure than the those of the ruling party. There are no formal restrictions
on programming. Both television and radio provide a variety of news and
public interest programming, including talk and public opinion shows.
More than 30 independent radio stations are licensed.
Some private stations complained that their licenses unduly restricted
the strength of their transmissions in comparison with state-owned stations.
Radio transmitter facilities are owned by the Government.
Private book publishing remained vigorous.
CZECH REPUBLIC
The law provides for freedom of speech and the press,
and the Government respects this right in practice. Individuals can and
do speak out on political issues and freely criticize the Government and
public figures. However, “defamation” of the Republic and the President
are punishable by prison terms of up to 2 years under the Penal Code. In
practice the courts gave suspended sentences in the handful of such cases
to date. In 1994 the Constitutional Court struck out language that also
criminalized defamation of the “Parliament, Government, or Constitutional
Court.” Nevertheless, these laws continued to be criticized by both domestic
and international human rights observers as limiting freedom of expression.
In March President Havel pardoned Pavel Karhanek, who
had been given a 9-month suspended sentence in 1995 under the law on defamation
of the President for putting up posters in a local government office calling
the President a former alcoholic, a swindler, and a Communist collaborator.
According to the Office of the President, Havel routinely pardons those
convicted under the law when they request it or when his office learns
of such cases. In May the district court in Kromeriz pronounced a 4-month
suspended sentence on Zdenek Spalovsky under the same law for publishing
statements in local and emigre newspapers in 1994 that Havel was a traitor
and a false prophet.
In October the Constitutional Court struck down a 1995
proclamation by the Znojmo town hall that placed limitations on the use
of foreign languages in shop signs.
A wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and journals
publish without government interference. The capital, Prague, is home to
at least a dozen daily newspapers with national distribution, as well as
a variety of entertainment and special interest newspapers and magazines.
These publications are owned by a variety of Czech and foreign investors.
Some newspapers are still associated with the interests of a political
party; others are independent.
The electronic media are independent. There are 4 television
stations, 2 public and 2 private, and more than 60 private radio stations
in addition to Czech Public Radio. The leading television channel, Nova,
is privately owned, partially by foreign investors. In addition, many viewers
have access to foreign broadcasts via satellite and cable.
A parliamentary commission has broad oversight and power
to approve or reject candidates for the Television and Radio Council. The
Council has limited regulatory responsibility for policymaking and answers
to the parliamentary media committee. The Council can issue and revoke
radio and television licenses and monitors programming.
By year’s end, Parliament had not yet voted on two long-delayed
media laws: one for print and one for broadcast media. New laws are needed
because the print law on the books dates from 1966 and the current broadcast
law, dating from 1991, did not envision private media. The print media
law has gone through several drafts in the process of working its way through
various parliamentary committees. Czech journalists criticize
the draft law for not affirming the right of a journalist to protect sources
and for not requiring government officials to supply information to the
media.
HUNGARY
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and
the press, and the Government generally respects this right in practice.
The last state-owned Budapest daily, Magyar Nemzet, was sold to a private
owner in 1995. Four national political, 1 national economic, and 3 tabloid
newspapers as well as 18 local dailies have been privatized. The print
media enjoy considerable freedom; however, journalists and opposition politicians
are concerned that the expression of different views in the press may be
circumscribed by the small number of owners who control most of the print
media.
Parliament passed a media law in December 1995 creating
institutions designed to foster a free and independent electronic media.
The law provides for the creation of national, commercial television and
radio and insulates the remaining public service media from government
control. There are no private national television stations, although the
Government is negotiating the sale of two countrywide television channels
and several government-owned radio stations. At present, there is one private
national radio station and one national radio station in which the Government
maintains a minority share. The Government recently announced plans to
establish a third private television channel. However, at year’s end state-owned
Hungarian Radio and Hungarian Television continued to enjoy a near monopoly
of nationwide broadcasting, and the Prime Minister controlled their budgets.
While some limited-range local television licenses were
issued, partisan political wrangling and, less importantly, pressures from
television and radio unions and employee associations continued to block
the availability of national broadcast frequencies. (However, over half
of the country’s households have access to satellite television, cable,
or both.)
POLAND
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and
the press, and the Government generally respects this right. However, there
are some restrictions in law and practice.
The Penal Code states that acts that “publicly insult,
ridicule, and deride the Polish nation, the Polish Republic, its political
system, or its principal organs are punishable by between 6 months and
8 years of imprisonment.” The code imposes a prison term of up to 10 years
for a person who commits any of the prohibited acts in print or through
the mass media. In October 1995 presidential candidate Leszek Bubel was
charged with violating this law, and his case is currently before a judge.
Bubel claimed on a radio program that when he served as Deputy Prosecutor
General, a former head of the presidential chancellery protected a group
of criminals. In August the Warsaw prosecutor refused to begin proceedings
against Pawel Moczydlowski, former head of the prison system, for publicly
slandering President Kwasniewski and the head of the Council of Ministers
Office by suggesting their public complicity in an espionage case. The
Gdansk prosecutor has announced an investigation into November remarks
by talk show host Wojciech Cejrowski, who is alleged to have publicly insulted
President Kwasniewski.
The Penal Code also provides for punishment of anyone
who uses print or other mass media to “advocate discord” on national, ethnic,
racial, or religious grounds. In July the Warsaw prosecutor’s office brought
charges against Mikolaj Siwicki, a Warsaw pensioner, for publication of
a hate-mongering book, which, the prosecutor charged, “could seriously
damage the interests of the Polish Republic in international affairs.”
The book allegedly condones crimes committed against Poles during the Second
World War, makes historically dubious claims about Polish crimes against
the Ukrainian nation, and calls for lands in southeastern Poland to be
given to Ukraine. The case was ongoing at year’s end.
The Penal Code also stipulates that offending religious
sentiment through public speech is punishable by a fine or a 2-year prison
term. In September the Gdansk prosecutor reopened his investigation of
Father Henryk Jankowski for violation of this law for an allegedly anti-Semitic
sermon he gave in 1995. However, the case was dropped in June for lack
of evidence. Catholic organizations have challenged the legality of certain
films and images published in the press on the basis of this provision.
In October 1995, a provincial court charged presidential candidate Leszek
Bubel with violating this article by publishing a pamphlet containing anti-Semitic
humor. A verdict is not expected in this case until 1997. The print media
are uncensored and independent, although they may be subject to prosecution
under the Penal Code provisions described above.
The State Secrets Act allows for prosecution of private
citizens who have published or otherwise betrayed state secrets. Human
rights groups have criticized this law, since it restricts the right of
free speech of private citizens who have not freely sworn to uphold state
secrets. Jerzy Urban, editor in chief of the leftist weekly Nie, was found
guilty of violating the State Secrets Act for his 1992 publication of the
operational acts of the UOP concerning an agent. In June Urban was sentenced
to 1 year in prison (suspended) and 2 years’ probation, banned from working
as a journalist for 1 year, and fined approximately $4,000 (10,000 zlotys).
The Helsinki Committee criticized the decision, alleging that it was in
conflict with the European convention on human rights. Urban has appealed
the decision, and the prosecutor’s office announced that it will ask for
a harsher sentence when the case is reviewed.
The Supreme Court has ruled that a prosecutor or a judge,
in the context of a criminal trial, may order a journalist to divulge the
name of a source. The penalty for noncompliance is a fine of approximately
$2,000 (5,000 zlotys) and 1 month in jail. There were no reported cases
of this law being applied in 1996.
The National Broadcasting Council (NBC) has broad interpretive
powers in monitoring and regulating programming on public television, allocating
broadcasting frequencies and licenses, and apportioning subscription revenues.
In order to encourage the NBC’s apolitical character, the nine NBC members
are legally obliged to suspend any membership in political parties or public
associations. They are, however, chosen for their political allegiances
and nominated by the Sejm, the Senate, and the President following political
bargaining, raising serious questions about the independence of broadcasting
oversight from political influence. The broadcasting law stipulates that
programs should not promote activities that are illegal or against state
policy, morality, or the common good. The law also requires that all broadcasts
“respect the religious feelings of the audiences and in particular respect
the Christian system of values.” The law does not fully define the
term “Christian values.” The Constitutional Tribunal has confirmed
the constitutionality of this provision. Since the NBC has the ultimate
responsibility for supervising the content of programs, these restrictions
could be used as a means of censorship if enforced. The penalty for violating
this provision of the law is a fine of up to 50 percent of the annual fee
for the transmission frequency, a suspension of the broadcaster’s license,
or difficulty in renewal when it expires.
Private broadcasters operate on frequencies selected
by the Ministry of Communications and auctioned by the NBC. The first auction
in 1994 gave Polsat Corporation and some smaller local and religious stations
license to broadcast. Several private radio stations broadcast under
the same licensing arrangement. A second auction in October 1996 selected
two private firms to receive two large regional broadcasting licenses;
by year’s end they had not yet begun broadcasting.
The Government owns the two largest television channels
and many local stations, as well as five national radio networks. PAP,
the national wire service, is also government owned. Public television
is the largest source of news and information. Although Polsat is the only
nationwide private television station available to regular viewers, satellite
television and private cable services (domestic and foreign) are widely
available. Cable services carry the main public channels, Polsat, local
and regional stations, and a variety of foreign stations. RTL, a Luxembourg-based
firm, inaugurated a Polish-language cable channel in December that provides
news and entertainment.
Recent actions by the government-appointed Television
Managing Board raise concerns that public television is increasingly subject
to partisan influence by the Government. In November the Independent Center
for Monitoring Freedom of the Press criticized the “evident political actions
which the State authorities take towards the media.” Earlier in the summer
Wieslaw Walendziak, President of the Public Television (TVP) Managing Board,
resigned and was replaced by Ryszard Miazek of the PSL, a governing coalition
party. Miazek made controversial statements when first chosen, criticizing
aggressive journalism and calling for strict adherence to the management
line. As President of TVP, he also controls TAI--the television news agency--and
has appointed an SLD associate as programming chair. In August Tomasz Siemoniak
was fired as director of the state-owned Channel One by the TVP managing
board for his refusal to replace the production team of a political commentary
program that often criticized the ruling coalition. Siemoniak’s dismissal
prompted several other editorial and production executives to resign in
protest and generated public criticism from dissenting members of the board.
TVP has also announced that it will not broadcast political commentary
programs that are not produced in-house. Although TVP management has explained
this decision on economic grounds, critics charge that it is another partisan
attempt to clamp down on the editorial independence of public television.
The law on radio and television requires TVP to provide
direct media access to the main state organs, including the presidency,
“to make presentations or explanations of public policy.” President Kwasniwski,
however, has complained through his spokesman that his office does not
receive adequate television coverage. In September the spokesman met directly
with TVP head Miazek, who pledged to devote more attention to the activities
of the President. Some observers and opposition politicians described the
meeting as inappropriate pressure from the President on the programming
decisions of public television. Despite these developments, evidence of
overt political tampering in public broadcasting is scarce, and public
and private television provide coverage of all ranges of political opinion.
Political patronage in filling key positions, however, threatens the professional
credibility of this major media institution.
There is no restriction on the establishment of private
newspapers or distribution of journals; private newspapers and magazines
flourish. Ruch, the national network of newspaper kiosks, remains in state
hands, although the Government approved a privatization plan in December.
However, there is no evidence that the Government has used this virtual
monopoly on distribution to suppress any publications. Action has begun
to privatize the operation. Books expressing a wide range of political
and social viewpoints are widely available, as are foreign periodicals
and other publications from abroad.
ROMANIA
Although the Constitution provides for freedom of expression
and prohibits censorship, it limits the bounds of free expression by prohibiting
“defamation of the country.” An updated Penal Code passed by Parliament
in September rectified many of the shortcomings of the former Communist-era
code, although the new version was criticized in some quarters because
it retains jail terms for those convicted of libel or slander.
Journalists Tana Ardeleanu and Sorin Rosca-Stanescu
of Ziua, a then-pro-opposition daily, were convicted of seditious libel
and sentenced to serve prison terms. The charges were filed in connection
with an article that claimed former President Ion Iliescu was recruited
by the Soviet KGB intelligence service when he was a student in Moscow.
Free press advocates were concerned that the outcome may set a precedent,
since the Ziua journalists were the first well-known reporters convicted
for defamation of the authorities.
Radu Mazare and Constantin Cumpana, two journalists
who published an article in the Constanta daily Telegraf about an illegal
contract in the city council, were sentenced for libeling local elected
authorities, one of whom, a member of an opposition party, brought a private
criminal suit against the journalists. They lost their appeal and received
7-month sentences. Prior to leaving office, President Iliescu pardoned
them. Lesser-known cases involving journalists and Penal Code provisions
for libel were also active before the November elections.
The independent media continued to grow. Several hundred
daily and weekly newspapers are published. Several private television stations
broadcast nationwide, with the largest reaching approximately 46 percent
of the country and 72 percent of the urban market. As of September, 53
private television stations and 110 radio stations were broadcasting.
A sizable number of households are wired for cable, giving significant
portions of the population access to both private and foreign broadcasts.
However, Romanian State Television (RTV) and Radio Romania remained the
only national broadcasters capable of reaching the bulk of the rural population.
The ability to broadcast nationwide by satellite allowed
stations to make a significant impact on the June local elections; electoral
campaigns were conducted in a diverse and competitive media market. The
media’s new role in nationwide election campaigns made them the target
of some heated debates and public complaints regarding biased reporting
from politicians on both sides.
The 1994 law that established a board of directors for
RTV, appointed by Parliament, was still not fully implemented by year’s
end. In 1995 and 1996, Parliament, led by the opposition, refused to approve
one of RTV’s two candidates for the board, and new elections to choose
another nominee failed to attract the necessary number of voters. The board
cannot convene to choose a director for RTV until all 13 of its members
have been confirmed by Parliament; at present the board lacks the 1 aforementioned
RTV representative. The new Government, with Parliamentary approval, has
appointed an interim director, who began his tenure by replacing a number
of department heads and news directors. Prior to the November elections,
studies indicated that state newscasts covered the President, the Government,
and the ruling party significantly more than the opposition parties, leaving
state broadcasters open to criticism.
Foreign news publications may be imported and distributed
freely, but high costs limit their circulation.
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and
of the press, and the Government generally respects this right in practice.
However, both the law and an atmosphere of intimidation restrict freedom
of expression in certain areas.
Although dependent on a state-owned distribution company,
the print media are free and uncensored, and newspapers and magazines regularly
publish a wide range of opinions and news articles. However, the politicization
of state-owned broadcast media remains a significant problem. Private broadcast
media are widespread but are threatened by huge cost increases imposed
by the state-owned telecommunications company.
Many individuals reported an atmosphere of intimidation
that made them reluctant to criticize the Government openly without fear
of some form of reprisal. This led some to practice self-censorship. Among
the events contributing to this view were: The mysterious death of former
policeman Robert Remias , who had assisted journalists investigating the
1995 kidnapping of the President’s son; widespread reports of civil servants
being dismissed for refusing to join the ruling political party; reports
that the Government, acting through the Fund for National Property, required
newly privatized companies to advertise exclusively in progovernment media;
and public questioning by officials of the governing coalition of the patriotism
of citizens and journalists who spoke critically of developments in the
country.
In November a Banska Bystrica court ruled that an opposition
daily was guilty of libel and sentenced it to pay $250,000 (7.5 million
crowns) to the prime minister and each member of his cabinet for quoting
a journalist who spoke at the funeral of Robert Remias . The journalist
was found not guilty because the paper used his quotation out of context.
The newspaper filed an immediate appeal, which was pending at year’s end.
The bitter dispute between the President and the Prime
Minister generated multiple defamation suits. In May the President sued
the Prime Minister for defamation. The President also sued Jan Smolec,
a former editor of the newspaper Slovenska Republika, for defamation in
October. The newspaper SME was charged in October in a secret indictment
with publishing secret documents from a government meeting. The editors
of SME reported that they were told they could be punished if they revealed
the existence of the indictment, which they nonetheless did.
An amendment to the Criminal Code, commonly referred
to as “the Law on the Protection of the Republic” was passed in March despite
domestic and international criticism that it is undemocratic. The amendment
makes it a crime to facilitate the spread of false information damaging
to the interests of the Slovak Republic. The amendment was returned by
the President to Parliament in April. In December a revised law was passed
and again returned by the President. The 1995 State Language Law also restricts
freedom of expression by banning the use of foreign languages in the media.
Broadcasting in minority languages continued, but several radio stations
canceled English language programming in order to comply with the law.
Slovak radio and television are supervised by three
boards appointed by majority vote of Parliament. The Slovak Television
Council and the Slovak Radio Council establish broadcast policy for state-owned
television and radio. The Slovak Radio and Television council issues broadcast
licenses and administers advertising laws and some other regulations. The
Radio and Television Council has made significant progress in fostering
the spread of private broadcasting. It has issued 27 licenses for private
radio broadcasting. A private company, Markiza Television, began broadcasting
with a signal covering two-thirds of the country, and it quickly established
a leading position in the ratings. In September Parliament passed a law
to privatize the second channel of Slovak television (STV). Three private
companies and one local government hold licenses and broadcast television
regionally. The Radio and Television Council revoked the license of one
regional broadcaster, TV Sever, because it changed programming abruptly.
In December TV Sever won a court decision that restores its license. Cable
television licenses are held by 73 municipalities and private companies.
The state-owned electronic media have continued to be
highly politicized. Critics have charged that STV avoids controversial
topics and provides limited space for opposition views or reporting the
activities of the President. STV was censured by the Television and Radio
Council for violating programming rules by abruptly interrupting its regular
schedule to broadcast a program charging the President’s son with fraud.
Slovak Radio’s coverage of internal politics remains
more objective. However, in April an editor at Slovak radio was fired after
reporting erroneously that two intelligence service agents would testify
in the kidnapping case involving the President’s son. The error was in
not noting that the two witnesses were former intelligence agents. The
editor sued, and in December a court ruled that dismissal was too great
a penalty for such an error. The dismissed editor charged that he was really
fired for disseminating antigovernment commentaries.
In January the Radio and Television Council sharply
criticized some programs of Radio Free Europe for being unbalanced, unobjective,
and anti-Slovak. It nevertheless finally renewed Radio Free Europe’s license
for 18 months in November.
The Government continued to restrict the activities
of minorities: It terminated the autonomous status of the ethnic Hungarian
and Roma theaters.
The law provides for academic freedom, which is generally
respected. However, the universities law adopted in September transferred
final decisionmaking power regarding curriculum, the establishment of departments,
faculty promotions, and the granting of degrees from individual universities
to the Ministry of Education. Students and rectors characterized the law
as an infringement on academic freedom.
YUGOSLAVIA AND FORMER YUGOSLAVIA:
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and
the press. This right was partially respected in the territory under effective
control of the Bosniak Muslims; authorities in the RS and Croat-controlled
areas of the Federation respected it to a considerably lesser extent, although
some progress was made in establishing alternative print media in the RS.
The dominant political parties continued to exercise
strong control over the most influential media outlets. However, in the
Federation, a number of independent publications have consolidated their
positions in terms of readership and influence, if not financial health.
They include the leading daily Oslobodjenja and the weeklies Dani and Slobodna
Bosna. In the Bosniak-controlled portions of the Federation there was a
strong tendency to favor the positions of the governing SDA. Party influence
was particularly notable in the State-run television outlets, the principal
source of information in all areas. The OHR reported that on TV Bosnia
and Herzegovina, announcers continued to use inflammatory generalizations
to describe persons from the RS. In general the media of the RS and the
Croat-controlled portions of the Federation were unremittingly biased in
favor of the positions of their ruling parties.
Complying with commitments made in connection with the
Dayton Accords, the authorities permitted other political parties limited
access to television in advance of the September national elections. However
the content of many broadcasts continued to reflect the views of nationalist
hardliners.
In the Federation many private radio stations broadcast
locally; a smaller number of private television stations served local markets
in Sarajevo, Zenica, and Tuzla. In central Bosnia SDA officials appeared
to be using their influence over government frequency allocation to restrict
the further establishment of broadcast media outlets. After overcoming
great resistance from Federation authorities, a Western—sponsored Independent
Open Broadcast Network was established by broadcasting material through
some of these independent television stations. The purpose was to create
a strong independent television sector in all parts of Bosnia, drawing
talent from among all ethnic communities. Despite a number
of ongoing logistical and resource problems, its signal could be received
in most major population centers.
The development of independent media was constrained
by a number of structural factors including limited circulations, a lack
of locally produced material with a wide appeal, poor advertising revenues,
and high operating costs. Few of the media were commercially viable; some
survived through the sponsorship of private organizations, cultural societies,
and political parties, others with help from Western aid organizations.
CROATIA
The Constitution provides for freedom of thought and
expression, specifically including freedom of the press and other media
of communication, speech and public expression, and free establishment
of institutions of public communication. In practice, government influence
on the media through state ownership of most print and broadcast outlets
limits these freedoms. Government intimidation through the courts and other
means also induces self-censorship. Journalists were increasingly reluctant
to criticize the Government in public forums for fear of harassment, job
loss, intimidation, criminal prosecution, or being branded as disloyal.
A campaign of harassment of the independent media continued throughout
the year.
After much delay, Parliament passed in October a comprehensive
Law on Public Information to regulate the media. This law was adopted with
input from both local and international organizations and had the general
support of all parties. A controversial article requiring publishers to
purchase mandatory insurance in case of libel suits (the expense of which
would have effectively shut down many small publications) was removed after
pressure from the Council of Europe.
More problematic were the amendments to the Penal Code
adopted by the Parliament in March authorizing criminal prosecution of
journalists who insult the honor or dignity of the President, Supreme Court
judges, or parliamentary figures and also of those who publish “state secrets.”
The law was used to suppress systematically several independent publications,
including the satirical weekly Feral Tribune, the independent daily Novi
List, and the weekly Nacional. While
Feral Tribune was eventually acquitted in September of slandering the President,
the state prosecutor appealed the acquittal. In addition, charges under
yet another statute, brought by the ruling HDZ party are still pending
against Nacional and Novi List, both charged with damaging the honor and
reputation of the HDZ party.
In addition to legal action against unfriendly media
coverage, the Government frequently used administrative means to control
the media. Radio 101, the best known and one of last remaining independent
radio stations, lost its broadcast license after a costly legal battle
with administrative authorities in which the State Broadcasting Council
reallocated its frequency to those more favorably inclined towards the
Government. After extensive public criticism, including two mass demonstrations
in Zagreb in which tens of thousands of persons took part, the new owners
of the frequency declined to accept it, and the Council announced that
it would reconsider the issue. Radio 101 remained on the air with a temporary
license pending final resolution of the issue. Another radio station, Radio
North-Northwest in Varazdin lost its frequency in September. This station
was similar in style to Radio 101, but lacked the outside attention the
latter received. In April the newspaper Novi List was ordered to pay a
$2.5 million fine for allegedly using printing equipment imported tax and
duty free for the sole use of the Italian-language press. The fine was
suspended in May by the Ministry of Finance, although technically it is
still outstanding against the paper. Also in April, the financial police
raided the offices of the independent weekly Panorama, charging the newspaper
with violations of “ecological standards.” The newspaper was shut down
for a month and reopened in May only after substantial international criticism.
The popular television news program “Slikom na Sliku” (frame by frame)
was taken off state-run television station HTV without explanation in July,
soon after its coverage of the Feral Tribune trial.
Government influence over the distribution network for
print media, coupled with stiff value added taxes levied at several points
during the production process also has an impact on press freedom. Certain
independent newspapers and magazines claim that they must pay out more
than 50 percent of their gross revenues for taxes and distribution costs
alone. While the high circulation of some popular independent journals
such as Globus has given them enough financial independence to survive
despite these high taxes and high costs, other journals would likely shut
down without support from international organizations like the Soros Foundation.
Foreign papers and journals were available throughout
Croatia, including Serbian periodicals which subscribers continued to receive
by mail.
Both public and private radio and television broadcasting
coexist, although the Government controls all national broadcasting. Opposition
figures and human rights activists uniformly charge that state-owned media
outlets have a strong progovernment bias. Regulations governing access
to the state-owned broadcast media restrict the ability of opposition parties
to criticize government policies. Croatian state radio-television (HRT),
broadcasts on three national television channels and three national radio
channels. Technically under the supervision of the Parliament, HRT is in
practice run by the ruling HDZ party, and its head has a seat on the National
Security Council. HRT has its headquarters in Zagreb and also has radio
and television studios in the country’s major provincial cities. Its regional
television studios broadcast 1/2 hour of local news daily; its regional
radio stations offer more extensive local programming. Private local television
stations operate in most major Croatian cities, and private local radio
stations exist throughout the country, in cities large and small. However,
these local outlets largely lack their own news and public affairs programs;
most repeat HRT’s news, while some also rebroadcast the Voice of America
and the British Broadcasting Corporation.
In the U.N.-administered region of Eastern Slavonia,
the local Serb authorities control a radio and television station in the
town of Beli Manastir and a radio station in the city of Vukovar. There
is no private broadcasting or local press in this region. UNTAES broadcasts
a daily program over the Vukovar radio station. In this area (as elsewhere
in Eastern Croatia) people receive radio and television broadcasts from
neighboring Serbia; Serbian publications also circulate freely in the region.
THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC
OF MACEDONIA
The Constitution forbids censorship and provides for
freedom of speech, public access, public information, and freedom to establish
private media outlets. The Government generally respects these provisions
in practice.
Several daily newspapers are published in Skopje, as
well as numerous weekly political and other publications. Newspapers in
Albanian and a Turkish are distributed nationally and subsidized by the
Government. Most newspapers and magazines published in the country are
government owned and government oriented. Opposition parties allege that
government control and manipulation of the media prevent them from getting
their message across.
The state-owned media report opposition press conferences
and statements, and in general do a reasonably creditable job of covering
the major opposition parties. The overall balance of coverage, however,
is in favor of the Government. The leading newspaper publisher is a government
company that owns the only modern high-speed printing plant in the country,
as well as most newspaper kiosks. Opposition groups complain that they
are charged high prices for the services of the printing plant. Newspapers
can be imported from Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, and Greece only with the
permission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Very few copies of Bulgarian
newspapers are permitted into the country.
SLOVENIA
The Constitution provides for freedom of thought, speech,
public association, the press, and other forms of public communication
and expression. Lingering self-censorship and some indirect political pressures
continue to influence the media.
The press is now a vigorous institution emerging from
its more restricted past. The media span the political spectrum. The major
media do not represent a broad range of ethnic interests, although there
is an Italian-language television channel as well as a newspaper available
to the ethnic Italian minority who live on the Adriatic Coast. Hungarian
radio programming is common in the northeast where there are about 10,000
ethnic Hungarians. Bosnian refugees and the Albanian community have newsletters
in their own languages.
Six major daily and several weekly newspapers are published.
The major print media are supported through private investment and advertising,
although the national broadcaster, RTV Slovenia, enjoys government subsidies,
as do cultural publications and book publishing. There are five television
channels, two of them independent private stations. Numerous foreign broadcasts
are available via satellite and cable. All major towns have radio stations
and cable television. Numerous business and academic journals and publications
are available. Foreign newspapers, magazines, and journals are widely available.
In theory and practice, the media enjoy full freedom
in their journalistic pursuits. However, for over 40 years Slovenia was
ruled by an authoritarian Communist political system, and reporting about
domestic politics may be influenced to some degree by self-censorship and
indirect political pressures.
In December a journalist from the Maribor daily, Vecer,
came under direct pressure from the Government when the Defense Ministry
accused him of revealing state secrets as a result of his reporting on
ministry procurement practices. The Interior Ministry searched his
home and confiscated documents. While these measures were undertaken with
strict observance of the law, they may have a chilling effect on press
coverage of sensitive government issues.
The election law requires the media to offer free space
and time to political parties at election time. During the recent general
election, television stations offered viewers a host of public-interest
and debate programs featuring party figures and opinion-makers from the
entire political spectrum.
The Constitution provides for autonomy and freedom for
universities and other institutions of higher education. There are
two universities, each with numerous affiliated research and study institutions.
Academic freedom is respected, and centers of higher education are lively
and intellectually stimuating.