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MONTENEGRO
I.
Pro-Milosevic party condemns media’s Western bias.
Predrag Bulatovic, the vice-president of the
pro-Milosevic Socialist People’s Party of Montenegro
[SNP CG], has backed the demands of the Yugoslav army
that the independent media in Montenegro should be
subjected to a state of war censorship or be abolished,
it has been learnt from sources close to ‘Dan,’
a [daily] paper close to the Belgrade regime.
Explaining this view, Bulatovic said that these media
“are supporting a pro-Western policy and aggression
against Yugoslavia.” Without giving any proof
of such a claim, Bulatovic recalled his understanding of
the resolution on peace approved recently by the
parliament of Montenegro. According to his
interpretation, only the full participation of Montenegro
in a war against NATO would mean it was contributing in
full to peace in Montenegro.
Such assessments made by Bulatovic are a cause of concern
for the independent media in Montenegro, because
Bulatovic’s statements recall the naming of
“traitors” and the media ban imposed in Serbia,
reaching its climax with the murder of one of the
“marked” editors, Slavko Curuvija, in Belgrade
[on 14th April].
The independent Montenegrin agency Montena-fax warned
today that the false patriotic campaign in the
‘Dan’ paper, whose founder is Bulatovic
himself, increasingly looks like a premeditated attempt
to destroy peace in Montenegro, something that could
force the relevant institutions of the Montenegrin
civilian authority to take countermeasures.
Today Bulatovic asked for the public session of the
Montenegrin assembly to continue because the police
minister of Montenegro [as received], Vukasin Maras, has
allegedly been putting the [peace] resolution in jeopardy
with his latest statements, in which he confirmed that
the Montenegrin police would protect civic, multiethnic
and multireligious peace and order in the republic.
Observers say that Milosevic’s supporters in
Montenegro are trying to introduce the kind of
“peace and order” in the republic in which the
military authority, in line with the state of war, would
abolish the legal civil authority and, instead of the de
facto peace which now exists in spite of all the
differences, impose a “peace” through the
diktat of force and courts martial.
Montenegrin
Information Ministry web site, April 15, 1999
II.
Montenegro allocates radio frequencies.
Last week in Montenegro was marked by a wonderful
event. Four more radio stations were heard on its
airwaves, that is, were able to begin broadcasting
programmes: the Fokus station in Bijelo Polje,
Rarom Kompani and Intrafeng Group from Podgorica and
Radio Mojkovac. They have just concluded contracts
with the republican Ministry of Industry, Energy and
Mining for the allocation of radio frequencies. It
is expected that another five organizations, which, after
a tender scheduled last December, have won the right to
broadcast radio and TV programmes, will also do so in the
coming days. Those are Interkootrejd from Bijelo
Polje and Infomedia from Zabljak, both for broadcasting
radio programmes, followed by Agrodomajn from Podgorica,
Elmat RTV [Radio-Television] for the Niksic area and Deli
Petrol in Ulcinj for broadcasting TV programmes.
This time the competition offered for the market 34 radio
frequencies and 27 TV channels, that is, one or two
frequencies for each municipality individually.
There were 12 applicants for the competition, nine of
which met its conditions. Through the
recently-adopted plan for the distribution of radio
broadcasting frequencies in Montenegro, the market was
allocated, in addition to the frequencies in use, a total
of 102 new frequencies, 42 for broadcasting radio
programmes and 60 TV channels. . . .
“In Montenegro, in addition to the state
radio-television and the 14 municipal radio stations, we
already have 19 private radio broadcasting organizations,
and there will surely be even more of them. I
believe that that number will soon double. That is
very good both for enriching the programming itself and
for breaking the monopoly of the state media. This
is only the beginning, of course. There is enough
room for all those who want to engage in this business
responsibly and professionally,” Vojin Djukanovic,
Montenegrin minister of energy, industry and mining
emphasized in an interview for ‘Pobjeda.’
‘Pobjeda’
web site, Podgorica, April 15, 1999
III.
Montenegrin TV rebroadcasts Serbian news.
The following is an announcement by the editorial board
of Montenegrin Television:
In
an attempt to present to the citizens of Montenegro with
as many reports as possible from various sources,
Montenegrin television has included in its 2100 [1900
gmt] slot a 30-minute selection from the Serbian
television news and current affairs programme which will
be broadcast alongside its own programmes.
Montenegrin television made this programme decision
following a recent unsuccessful attempt to make a joint
programme with Serbian television, which was embarked
upon as part of its policy to bring about a greater
exchange of information between Serbia and
Montenegro.
As we have already informed the public, the project of a
joint programme was not realized as Serbian television
did not accept our wish to participate on an equal
footing in the production of the joint programme.
Montenegrin television will not accept any project not
based on full equality and accountability.
Montenegrin television, in an attempt to bring its
audience reports from as many sources as possible,
informed the public that it would rather rebroadcast
certain Serbian television programmes than participate in
joint projects in whose concept and content it cannot
have a say.
In its news and current affairs programmes, which it
produces on the basis of its own editorial policy,
Montenegrin television will continue to use all reports
from all relevant sources. In the programme slot
“Selection from domestic and foreign TV
stations,” Montenegrin television will transmit an
array of different views on current events. In
doing this, we shall always bear in mind the legal
obligation that by broadcasting such items, reports and
announcements, peace, religious and national tolerance
must not be threatened nor must issues of importance for
the defence of the country.
TV Crna
Gora, Podgorica, April 13, 1999
IV.
Journalists protest army attempts to ban Western media.
The Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro
issued a public protest [on 13th April] against attempts
by the Yugoslav Army to prevent independent radio
stations from rebroadcasting the news bulletins of
foreign radio stations. The association is thus
supporting the decision of the Montenegrin Information
Ministry not to allow such attempts to be
implemented.
The association believes that the murder of the
[independent] journalist [Slavko] Curuvija in Belgrade is
a message Milosevic’s regime is sending to all those
opposed to his doomed policy that they will be
“better off if they keep their mouth shut,”
Montena-fax [Montenegrin news agency] reports.
Montenegrin
Information Ministry web site, April 13, 1999
V.
Montenegro refuses to ban foreign news rebroadcasting.
Montenegro’s Information Secretariat said on 10th
April that it would not comply with a Yugoslav army
request to ban the rebroadcasting of foreign news
programmes.
“There are no elements on the basis of which we
should take measures to restrict the work of private
radio stations as far as their rebroadcasting of foreign
news programmes is concerned,” the secretariat said,
in a statement posted on the Montenegrin Information
Ministry’s web site.
The statement cited the federal and Montenegrin
constitutions which prohibit media censorship except when
a court rules that federal or national security is being
threatened, human rights abused, or religious or national
hatred incited.
“The Montenegrin Law on the Media also sets
significant limitations against anyone’s attempt
unlawfully to restrict freedom of public information,
work of the media and their representatives, or to
influence their work by force,” it added.
The secretariat said no medium had jeopardized the
activities of the Yugoslav 2nd Army but added that
private radio stations would be warned that they would
have to take responsibility for their broadcasts.
Croatian radio said on the 10th that private radio
stations in Montenegro were ignoring the army’s
request. The radio quoted the editor in chief of
Podgorica’s Antena FM, Veselin Tomovic, as saying
that foreign broadcasts helped keep the public
informed. Tomovic added that “false reports or
enemy propaganda” would not be rebroadcast.
The commander of the Yugoslav 2nd Army, which is deployed
in Montenegro, requested on 9th April that private radio
stations cease rebroadcasts of Voice of America and Radio
Free Europe.
Croatian
Radio, Zagreb, April 10, 1999
VI.
Montenegrin TV criticizes Serbian TV.
Montenegrin TV has criticized Serbian TV for trying to
seize editorial control over the joint “For the
Defence of Yugoslavia” programme. It said it
could not cooperate on the project unless there was
“respect for professional standards, equality and
responsibility.” The following is the text of
a report by Montenegrin TV; subheadings added
editorially:
In connection with certain editorial and technical
problems which caused the temporary suspension of
cooperation on the programme “For the Defence of
Yugoslavia,” jointly produced by Radio-TV Serbia and
TV Montenegro, and in order to inform the public in an
objective manner, TV Montenegro has issued the following
statement:
TV Montenegro has whole-heartedly supported the idea that
the exchange of information between Serbia and Montenegro
should be increased in these extremely difficult
times. Bearing in mind that, after the first NATO
air strikes, channels for the exchange of programmes
between Belgrade and Podgorica were put out of action, TV
Montenegro fully endorsed the joint programme. Our
broadcasting company has put aside all the problems and
misunderstandings in the cooperation with Radio-TV Serbia
so far.
However, as early as in the first edition of the joint
programme, Radio-TV Serbia made certain moves which were
professionally unacceptable to TV Montenegro. For
instance, in the first edition of the programme, instead
of a video report on the protest rally which was held in
Podgorica the same day, video footage from a rally which
was held on the same spot at an earlier date was
broadcast. Instead of the authentic video footage,
a report over archive video by a private TV station was
broadcast, which constitutes media manipulation according
to TV Montenegro’s editorial standards.
On the following day, statements by a number of
Montenegrin political leaders were taken out of a report
by TV Montenegro and placed in a context which changed
both the thematic and time dimension of their
message. In addition to this, out of 14 minutes of
material provided by TV Montenegro to Radio-TV Serbia,
around four minutes were broadcast.
TV
Montenegro proposals
In order to preserve the idea of the joint programme, and
after its negative experiences at the very beginning of
the project, TV Montenegro proposed to Radio-TV Serbia to
endorse the following protocol on the cooperation:
- the
joint programme should be broadcast on the second
channel of Radio-TV Serbia and the third channel
of TV Montenegro at 2100 [1900 gmt] every day;
- TV
Montenegro should send its material to Radio-TV
Serbia via Eurovision channel between 1800 and
1830;
- Radio-TV
Serbia should send its material to TV Montenegro
via Eurovision channel between 2000 and 2030;
- TV
Montenegro and Radio-TV Serbia should each pay
the cost of sending their own material via
Eurovision channel;
- in
case there are problems with the exchange of
material, TV Montenegro keeps the right to a
delayed broadcast of the programme;
- the
news bulletins of TV Montenegro and Radio-TV
Serbia should be broadcast in their entirety, on
the principle of time parity—15 minutes for
Radio-TV Serbia, 15 minutes for TV Montenegro;
- TV
Montenegro and Radio-TV Serbia should take full
responsibility for their respective news
bulletins, in line with the principles stipulated
by the editorial blueprint for the TV programme
“For the Defence of Yugoslavia.”
Radio-TV
Serbia proposals
A representative of Radio-TV Serbia offered the following
draft protocol:
- the
joint programme should be broadcast
simultaneously by the main TV network at the same
time every day, and obligatorily begin at 2100;
- TV
Montenegro’s reports for the programme,
which should be sent daily to the programme
editorial staff in Belgrade in the usual way,
must be in line with the character of the
programme, which is to say with the current
situation, particularly when it comes to reports
on protest rallies, NATO attacks, the cooperation
between the Yugoslav Army and the people,
activities and statements by the
statesmen—and they must be only in the
service of defence and peace, without any
political or propaganda connotations;
- the
programme will be organized around central
themes;
- the
material for the programme will be used in line
with the military bodies’ instructions on
censorship;
- the
programme will be made in line with the
principles stipulated by the editorial blueprint
for “For the Defence of Yugoslavia,”
already forwarded to Radio-TV Serbia and TV
Montenegro.
Comparing the two drafts, it is not difficult to see that
Radio-TV Serbia insists on all rights to the editorial
cut of the programme, while TV Montenegro insists on the
integral character of its part of the programme, in order
to avoid any possibility of misunderstanding or abuse,
accepting fully the responsibility for its part of the
joint programme. Radio-TV Serbia also insists that
TV Montenegro should not have basic information on the
content of the programme beforehand, which means that TV
Montenegro would be reduced to the role of the provider
of material to Radio-TV Serbia and a mere distributor of
the programme the concept of which it cannot influence in
any way.
The collegium of TV Montenegro would like to make it
clear that it cannot accept any joint project which
precludes the possibility of the equal and responsible
participation by our house. TV Montenegro would
rather rebroadcast the programme made by Radio-TV Serbia
alone, than only formally take part in the projects whose
structure and content it cannot influence.
TV Montenegro urges Radio-TV Serbia once again to do its
best for the joint project to be realized with respect
for the professional standard, equality and
responsibility.
TV Crna Gora, Podgorica, April 9,
1999
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