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THE
FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
The Constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government
generally respects these rights in practice.
Several daily newspapers are published in Skopje,
as well as numerous weekly or periodical political and
other publications. Most towns and municipalities
have local newspapers. Government-subsidized
newspapers in the Albanian and Turkish languages are
published and distributed nationally by the leading news
publishing house. The Government subsidizes some
other newspapers and magazines. The process of
granting media subsidies was not transparent this year,
leading to charges of political bias in government
support for the independent media. Several
privately owned publications have a wide distribution
throughout the country, and some are considered to be
oriented towards opposition political parties. The
media that remain partially state owned are government
oriented but report opposition press conferences and
statements and in general provide coverage of the major
opposition parties.
The leading
newspaper publisher is still partially government owned
and controls one of only two modern, high-speed printing
facilities in the country, as well as most newspaper
kiosks. Opposition parties allege that government
control and manipulation of the media prevent them from
getting their messages across. However, the media
were scrutinized closely during the year for their
coverage of the parliamentary election campaign and
voting. International monitors noted that the media
provided generally unbiased coverage of the full spectrum
of parties and candidates. However, several media
outlets were criticized for their clear bias in favor of
one political party.
Distributors
of foreign newspapers and magazines must obtain
permission of the Ministry of Interior. All such
requests were approved during the year. Foreign
newspapers, including those from neighboring countries,
are available throughout the country.
One
journalist, the editor of a large circulation
opposition-oriented weekly magazine, was the victim of
assault in 1998. The attack was alleged to be
politically motivated, and the case was not solved.
The new Broadcast Council set up under 1997
legislation implemented a licensing regime to award
concessions to radio and television broadcasters.
International experts reviewed the process and standards
and found them to meet international norms.
Concerns that the Broadcast Council’s
recommendations would be subject to political pressure
proved unfounded. Following a fairly transparent
process involving several rounds of frequency
distribution, the Ministry of Transportation and
Communication awarded licenses to virtually all
broadcasters who applied, including for local and
national frequencies. There are dozens of small
independent radio and television broadcasters throughout
the country. The broadcast law directs that
broadcast fees collected through individual electric
bills subsidize both state-run Macedonian Radio and
Television and the maintenance of infrastructure for
other public and commercial broadcasting. Some
stations are concerned that license fees are too high
(although within international standards), but collection
of the fees has not been completed and some adjustments
were expected with the formation of the new Parliament
and Government.
Individuals and opposition political groups
may criticize the Government publicly without
reprisal. The media do not appear to practice
self-censorship due to fear of government reprisal.
The Government does not censor books and other
publications, nor does it censor films.
The Government respects academic
freedom. Because higher education is not available
in the Albanian language except for teacher training,
some ethnic Albanians claim that they do not have
complete academic freedom. They want to see the
unauthorized Tetovo university gain legal status so that
they can study in their mother tongue (see Section 5).
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