Pritisak na medije ne jenjava

26.01.2005.

 

January 18-25, 2005.

MEDIA PRESSURE CONTINUES

BELGRADE, January 20, 2005 (B92, Beta) - The Independent Association of
Serbian Journalists said today that Serbia media are still operating under pressure from all sides.

Media Files editor Dragutin Roknic says that pressure comes in all forms, from threats of physical violence, through legal proceedings against journalists to wiretapping.

Members of the association say that journalists are most frequently under attacks from criminals, politicians and "new businessmen". Of particular concern over the past six months has been the number of threats to journalists over articles about Hague Tribunal suspects.

Roknic also notes that it is not always easy for journalists to be
objective, adding that issues are often analysed in one political party but overlooked in others, which he describes as a corruption of the ideals and integrity of journalists.

Association president Nebojsa Bugarinovic said, however, that there is no indication that pressure has increased over the past six months, but that it has certainly not decreased.

Novine Vranjske proprietor and editor, Vukasic Obradovic said that there is a serious problem for local newspapers because of the level of control exercised by local authorities. He believes that it is important to privatise such newspapers and magazines as soon as possible.

Members of the association have presented a code of behaviour for
journalists, which defines the obligations to protect professional
standards, to protect the principles of freedom of information and the right to information, and to fight for the freedom to demand, receive and
distribute information. The principles of the code stipulate that
journalists are obliged to present factual, verified, unabridged and
appropriate information. They are also obliged to state sources but not
expose them.

Journalists additionally have an obligation to fight against the
manipulation of information and censorship and to correct damaging
inaccurate facts. They are also required to refrain from publishing
information which damages the riht to privacy. The code also stipulates that journalists should refuse perquisites which could affect the independence of their work and must avoid the use of ethnic, racial or religious descriptions for the purpose of discrimination.

Bugarinovic, noting that the code is not binding, said that there must be a single code of behaviour for all journalists associations in order for
ethical standards to become obligatory.

CONVICTED TWICE OVER ONE ARTICLE

KIKINDA, January 20, 2005 (Danas) - The Kikinda Municipal Court has upheld a complaint by Belgrade historian Jovan Pejin against the public media company Information Centre Kikinda and Zeljko Bodrozic, editor of weekly Kikindske, and ordered payment of 120,000 dinars (about 1,250 euros) in court costs.

Pejin, a former director of Serbia's state archives, laid the complaint
against Bodrozic over an article published in Kikindske on October 3, 2004, under the headline "Fascist speaking". The article discussed a TV Novi Sad program, Unbuttoned, in which Pejin appeared as a guest to discuss his book "Autonomous Vojvodina - a nightmare for the Serbian people".

Bodrozic has already been convicted a previous time by a court in Zrenjanin for the same article. On that occasion he was ordered to pay 15,000 dinars in damages for libel and insult and 20,000 dinars in court costs.

He told Belgrade daily Danas that neither of the courts had allowed him to present evidence in the form of articles by Pejin from the Kikinda newspaper "Komuna" which liberally insulted advocates of autonomy, the Otpor movement and other opponents of the Milosevic regime.

NO RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF INFORMATION ACT

BELGRADE, January 22, 2005 (Danas) - Serbia's new information commissioner, Rodoljub Sabic, says that he has not been provided with the basic resources to begin implementing the Free Access to Information Act. Implementation of the act was hindered, he said, by a number of people whose interests were threatened by free access to information.

Veselin Simonovic, the editor-in-chief of Belgrade daily Blic, commented that the authorities had never displayed sensitivity in terms of their social accountability. 

The deputy mayor of Kragujevac, Sasa Milenic, also commented on the situation, saying that his municipality would soon begin implementing the legislation.

Slobodan Beljanski, the chairman of the Chamber of Law of Vojvodina,
proposed that those who have not been implementing the act should be brought to justice.


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Povratak