#PERIOD AFTER unknown authoer - 05/1999 - Belgrade

Analiza uputstva Ministrastva za informacije za informacije Srbije za rad medija u stanju neposredne ratne opasnosti

Analysis of the Instructions of the Serbian Ministry of Information for the Work of the Media in the State of Immediate Danger of War


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Uputstvo koje je Ministarstvo informacija Republike Srbije izdalo dana 24. marta 1999, kada je otpoceo napad NATO na SR Jugoslaviju, uvelo je, izmedju ostalog, znacajna ogranicenja za rad novinara. Ovom prilikom treba napomenuti da su ogranicenja uvedena na osnovu Ustavnog ovlascenja da se sloboda izrazavanja moze derogirati u ratnom stanju i stanju neposredne ratne opasnosti, s tim sto sam metod ogranicenja navedene slobode - izdavanje internog uputstva i docniji svakodnevni interni brifinzi sa glavnim urednicima medija - odstupa od Ustavnih odredaba, prema kojima bi bilo potrebno doneti Uredbu kojom bi se Ministarstvo za informacije posebno ovlastilo da cenzurise medije, a potom bi to Ministarstvo svojim aktom trebalo da blize odredi nacin vrsenja kontrole.

Jedan deo uputstava odnosi se na obaveze medija u pogledu odrzavanja stalnog kontakta sa drzavnim organima, s cim u vezi su uvedena i dvadesetcetvorocasovna dezurstva u medijima. Ovakvo uputstvo razumljivo je s obzirom na ratno stanje, a njegovo nepostovanje, iako za njega nije izricito predvidjena sankcija u samom uputstvu, povlaci prekid rada odredjenog medija, o cemu svedoce slucajevi zatvaranja ANEM-ovih stanica koje su na bilo koji nacin, po misljenju Ministarstva, odstupile od uputstva.

Deo uputstva kojim se uvodi cenzura odnosi se na najstrozu zabranu izvestavanja o gubicima vojske i policije, kao i terminoloska uputstva (da se vojska i policija moraju nazivati braniocima i borcima za slobodu, NATO agresorom, OVK bandom i teroristima, itd.). Takodje, posebno se istice odgovornost urednika za informacije koje bi na bilo koji nacin uticale na "sirenje defetizma i panike", o cemu misljenje daje Ministarstvo, jer iako uputstvo ne predvidja sankciju za objavljivanje takve informacije cinjenica da je urednik uticajnog dnevnog lista i nedeljnika Slavko Curuvija ubijen, te da su od pocetka sukoba hapseni Veran Matic, glavni i odgovorni urednik Radija B92 i Stevan Niksic, glavni i odgovorni urednik nedeljnika NIN (ciji je jedan broj zabranjen) svedoce o spremnosti vlasti za najbrutalnije oblike represije prema novinarima u slucaju da ne postuju uputstvo i svakodnevne instrukcije vlasti u pogledu izvestavanja.

Posebno mesto u uputstvu zauzima tacka 6, koja obavezuje svakog novinara da se stavi u sluzbu "trenutnih interesa zemlje" te da ucestvuje u obavestavanju i javljanju, kao vidu vojne aktivnosti. I ova odredba pokazuje da novinari nemaju mogucnosti da rade kako zele, jer ako se oceni da rade suprotno "trenutnim interesima zemlje", o cemu opet odlucuje Ministarstvo, odnosno vlast, oni se izlazu kako zivotnoj opasnosti tako i mogucnostima krivicnog gonjenja i drugih vidova policijske represije.

Naposletku, posebno znacenje ima i odredba uputstva kojim se srpskim medijima nalaze da permanentno prate izvestavanje stranih medija, a posebno radio stanica koje se mogu cuti u Jugoslaviji terestrijalnim prijemom (srednji i kratki talasi). Ovde je rec u monitoringu stranih programa na srpskom jeziku, kao sto su VOA i Radio Free Europe, Deutsche Welle i France International. Iako to nije eksplicitno receno u uputstvu, ocigledno je da se ti mediji smatraju nosiocima neprijateljske propagandne delatnosti pa, kako se ne moze zabraniti gradjanima da ih slusaju niti ometati prijem, potrebno je imati uvida u njihovo izvestavanje kako bi se preduzele "kontra propagandne" aktivnosti.

Kao zakljucak ove kratke analize moze se istaci da je uputstvo koje je izdalo Ministarstvo za informisanje izuzetno neprecizno, odnosno da je opsteg karaktera te da urednicima medija ne daje dovoljno jasnu sliku o tome koje informacije smeju a koje ne smeju objaviti. Ovaj nedostatak uputstva, njegova nerazradjenost i nepreciznost, u praksi se prevazilaze dnevnim brifinzima urednika medija u Ministarstvu informisanja, na kojima se raspravlja i odlucuje o nacinu izvestavanja s obzirom na informacije koje svakodnevno pristizu sa terena.

U pogledu mogucnosti za nesmetan ili bilo kakav slobodan rad novinara u postojecim uslovima, treba istaci da je takva aktivnost, ne samo fakticki vec i pravno do te mere rizicna da pojedinog novinara ili urednika moze da kosta zivota. Pre svega, prekid komunikacija usled dejstava NATO, nedavno unistenje elektroenergetskog sistema koje onemogucava rad posredstvom opreme koja se napaja elektricnom energijom, fakticki onemogucavaju rad novinara i plasman informacija, bilo u zemljibilo u inostranstvu. S obzirom na monitoring stranih programa, nije uputno ni plasirati informacije u vidu fono izvestaja putem tih medija, jer novinar koji je izvor informacije se nalazi u Srbiji, odnosno u domasaju represije lokalnih vlasti. Povecanje tzv. pravnog rizika prouzrokovano je donosenjem Uredbe o primeni Zakona o krivicnom postupku u vreme ratnog stanja i Uredbe o primeni Zakona o unutrasnjim poslovima u vreme ratnog stanja. Ovim dvema uredbama, najkrace receno, ovlascenja policije i tuzilaca su do te mere prosirena da nestaje svaka garancija zakonitosti postupaka. Privatnost prepiske, stana, licnosti, bilo kog vida komunikacije suspendovana je ovim uredbama. Policajcu na duznosti dovoljna je i najmanja sumnja da neko lice, primera radi novinar, "radi protiv trenutnih interesa zemlje", pa da ga pritvori i u pritvoru, bez obrazlozenja, zadrzi do trideset dana. Krivicni postupak je do te mere lisen procesnih garancija za okrivljenog da on moze da bude osudjen bez fakticke mogucnosti da se koristi svojim pravom na odbranu. Naravno, niposto se ne sme smetnuti s uma da u Srbiji postoji i vanpravna represija, tako da pojedini ugledni novinari, kojima ne bi bilo celishodno suditi, mogu u "nerazjasnjenom obracunu" izgubiti i svoj zivot, kao Slavko Curuvija. Usled svega ovoga, pravna sluzba ANEM je svim novinarima pri clanicama Asocijacije savetovala oprez, i to bilo kroz pasivnost (za one ciji je rad zabranjen) bilo kroz rad u skladu sa uputstvom Ministarstva informacija, jer su okolnosti, kako pravne tako i fakticke, takve da je rizik koji sobom donosi objektivno izvestavanje, cak i bilo kakvo izvestavanje koje ne odgovara vlastima, preveliki, a svakako da je srazmerno mnogo veci od eventualne koristi koja bi se nezavisnim izvestavanjem mogla postici. Ono sto je dosad izgubljeno u Jugoslaviji od pocetka NATO intervencije su nezavisni mediji, ali, sem tragicnog slucaja g. Curuvije, ne i nezavisni novinari. Sa velikom verovatnocom se moze tvrditi da bi, svojim radom u novonastalim okolnostima, sem nezavisnih medija bili (fizicki) unisteni i nezavisni novinari, sto bi na dug rok predstavljalo, sem ljudske tragedije, i samrtan udarac srpskom novinarstvu. Stoga ANEM stoji na stanovistu da, ako se vec ne mogu spasiti (bar zasad) nezavisni mediji, treba sacuvati njihove novinare za vreme koje dolazi.


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By means of the instructions issued by the Serbian Ministry of Information on May 24, 1999, when NATO launched its attack on FR Yugoslavia, substantial limitations for the work of reporters and journalists were imposed. On this occasion we should mention that these limitations were introduced on the basis of constitutional provision according to which the freedom of expression may be restricted in a state of war and a state of immediate danger of war. Yet, the method used to restrict the aforementioned rights - namely, issuing internal instructions and subsequent internal briefings on a daily basis in which the editors-in-chief of the major media are obliged to take part - fails to comply with the constitutional provisions, according to which a decree should be put into force which would specifically authorise the Serbian Ministry of Information to censor the media, and afterwards the Ministry should declare its own legal document determining the ways to control the media.

A part of these instructions refers to the obligation of the media concerning the maintenance of non-stop contact with the state organs which is why 24-hour service in the media has been introduced. Such instructions are understandable given the state of war we are in, and the failure to comply with them, although there is no explicitly prescribed punitive measure contained within the instructions, entails closing down of the media in question, as in the case of ANEM radio stations which, according to the Serbian Ministry of Information, failed to comply with the instructions.

The part of the instructions which introduces censorship refers to the strictest ban on reporting of the losses of the army and the police as well as some instructions regarding the vocabulary to be used in reports (the army and the police must be referred to as defenders and freedom fighters, NATO as aggressor, KLA as a gang and terrorists, etc.). Also, the responsibility of the editor-in-chief is particularly stressed concerning the information which could have an impact on tspreading defeatism and panicT. The Ministry reaches decision on this issue since although there is no mention of any kind of punitive measure for publishing such information, the fact that Slavko Curuvija, the editor-in-chief of an influential daily newspaper and a magazine, was murdered and that Veran Matic, the editor-in-chief of Radio B92, and Stevan Niksic, the editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine NIN (an issue of NIN was banned), were arrested after the conflict had begun, proves the readiness of the authorities to apply the most brutal forms of repression against the journalists if they do not comply with the instructions as well as with the everyday instructions of the authorities regarding the reporting.

The article 6 of the Serbian Ministry of Information's instructions is particularly important. This article imposes an obligation upon every journalist to serve the "current interests of the country" and to take part in informing and notifying as part of military activities. This provision contained within the instructions issued by the Ministry also clearly demonstrates that a journalist cannot pursue his/her line of work as he/she would like to, because if the authorities estimate that his/her activities go against the "current interests of the country", which is up to the Ministry to decide, i.e. the authorities, his/her life may be in danger or perhaps he/she may be prosecuted on criminal charges or being exposed to other forms of police repression.

Finally, there is an article within the instructions according to which the Serbian media were ordered to follow closely non-stop the reports of the foreign media, especially of those radio stations whose signal could be received via short and medium waves in Yugoslavia. At issue here is basically the monitoring of the foreign programmes broadcast in Serbian language like VOA, and Radio Free Europe, Deutsche Welle and France International. Although, this was not explicitly stated, it is obvious that these media are being considered the major propagandistic media outlets of the enemy, so, since the citizens cannot be prevented from listening to these programmes nor the signal of these foreign media jammed, it is necessary to monitor their reporting in order to undertake "propagandistic countermeasures".

In a conclusion to this short analysis we may emphasise the fact that the instructions issued by the Ministry of Information are extremely vague, i.e. extremely general in its nature. Furthermore, these instructions do not provide a clear picture for the editors in domestic media outlets which would explicitly indicate which information they are allowed to publish and which information they must not publish at all. In practice, daily briefings with the editors-in-chief of the media outlets in the Ministry of Information, during which the way the media report on recent developments in country and abroad is being discussed and decisions taken to determine future course of action with respect to the information coming from the field, serve to bridge this gap created by this lack of accurate guidelines.

Regarding the possibility of unobstructed and free activities of the journalists under the current circumstances, we should stress the fact that such activities not only literally but in legal sense as well are so hazardous that they may cost a journalist or an editor his/her life. Above all, disruption of communication lines due to the NATO bombardment, recent disruption of electric power system in Yugoslavia render the media-related-work by means of electrical equipment virtually impossible resulting in impeding journalistic activities and dissemination of news and information either in the country or abroad. Given the fact that the foreign programmes are being monitored, it is not even advisable to send reports by phone to these foreign media since the journalist providing the information is situated in Serbia i.e. within the reach of the repression of the local authorities. The higher so-called legal risk is consequence of the Decree on Criminal Procedure during the State of War and the Decree on Application of the Law on Internal Affairs during the State of War. In short, these two decrees have expanded the authority of the police and public prosecutors to such an extent that there is no guarantee whatsoever of the legality of the procedure. Privacy of any communication among the citizens, privacy of their apartments, individuals is virtually suspended by these decrees. A policeman on duty is authorised to arrest and keep in custody an individual even if he/she is slightly suspicious to the officer on duty , for instance a journalist "engaged in activities against the current interests of the country". This individual may be detained without any explanation for up to thirty days in custody. The criminal procedure is stripped of legal process guaranties to such an extent that the individual may be sentenced without actually exercising his right to defend himself. Of course, we should bear in mind that there is also repression in Serbia beyond the legal system so that some reputable journalists, who could not be tried in a proper way, may lose their lives "under suspicious circumstances", like Slavko Curuvija. Taking all these points into account, ANEM legal service has recommended to all the journalists within the Association to take heed, and either remain passive (for those whose work has been banned) or follow the instructions of the Ministry of Information, since the circumstances are such, both in legal and factual terms, that objective reporting, or even reporting which would not be welcomed by the authorities, entails disproportionately high risk, certainly much higher than the possible benefit which might be gained by independent reporting. What has been lost so far since the launch of NATO intervention are independent media. Yet, apart from the tragic murder of Slavko Curuvija, the independent journalists have been preserved. We may reasonably claim that the independent journalists as an entity would be physically destroyed just like the independent media, if they carried on with their work under present circumstances, which would effectively deliver a death blow in long term, apart from human tragedy, to the Serbian journalism. Therefore, ANEM's view is that if we cannot preserve the independent media (for the time being), we should at least save the independent journalists for the time to come.

 

SERBIAN INFORMATION MINISTRY
Instructions for the operation of news agencies and media outlets in the circumstances of imminent war danger

1. Media operators are to establish 24-hour monitoring and permanent contact with state agencies.

2. Media operators are required to supply the Information Ministry with the schedule of personnel responsible for monitoring.

3. Media operators are to supply the Information Ministry with the correct telephone and fax numbers of the duty editors in their news rooms.

4. Media operators are to establish a courier service between their news rooms and the ministry against the event of telephone lines being disconnected.

5. Reports on losses and casualties of the Yugoslav Army and the Serbian Police are strictly prohibited.

6. Every journalist in the field or in the news room must be at the service of the state's current interests and participate in the system of reporting and information.

7. Media operators are required to monitor reports by foreign media, particularly those radio stations which are easily received on Yugoslav territory.

8. Police and army actions must be described as defence activities or the struggle to preserve and defend the country.

9. Enemy losses should be described by terms neutralised, incapacitated, paralysed and liquidated.

10. No information which would spread defeatism and panic must slip through the hands of the editor-in-chief.

11. Commentaries must always refer to the violation of the UN Charter, the violation of human rights and the self-willed decision of one alliance which is not a consensus of all nations.

12. Media operators are required to organise the protection and preservation of confidential materials and reports which could be used later in analysis or as evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

13. The so-called Kosovo Liberation Army must be referred to as a gang, terrorists and criminals.

14. NATO forces must be referred to as the aggressor.

15. Media operators are required to emphasise that army and police personnel are fighters for the freedom of the country.


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