#PERIOD AFTER The real Staff of Radio B92 - 13/04/1999 Belgrade

WILL THE REAL RADIO B92 PLEASE STAND UP!

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The new management of Radio B92, headed by the self-styled manager, Aleksandar Nikacevic, seized control of Radio B92 from the hands of its staff on April 2, 1999, with no legal grounds to do so. Radio B92 is a socially owned company. Under Serbian law this means that the employees of the company are responsible for hiring and firing senior management. The new management was appointed by the Belgrade Youth Council, which claims that Radio B92 is its subsidiary. Ten days earlier, on March 24, the Yugoslav Telecommunications Ministry banned Radio B92, seizing essential transmission equipment to prevent the resumption of broadcasts. To justify this, the Ministry alleged that B92 had exceeded its maximum permitted transmission power of 300 W. In fact B92 had been broadcasting at between 190 and 220 W. It appears that the ban on transmission does not apply to the usurping management. On April 12, that management began broadcasting from the B92 transmitter on 92.5 MHz, using the "B92" call signal.

The transmission power is approximately 1,000 W. Why did a group of war profiteers close to government circles get the green light to seize Radio B92 as a trophy of war? The reason most often cited is a letter from B92 Editor-in-Chief Veran Matic. The letter, which was published in the New York Times and Le Monde, protested against NATO's military intervention in Yugoslavia. It also criticised the Milosevic government.

Radio B92 has been familiar to Belgraders for almost a decade. In the past three years it has become known worldwide as a champion of democracy and free speech in Serbia. All the staff of this Belgrade broadcaster have expressed the strongest opposition to the usurping management. No staff member has or will cooperate in any way with them, nor will they collaborate in ruining the reputation it has taken them a decade to build. The team of the only legitimate Radio B92 emphasises that it has no connection with the program which began broadcasting yesterday on the 92.5 MHz frequency in Belgrade.

Radio B92 has traditionally been a rallying-point for the Belgrade public. Under normal circumstances we would call on that public to defend the radio they trust, the radio which rates Number One in Belgrade. However, thanks to the war and the critical situation in the country, the closure and takeover of the station have gone unreported in most media. In these circumstances the Radio B92 team is restricted to seeking redress through the courts for the unscrupulous takeover of the station and the destruction of the name and image of Radio B92, both within Yugoslavia and abroad.

The legal procedures so far begun include an appeal against the court decision appointing Aleksandar Nikacevic manager of Radio B92. Charges have also been pressed against Nikacevic and the Belgrade Youth Council director, Vlada Zagradjanin, for unlawful seizure of the Belgrade premises and equipment of ANEM, the Association of Independent Electronic Media in Yugoslavia. ANEM, of which Radio B92 is a founding member, is a totally separate business entity from B92 and its takeover is not supported by even the putative court decision invoked in the case of B92.

The staff of B92 will also demand the revocation of new company documents registered by the courts and used to facilitate the takeover of the station. These documents were lodged by a person not authorised to do so.

The staff of Radio B92 assert that the state of war must not mean anarchy. On the contrary, it should result in the strictest respect for the law. Since the moment they first charged in and took control of our studios by force, the usurpers have taken one illegal step after another.

The staff of Radio B92 are compelled to acknowledge that force is on the side of the usurping management. They emphasise, however, that law and justice are not.

This is the third time in its ten-year history that our station has been banned. We shall endeavour to preserve the Radio B92 team and to begin a number of projects. These will clearly prove that the Radio B92 known to the world before this forced takeover still exists. The B92 staff have managed to preserve the station's web site under their control. This will not be updated until the radio is returned to its staff.

The most radical manifestation so far of Serbia's Draconian repression of its independent media was the murder, just two days ago, of Slavko Curuvija, the owner and editor-in-chief of the independent daily Dnevni telegraf and the fortnightly Evropljanin. This appalling crime has made it almost impossible to guarantee safety and normal working conditions for independent media and journalists.

In addition to the enemy within, a new enemy without has appeared. Friendly mentions of independent media in Yugoslavia by politicians from NATO countries have been interpreted in this country as calls for the lynching of staff from those media. Radio B92 has been by far the most prominent target for such attacks.

The primary aim of B92's leadership is now to protect all staff members from blackmail, arrest, satanisation and libellous accusations of espionage and fifth columnism. All of this in a country now debating the reintroduction of the death penalty.

While the NATO bombing continues, it is practically impossible to establish any serious action which would return Radio B92 to its staff. There is no institution in the country which could help in these conditions. The team built up over ten years is now held hostage to circumstances. Offices and telephones are hard to come by, there is no gasoline, communication systems are breaking down. The leaders of the B92 team are under constant surveillance. All this has reduced their ability to take action.

Despite these difficulties, B92 will endeavour to maintain the continuity of its work. We expect to soon accommodate the laid-off team in new premises. In the meantime B92 will launch an action to support the 45 full-time employees and some thirty part-time staff. Project Free B92, launched by Help B92, will play an important role in this. We call on international organisations, media, and other friendly parties to express their solidarity with Project Free B92 and assist us in establishing a new infrastructure for our activities. This would enable us to organise a number of projects to promote freedom of speech and expression and to be ready to resume work the moment the military intervention in Yugoslavia comes to an end.

The Real B92 staff
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