MEDIA-BALKANS: Uproar over Mystery Note

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic Reprint | | Print |

Vesna Peric Zimonjic

BELGRADE, May 16 2005 (IPS) - A recently circulated note attacking media in tiny Montenegro that are seen as opposed to independence has set off an unprecedented public debate.

The note which bore the seal of the ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Montenegro comes ahead of a referendum expected next year on the status of Montenegro within the composite state of Serbia and Montenegro.

Serbia and Montenegro is what remains of former Yugoslavia that fell apart in the 1990s. Montenegro has a population of 635,000 in a total of 10.8 million.

Montenegrins and Serbs are closest among former Yugoslav people. They share the same language, religion, roots and history. To many being Montenegrin is a geographical rather than an ethnic description, and divisions over unification with Serbia, and the note as a consequence run deep.

The controversial note dated Feb. 15 this year was addressed to the offices of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and parliament speaker Ranko Krivokapic. It set off heated disputes after it became public last month.

The note attacks several media organisations seen as opposing independence. It offers advice on blackmailing, forcing or influencing media to further the cause of independence of Montenegro from Serbia.

"The document aims to put under total control all the media, through bribe, blackmail and pressure," Slavica Brajovic, editor of the Montenegro section of Radio Free Europe told IPS. A statement by editors of TV IN, named in the note as a promising media group for backing independence efforts, said this was "no way to influence editorial policy, particularly given the methods of the recent past."

The Montenegrin Association of Journalists said the analysis was "scandalous". The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), expressed "alarm" over the document.

SEEMO urged the Montenegrin government to "respect the principles of media independence and to refrain from putting pressure on the media." It stressed that independent media was "crucial for the development of democracy in any country."

Djukanovic told journalists in Montenegrin capital Podgorica that "the attitude of the government towards the media should be judged through its policy and not through the reports of an individual."

Like his foreign minister Miodrag Vlahovic, Djukanovic would not reveal the identity of the author.

But analysts agree that the effort to exert control over media had only one aim – to counter those opposing Montenegro’s independence drive from Serbia and to favour those who propagate it.

"The effort to control media perfectly fits into a broader pattern of turning Montenegro into a private state of one person," the leading non-government organisation (NGO) Group for Changes said. "Control over media is necessary for the government in order to obtain a positive vote in the upcoming referendum."

Djukanovic remains firm in his independence drive for the tiny republic despite the fact that the European Union (EU) recently agreed a feasibility study for the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro to start negotiations for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). The SAA can lead to EU membership. Djukanovic insists that Montenegro could join the EU on its own.

At a meeting with the press last week, Djukanovic said he was ready to "leave politics if the referendum does not succeed." Current opinion polls show 45 percent supporting independence, but as many opposing it.

"Media control is certainly about getting a ‘yes’ for the independence," media analyst Snjezana Milivojevic told IPS. "Media were the propaganda tool in the dissemination of ethnic hatred, uncontrolled hate speech and wars that tore former Yugoslavia apart. The consequences are felt until today and remain present in the heads of some leaders."