Drazen Pantic on Thu, 9 Mar 2000 20:03:41 +0100 (CET) |
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[Nettime-bold] ANEM press release: Pozarevac Radio Boom 93 off the air again |
ANEM press release: Pozarevac Radio Boom 93 off the air again BELGRADE, March 8, 2000 - The Association of Independent Electronic media today protested strongly at the new closing of Radio Boom 93. The station is one of ANEM's founding members. Boom 93 was closed down today by inspectors from the Yugoslav Telecommunications Ministry who delivered a note from Minister Ivan Markovic demanding that the station cease broadcasting on March 8 because it had not met conditions for a frequency licence. The inspector seized an essential component of the station's transmitter system, saying that they would send the appropriate banning and confiscation order subsequently. The father of the station's owner was taken to the Pozarevac police station for interrogation. He was released an hour later after being questioned about the location of the station's transmitter, which the inspectors had failed to find. The inspectors left the station after sealing the antenna system used for Boom 93 transmissions, although no such measure is prescribed in telecommunications regulations. ANEM notes that Radio Boom 93 has been banned on a number of occasions since its launch in 1992. Boom 93 is the only independent station in Pozarevac, the home town of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and a thorn in his regime's side. Several days before the station was last banned, on November 22, 1996, the president's sun Marko burst into the studios and threatened the owner with a gun, saying that he would kill him because of things the station had broadcast about his father. ANEM describes this closure as another demonstration that the regime has embarked on a campaign to bring media to heel by the spring. The fact that the inspectors in this case were in constant telephone communication with the minister and his assistant testifies that this is another instance of political persecution of media outside the state's control, rather than the closing of a station for "technical reasons'. ANEM also protests at the interrogation of the station owner's father, describing this as an attempt to achieve the regime's aims through illegal pressure and intimidation and gross abuse of police authority. This is the first time a station has been banned and its equipment confiscated without the inspectors carrying an appropriate banning and confiscation order. This means that, if the order is not subsequently provided, the station will deprived of the right to legal appeal. ANEM will do all in its power to assist Radio Boom 92. The Association also demands that the station's confiscated equipment be restored and that it be permitted to resume its normal operations. --- mediawatch@freeb92.net is a moderated list for distribution of information on the media situation in Yugoslavia. This will usually consist of a weekly update from ANEM which will most often be sent on Mondays. Further information on the media in Yugoslavia is available at: www.freeb92.net To unsubscribe from this list write to <Majordomo@freeb92.net> with the following command in the BODY of your message: unsubscribe mediawatch (If you have problems unsubscribing send email to: owner-mediawatch@freeb92.net) _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list Nettime-bold@nettime.org http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold