Serbian authorities suspend major private television's broadcasting permit
A move by Serbia's broadcasting agency to suspend the license of the republic's first private television station for allegedly biased reporting has been criticised by local media organisations.
(Blic - 27/04/06; AP, VOA, UPI, Radio B92, Beta - 26/04/06)
Serbian police shut down the republic's first private television station early Wednesday (26 April) following a decision by the government's broadcasting agency to temporarily suspend the licence of BK Television (BK TV).
Belgrade-based Radio B92 reported that the Serbian Broadcasting Agency cited two reasons for its move: BK TV management has prevented agency representatives from examining much of the station's financial information, and has presented biased reporting regarding one of its owners, Serbian tycoon Bogoljub Karic and his party, the Power of Serbian Movement.
BK TV's license has been suspended for 30 days, after which it could face a permanent ban if it fails to change its policies. Some however linked BK TV's closure with its alleged campaign against the broadcasting agency and its recent selection of final winners for national television frequencies, which did not include Karic's television station.
that's Miodrag Popov, BK Television's Editor in Chief, and he ain't hugging that policiac!
Describing the agency's decision as "illegal," the television station's attorney, Miroslav Djordjevic, said his team would take action against those who tried to implement it and against the broadcasting agency members.
The deadline for filing complaints and appeals against the agency's decisions is 15 days. The agency then has 30 days to respond to such appeals.
Karic, an ally of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and one of Serbia's wealthiest people, founded BK TV together with his three brothers in the early 1990s. After being accused of corruption, three of the Karic brothers, including Bogoljub, fled the country earlier this year and are believed to be in Russia, according to the AP.
The broadcasting agency's decision to close down BK TV sparked criticism from at least three journalist associations, including the Serbian Journalist Society and the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM). According to ANEM, the move was arbitrary and constitutes a serious threat to democracy and media freedom.
This "rash intervention" on the part of the broadcasting agency "is a threat to the legal basis underpinning electronic media operations in Serbia, in a way which goes far beyond the present procedure of broadcast license allocation," ANEM said in a statement.
Noting that the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed under the Serbian Constitution, the association said this included the right to be critical of the decisions of public organisations, including the broadcasting agency. "Thus the suspension of a broadcast license on the grounds of such criticism is unacceptable and is seen as a serious attack on freedom of expression in this country," ANEM said, urging the agency to "reconsider and revoke its decision"
(Blic - 27/04/06; AP, VOA, UPI, Radio B92, Beta - 26/04/06)
Serbian police shut down the republic's first private television station early Wednesday (26 April) following a decision by the government's broadcasting agency to temporarily suspend the licence of BK Television (BK TV).
Belgrade-based Radio B92 reported that the Serbian Broadcasting Agency cited two reasons for its move: BK TV management has prevented agency representatives from examining much of the station's financial information, and has presented biased reporting regarding one of its owners, Serbian tycoon Bogoljub Karic and his party, the Power of Serbian Movement.
BK TV's license has been suspended for 30 days, after which it could face a permanent ban if it fails to change its policies. Some however linked BK TV's closure with its alleged campaign against the broadcasting agency and its recent selection of final winners for national television frequencies, which did not include Karic's television station.
that's Miodrag Popov, BK Television's Editor in Chief, and he ain't hugging that policiac!
Describing the agency's decision as "illegal," the television station's attorney, Miroslav Djordjevic, said his team would take action against those who tried to implement it and against the broadcasting agency members.
The deadline for filing complaints and appeals against the agency's decisions is 15 days. The agency then has 30 days to respond to such appeals.
Karic, an ally of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and one of Serbia's wealthiest people, founded BK TV together with his three brothers in the early 1990s. After being accused of corruption, three of the Karic brothers, including Bogoljub, fled the country earlier this year and are believed to be in Russia, according to the AP.
The broadcasting agency's decision to close down BK TV sparked criticism from at least three journalist associations, including the Serbian Journalist Society and the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM). According to ANEM, the move was arbitrary and constitutes a serious threat to democracy and media freedom.
This "rash intervention" on the part of the broadcasting agency "is a threat to the legal basis underpinning electronic media operations in Serbia, in a way which goes far beyond the present procedure of broadcast license allocation," ANEM said in a statement.
Noting that the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed under the Serbian Constitution, the association said this included the right to be critical of the decisions of public organisations, including the broadcasting agency. "Thus the suspension of a broadcast license on the grounds of such criticism is unacceptable and is seen as a serious attack on freedom of expression in this country," ANEM said, urging the agency to "reconsider and revoke its decision"
posted by redemption department at 12:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home