The editor-in-chief of the Belgrade weekly" Vreme," Teofil Pancic, writes about the media situation in Serbia in the October 19, 1998 issue of the Split weekly "Feral Tribune."

The impossible, almost surreal nature of the situation and mindlessness of the actions of the regime is best seen by the written explanations of the Serbian Ministry of Truth. The responsible minister, Aleksandar Vucic was not ashamed to sign this anthological creations of practical idiotism. In the letters to "Danas and "Nasa Borba, sentences of certain articles are analyzed in detail - most of which are author’s columns, presenting personal views - while it is stated that these articles "Create panic, fear and defeatism."

Preventing the publishing of low circulation papers for intellectuals because their business columnist is "spreading fear, panic and defeatism" among the wide (and widely illiterate) masses is a step that deeply insults with its high concentration and perfect quality of applied cretinism.

The political-journalist circles, which replaced the sealed editorial offices with cafes and restaurants, is attempting to discern what is really at hand: is this the individual rage of Seselj’s Radicals, since all the restrictive Decrees have been signed by the government Vice president, Vojislav Seselj, and not the Prime minister, Mirko Marjanovic - and if it is, does this mean that Milosevic has given Seselj a free hand for a joyride with Serbia so that he would, in return, swallow all his major concessions concerning Kosovo, or is it, as the incorrigible optimists say, is Milosevic's trap for Seselj to compromise completely his position so that Milosevic could throw him out of the government as a disgusting totalitarian extremist ?

I fear that another possibility should be added to all of these: a season of great, essential foreign policy concessions of the isolationistic regime in Belgrade is at the doorstep. Since the public has been harangued and fed with nationalistic and rasist propaganda for ten years, it will be hard do explain to it why we are giving up on various "sacred national goals." That is why the free media has to be prevented, so that important state business is taken care of in a situation where as small as possible number of people would notice it. This could also show the pragmatic cynicism of the "big world," which will not pay too much attention to the mischief of the Belgrade regime within Serbia, if it, in return, gives it a new round of "peace and stability in the Balkans." We've seen this movie already after Dayton.

Whenever Milosevic signs some kind of peace with somebody, the journalists here start sleeping with one eye open. What makes the repression much more dangerous this time and far-reaching - and what threatens to turn Serbia into a semi-wild Bantustan - is the Radicals' developed sense for disgusting. These bizzare radical mutants, these horrific children of the New Serbia created by Milosevic and his wife for ten years now, have grown up and are very, very, hungry. That is why they will firstly swallow all those who do not like Mom and Dad, and when there is nobody left, they will swallow Mom and Dad too.


Source: Split weekly "Feral Tribune," October 19, 1998