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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 140, 99-07-21

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 140, 21 July 1999


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] AZERBAIJAN'S ALIEV WELCOMES TALKS WITH KOCHARIAN
  • [02] AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS MOVE AGAINST OPPOSITION
  • [03] IRANIAN ENVOY REFUSES BAKU POST
  • [04] GEORGIAN ANGER AT LEBED COMMENTS GROWS
  • [05] KAZAKHSTAN POLICE ARREST SUNNI FAITHFUL
  • [06] FIRST CENSUS RESULTS IN KYRGYZSTAN
  • [07] TAJIKISTAN BANS CARRYING ARMS IN PUBLIC
  • [08] NIYAZOV RENAMES TURKMENISTAN CITY
  • [09] NO AFGHAN ACCORD AT TASHKENT TALKS

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [10] UCK DISARMAMENT ON SCHEDULE...
  • [11] ...BUT VIOLATIONS OF AGREEMENT CONTINUE
  • [12] UNMIK LAUNCHES POLICE RECRUITMENT
  • [13] BELGRADE WANTS TO RETURN SOME PERSONNEL TO KOSOVA
  • [14] SERBIAN POLICE ARRESTED IN KOSOVA
  • [15] ANNAN CALLS FOR RESTORING BASIC SERVICES
  • [16] TWO KEY SERVICES RETURN TO KOSOVA
  • [17] POOR CONDITIONS FOR SERBIAN REFUGEES
  • [18] MORE REPORTS OF TUBERCULOSIS
  • [19] SERBIAN MINISTER REOPENS BRIDGE
  • [20] BELGRADE BARS MONTENEGRIN STUDENTS
  • [21] MONTENEGRO TO GIVE BELGRADE DEADLINE?
  • [22] ALBANIA, GREECE PLEDGE COOPERATION TO FIGHT CRIME
  • [23] ALBANIAN SYNOD SAYS ORTHODOX CHURCHES IN SARANDA
  • [24] WESTENDORP SACKS MAYOR
  • [25] ARBOUR TO CHARGE CROATIA WITH 'NON-COMPLIANCE'
  • [26] EU URGES CROATIA TO DEMOCRATIZE
  • [27] U.S. HELPS DEFEND CROATIAN JOURNALISTS
  • [28] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT INTERVENES IN 'GENERALS' CONTROVERSY
  • [29] ROMANIA'S CIVIC ALLIANCE MOVEMENT TO SUPPORT CIORBEA?
  • [30] IMF DELEGATION VISITS MOLDOVA
  • [31] BULGARIAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN U.S.
  • [32] BULGARIAN ETHNIC TURKISH LEADER CALLS FOR 'MODEL OF

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [33] MEDIA TENSIONS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] AZERBAIJAN'S ALIEV WELCOMES TALKS WITH KOCHARIAN

    Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev on 19 July told U.S.

    Ambassador to Baku Stanley Escudero that he felt his 16

    July meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharian was

    "very significant," even though the two sides remained far

    apart, Turan news agency reported on 20 July. "I feel we

    are both trying to understand each other, and I want this

    to yield results and bring peace," Aliev said. PG

    [02] AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS MOVE AGAINST OPPOSITION

    During the

    last few days, the Baku authorities have moved against

    several opposition figures and groups. On 20 July, the

    trial of Geyrat Party chairman Ashraf Mekdiyev on charges

    of insulting President Aliev continued, Turan reported. On

    19 July, Baku police prevented United Azerbaijan Movement

    leader Ashdar Tagizade from flying to Switzerland. And on

    18 July, officials in Ganja prevented Democratic Party of

    Azerbaijan (DPA) activists from holding a meeting by

    briefly detaining 10 DPA members, Baku's "525 Gazet"

    reported on 20 July. PG

    [03] IRANIAN ENVOY REFUSES BAKU POST

    Abdulnaser Himmati, who

    was recently named Tehran's ambassador to Azerbaijan, has

    refused to take up his position, "525 gazet" reported on 20

    July. An ethnic Azerbaijani from Iran's Hamadan, Himmati

    reportedly cited personal reasons. This is the second time

    an Iranian appointee to Baku has refused to serve there;

    the first was in 1994. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Space

    television reported that various Azerbaijani opposition

    groups have picked the Iranian embassy in Baku to protest

    what they say is Iranian repression of ethnic Azerbaijanis

    in Iran. PG

    [04] GEORGIAN ANGER AT LEBED COMMENTS GROWS

    Revaz Adamia, the

    chairman of the Georgian parliament's Defense Committee,

    sharply criticized Aleksandr Lebed, the governor of

    Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, for his comments in Ajaria (see

    "RFE/RL Newsline, 19 July 1990), Prime News reported on 20

    July. Part of the reason for this reflects Tbilisi's

    concern about unsettled conditions in that region, the

    Georgian news agency reported. PG

    [05] KAZAKHSTAN POLICE ARREST SUNNI FAITHFUL

    The authorities

    arrested 70 people in Zhambul region on 19 July, Kazakh

    Khabar television reported on 20 July. Originally suspected

    of being Wahhabis or escaped prisoners, those arrested

    proved to be Sunni Muslims, a group permitted by

    Kazakhstan's legislation. PG

    [06] FIRST CENSUS RESULTS IN KYRGYZSTAN

    The Kyrgyzstan

    authorities on 20 July released the first results of a

    census conducted there last spring, Interfax reported. The

    country's population now stands at 4.856 million, up 13

    percent since 1989. Final results from this first post-

    independence count are to be released by the end of the

    year. PG

    [07] TAJIKISTAN BANS CARRYING ARMS IN PUBLIC

    The Tajik

    government and the United Tajik Opposition on 17 July

    agreed to ban carrying arms in public, Interfax reported on

    20 July. The Russian news agency said the order seems to

    have had an effect almost immediately in Dushanbe. PG

    [08] NIYAZOV RENAMES TURKMENISTAN CITY

    On 19 July, President

    Saparmurad Niyazov renamed Chardzhou Turkmenabad, Interfax

    reported. He said he took this step to ensure that the

    names in the country reflect its rebirth. PG

    [09] NO AFGHAN ACCORD AT TASHKENT TALKS

    Two days of talks in

    Tashkent between Afghan factions and the six countries

    supporting a peace effort there have ended without

    significant progress. The meeting concluded with a

    declaration that a military solution is impossible and that

    there must be further talks, Interfax reported on 20 July.

    PG


    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [10] UCK DISARMAMENT ON SCHEDULE...

    KFOR commander General Sir

    Mike Jackson inspected an arms collection site of the

    Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) in Isnic on 20 July, together

    with UCK commander Agim Ceku, an RFE/RL correspondent

    reported from Prishtina. That day marked the deadline for

    the first phase of the UCK's disarmament plan. According to

    the plan, which guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci signed and

    presented to NATO 30 days earlier, by now the UCK was to

    have turned in all its heavy weapons and 30 percent of its

    small arms. At the storage site are, among other things,

    heavy machine guns, anti-tank rockets, a Chinese multi-

    barreled anti-aircraft gun, several other arms, and about 2

    million rounds of ammunition. Most of the arms originated

    from the Yugoslav Army. There are a total of 19 collection

    sites throughout Kosova. FS

    [11] ...BUT VIOLATIONS OF AGREEMENT CONTINUE

    KFOR spokesman

    Louis Garneau said in Prishtina on 20 July that KFOR

    soldiers have arrested 13 men in UCK uniforms in Mihalic

    and confiscated an unspecified number of arms, an RFE/RL

    correspondent reported. Despite these violations of the

    demilitarization agreement, UCK commander Ceku told Reuters

    in Isnic that "I am sure I have control of the UCK units."

    FS

    [12] UNMIK LAUNCHES POLICE RECRUITMENT

    The UN Mission in Kosovo

    (UNMIK) opened an office for the recruitment of police for

    the planned UN-trained force for the province in Prishtina

    on 20 July. UCK commander Ceku told General Jackson in

    Isnic that about 4,000 former UCK soldiers will apply for

    positions in the force, Reuters reported. FS

    [13] BELGRADE WANTS TO RETURN SOME PERSONNEL TO KOSOVA

    Yugoslav

    Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said in a letter to UN

    Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 20 July that international

    peacekeepers and the UN-sponsored civilian authority "do

    not have sufficient strength to ensure the full security of

    Kosova's borders, population, and property." Bulatovic

    asked Annan to allow an unspecified number of Yugoslav

    soldiers, police, and customs officials to return to the

    province soon, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported.

    Under the June peace agreement on Kosova, Belgrade will be

    allowed to send a limited number of forces to guard the

    frontiers and Serbian cultural monuments but only when the

    UN agrees. PM

    [14] SERBIAN POLICE ARRESTED IN KOSOVA

    A NATO spokesman said in

    Prishtina on 20 July that peacekeepers arrested four

    Serbian policemen in eastern Kosova near the border with

    Serbia. The four were armed with automatic weapons. The

    June peace agreement bans Serbian paramilitary police from

    the province. PM

    [15] ANNAN CALLS FOR RESTORING BASIC SERVICES

    The UN secretary-

    general said in Vienna on 20 July that the UN's mission

    will be on the ground [in Kosova] at least for several

    years but the reconstruction of [the province and the

    region]...will take at least 10 years." He added that "even

    if one were to limit assistance to Yugoslavia for example

    to only humanitarian assistance, one should define

    humanitarian aid in broad enough terms to allow assistance

    to go to repairs of electrical systems, water supplies, and

    hospitals." Annan stressed that Kosova's remaining Serbs

    might leave if basic infrastructure is not restored. PM

    [16] TWO KEY SERVICES RETURN TO KOSOVA

    An RFE/RL South Slavic

    Service correspondent reported from Prishtina on 20 July

    that KFOR troops have restarted a key power plant nearby.

    It employs 850 persons, of whom 600 are ethnic Albanians

    and 250 ethnic Serbs. Elsewhere, the Albanian-language

    daily "Rilindja" resumed publication in Prishtina after an

    interruption of nine years. Serbian authorities closed the

    daily in 1990. It continued to publish in Zofingen,

    Switzerland, and Tirana. FS

    [17] POOR CONDITIONS FOR SERBIAN REFUGEES

    A spokesman for the

    UNHCR said in Belgrade on 20 July that an unspecified

    number of Serbian refugees from Kosova live in poor

    conditions in Kragujevac, Kraljevo, and other cities. Many

    refugees charge that the Serbian authorities mistreat them

    in the hope of forcing them to return to Kosova. PM

    [18] MORE REPORTS OF TUBERCULOSIS

    The UNHCR officials noted in

    Belgrade on 20 July that an unspecified number of cases of

    tuberculosis have emerged among the 7,500 Roma in a

    makeshift refugee camp near Podgorica. Observers note that

    tuberculosis never disappeared from the former Yugoslavia,

    despite great efforts by communist-era health authorities

    to eradicate it. There have been increasing reports of

    cases of tuberculosis in much of the former Yugoslavia in

    recent years, particularly in those areas affected by war

    or by deteriorating economic and social conditions. PM

    [19] SERBIAN MINISTER REOPENS BRIDGE

    Prime Minister Mirko

    Marjanovic reopened the bridge over the Danube at Beska

    near Novi Sad on 20 July. He told a crowd of several

    hundred persons, some of whom carried portraits of Yugoslav

    President Slobodan Milosevic, that Serbia "has once again

    become a major European transportation link." The bridge

    sustained only minor damage during NATO's recent bombing

    campaign. PM

    [20] BELGRADE BARS MONTENEGRIN STUDENTS

    The Serbian Ministry of

    Education said in a statement on 20 July that students from

    Montenegro will no longer be allowed to register at

    Belgrade University, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service

    reported. Observers note that most Montenegrin students

    seeking a higher education have traditionally sought

    admission to Belgrade University. In Belgrade, Serbian

    Education Ministry officials said that priority for

    university admissions will go to soldiers and their

    families. PM

    [21] MONTENEGRO TO GIVE BELGRADE DEADLINE?

    Vojin Djukanovic, who

    heads the governing Democratic Party of Socialists, said

    that the Montenegrin government "will probably" give the

    Belgrade authorities until "the beginning of September" to

    respond to Montenegrin proposals to change the federal

    system, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported from

    Belgrade on 20 July. PM

    [22] ALBANIA, GREECE PLEDGE COOPERATION TO FIGHT CRIME

    Albanian

    Public Order Minister Spartak Poci and his Greek

    counterpart, Mikhailis Khrisokhoidhis, pledged in Ioannina

    on 20 July to increase cooperation in fighting crime, AP

    reported. The ministers agreed to increase border patrols

    to prevent illegal immigrants from entering Greece (see

    "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 July 1999). Poci agreed to provide

    Greek police with information on convicted Albanian

    criminals, including fingerprints, photographs, and

    official records. Khrisokhoidhis said he will assist the

    Albanian police force by providing training, computers,

    weapons, and other equipment. To facilitate the exchange of

    information, police officials in northern Greece and

    southern Albania will hold weekly meetings. Khrisokhoidhis

    said that document checks and expulsions of illegal

    immigrants will continue, but he promised that immigrants

    who have obtained temporary residence and work permits in

    Greece will not be affected. FS

    [23] ALBANIAN SYNOD SAYS ORTHODOX CHURCHES IN SARANDA

    VANDALIZED

    The Holy Synod of Albania's Orthodox Church

    issued a statement on 20 July saying that unknown persons

    burned one church, vandalized another, and burned icons in

    a third during June and July in the Saranda region, Reuters

    reported. The statement says: "We appeal for an end to

    these acts and ask the authorities to take the necessary

    measures to stop this dangerous and unprecedented

    escalation, which spoils Albania's image in this critical

    historical period.... We raise our voice not only to defend

    our churches and monasteries but also the religious harmony

    and the peaceful coexistence characteristic of our

    country." FS

    [24] WESTENDORP SACKS MAYOR

    A spokesman for the international

    community's Carlos Westendorp said in Sarajevo on 20 July

    that Westendorp has "suspended from office" Sanski Most

    Mayor Mehmed Alagic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 July 1999).

    Bosnian media have recently linked Alagic to abuse of

    office and corruption. He has denied the charges and

    insisted that he will continue in office. PM

    [25] ARBOUR TO CHARGE CROATIA WITH 'NON-COMPLIANCE'

    Louise

    Arbour, who is the Hague-based war crimes tribunal's chief

    prosecutor, said on 20 July in Zagreb that she will report

    to the UN Security Council that Croatia is not cooperating

    with the court. Croatian officials had refused her request

    for extradition of two Bosnian Croat war crime suspects and

    the transfer of a quantity of documents regarding

    mistreatment of Serbs in Croatia between 1991 and 1995 (see

    "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 July 1999). She charged that Zagreb's

    behavior toward the tribunal differs little from that of

    Belgrade, which does not recognize the court's authority,

    AP reported. Arbour noted that Croatian officials have

    nonetheless given the tribunal "excellent" cooperation in

    investigating Serbian atrocities in Croatia. She said that

    this "proves that it's very much a matter of a political

    will of what kind of support the tribunal will receive.

    When it's deemed desirable to do so, there are very few

    impediments" from Zagreb. PM

    [26] EU URGES CROATIA TO DEMOCRATIZE

    Finnish Foreign Minister

    Tarja Halonen, who holds the rotating EU chair, told

    Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic in Brussels on 20

    July that Croatia must promote democratization, reform its

    electoral law, and allow the return of ethnic Serbian

    refugees if it wants closer integration with the EU. PM

    [27] U.S. HELPS DEFEND CROATIAN JOURNALISTS

    A spokesman for the

    U.S. embassy in Zagreb said on 20 July that the embassy has

    donated $100,000 to the Journalist Association's Legal

    Defense Fund to help pay lawyers' fees and court costs.

    Most of the 500 lawsuits filed against journalists in

    recent years have been filed by government officials, their

    associates, or their families, AP reported. The government

    has used lawsuits and any resulting fines to intimidate

    critical journalists and to try to bankrupt independent

    periodicals. PM

    [28] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT INTERVENES IN 'GENERALS' CONTROVERSY

    Emil Constantinescu on 20 July said that allegations that

    the Supreme Court was influenced by "political

    considerations" in sentencing Generals Victor Stanculescu

    and Mihai Chitac are "grave" and constitute negations of

    the "independence of the judiciary at its highest levels."

    Those who make such allegations, Constantinescu said, must

    produce proof. He added that the sentence could not be

    regarded as "one passed on the army as a whole." Finding

    out the truth about the 1989 revolution, he continued,

    "must exclude any idea of collective guilt" and should not

    "affect the army's honor and prestige," RFE/RL's Bucharest

    bureau reported. Prime Minster Radu Vasile said the

    sentence has "provoked a sense of restlessness in the

    army," which is "counterproductive at a time [the army] is

    undergoing reform." MS

    [29] ROMANIA'S CIVIC ALLIANCE MOVEMENT TO SUPPORT CIORBEA?

    Valerian Stan, deputy chairman of the Civic Alliance

    Movement, said on 20 July that the movement might back

    former Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea's National Christian

    Democratic Alliance in the 2000 parliamentary elections. He

    said the formation set up by the former premier in April

    has adopted "many ideas and principles backed by the Civic

    Alliance," adding that Ciorbea is "a reliable politician."

    On 17 July, the alliance's National Council decided that

    the alliance will not re-join the Democratic Convention of

    Romania as long as the convention fails to promote

    "legislation leading to society's moral cleansing." MS

    [30] IMF DELEGATION VISITS MOLDOVA

    Richard Haas, head of an IMF

    delegation currently visiting Moldova, said on 20 July that

    during talks with members of the cabinet and the National

    Bank, agreement was reached on a program that is to be

    implemented in the second half of this year, ITAR-TASS

    reported. The IMF delegation is reviewing the

    implementation of an IMF-Moldovan memorandum during the

    first half of the year. Haas said that if the review is

    positive, Moldova will receive a $35 million loan from the

    fund and a $20 million loan from the World Bank this year.

    MS

    [31] BULGARIAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN U.S.

    After meeting with

    Bulgarian Defense Minister Georgi Ananiev in Washington on

    20 July, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen told

    journalists that he has handed his guest a U.S.-developed

    "action plan" to help guide Bulgarian military reforms as

    the country prepares for eventual NATO membership. Cohen

    said that the plan recommends Bulgaria focus on improving

    training and the life quality of soldiers. It also urges

    measures to improve logistics, command and control, and

    communication. A senior U.S. defense official said that the

    guidelines call for Bulgaria's military force to be reduced

    to 45,000 troops from the present 100,000, AFP reported.

    The two ministers also discussed the situation in the

    Balkans. Ananiev noted that Bulgaria and other countries in

    the region have suffered heavy economic losses from the war

    in Yugoslavia. MS

    [32] BULGARIAN ETHNIC TURKISH LEADER CALLS FOR 'MODEL OF

    MODERATE NATIONALISM'

    Ahmed Dogan, leader of the ethnic

    Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) and co-

    chairman of the Liberal Democratic Union (LDS), has called

    for a "model of moderate nationalism" in Bulgaria, BTA

    reported on 20 July. Addressing a forum on liberalism,

    Dogan said nationalism has been "toned down" in Bulgaria

    but this has created a "political vacuum that could be

    filled by forces of aggressive nationalism, such as

    skinheads." He said that the two main political forces in

    the country, the Union of Democratic Forces and the

    Socialist Party, are not taking the opportunity to "use the

    ethnic card" in local elections scheduled for the fall. He

    also regretted that his own DPS has shed many of its

    nationalist features as a result of its LDS membership. MS


    [C] END NOTE

    [33] MEDIA TENSIONS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

    by Victor Gomez

    Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman would like

    to have better relations with the media. At

    least that's what he said after a group of

    journalists wrote an open letter publicly

    accusing him of worsening those ties. A recent

    slew of remarks by Zeman has made it hard for

    anyone to disagree with those journalists.

    Furthermore, the conflict between the current

    minority government and the majority of the

    country's media has accelerated to a fever

    pitch, just as the government has introduced a

    new press bill and proposed changes to the

    status of the Council for Radio and Television

    Broadcasting.

    Obviously, relations between politicians

    and the media are often somewhat tense in a

    democracy, but the situation in the Czech

    Republic has become particularly difficult in

    the past few months. Anyone who thought that the

    Zeman administration could not possibly alienate

    the press as much as the government of former

    Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus has been forced to

    reconsider. Rarely has the relationship between

    the Czech press and government been as poisoned

    as it is now. While Klaus was well known for his

    put-downs of reporters and his infamous

    statement about journalists being the "enemy of

    the people," Zeman has more than matched him. In

    his characteristically outspoken style, the

    current prime minister has dismissed journalists

    as "idiots" and "simpletons" and commented that

    "the number of idiots per square meter is by far

    the highest among Czech journalists." Not

    content, however, to restrict his comments to

    insults, Zeman has also engaged in concrete

    accusations of corruption. For example, he

    recently charged a journalist with having

    accepted money from the energy company CEZ in

    exchange for writing articles supporting the

    completion of the Temelin nuclear power plant.

    Recently, Zeman even offered an explanation

    for his attitude toward journalists. He said he

    decided to "destroy" Czech journalists with

    "fire and sword" after what he described as an

    attempt by "Lidove noviny" to politicize his

    son's attempted suicide. In any case, regardless

    of the motivation for his actions, Zeman's

    sweeping and aggressive attacks on the press

    have done little to help his party cultivate a

    favorable media image.

    In this poisoned atmosphere, the government has

    introduced a press bill that has had many of the country's

    journalists up in arms. The bill, which recently passed in

    its first reading in parliament, has been severely

    criticized in the media for two reasons. First, it would

    allow any citizen to bring charges against a newspaper for

    spreading hatred aimed at any group on the basis of its

    race, nationality, or religion. If accepted by a court,

    such a complaint could lead to a newspaper being fined or

    even suspended from publication for one year. Opponents of

    this provision argue existing laws already enable charges

    to be brought against any editor or reporter suspected of

    spreading racial hatred. In addition, they argue that the

    provision could be used by politicians against newspapers

    that are too critical of them or their policies.

    However, most of the bill's opponents have focused

    their ire on another provision of the draft law. According

    to that provision, readers would have the right to respond

    to any article that has harmed their reputation. Newspapers

    would be required to publish responses written by the

    reader even if the facts in the original article were

    correct.

    The government argues that its press bill

    is in line with similar laws in Western Europe.

    However, the bill is much vaguer than media laws

    in other countries where the right to respond

    exists. In Germany, for example, responses from

    readers must be strictly factual. In contrast,

    the Czech press bill would effectively enable

    readers to include their personal opinions as

    well as other commentary. Oddly enough, even

    members of Zemanės party have admitted that

    parliament will have to amend the bill during

    the second reading. Even more surprisingly,

    considering his own disdain for journalists,

    Klaus himself has come out against the bill.

    Another focus of tension is the proposal to

    change the laws governing public Czech

    Television and Czech Radio. Several politicians

    have argued that the parliament's role in

    overseeing and supervising the Council for Czech

    Television should be increased. While all

    parties concerned insist that they do not want

    to cast doubt on the publicly owned

    broadcaster's independence, it is no secret that

    some politicians are not happy with the manner

    in which their parties have been covered on the

    stations. For example, at a recent meeting of

    the Council for Czech Television, deputies from

    Klaus's Civic Democratic Party reportedly

    criticized the council for not granting their

    party enough air time. Once again the

    government's behavior has aggravated the

    situation, with journalists complaining that

    Culture Minister Pavel Dostal did not seek

    enough input from broadcasters in preparing the

    new regulations.

    These disputes illustrate the current

    tensions between the Czech Republic's

    journalists and politicians. On the one hand, it

    is true that Czech journalism is still marked by

    a high degree of partisanship and lack of

    professionalism. Key stories are often based on

    dark statements by shadowy "unnamed sources" or

    else blatantly reflect the political biases of

    the reporter. On the other hand, many Czech

    politicians make little effort to hide their

    aversion for journalists or their desire to have

    their views given precedence in the media.

    Zeman's slanderous comments about reporters

    indicate that he himself is not above damaging

    the reputations of journalists. These are

    questions of professionalism and political

    culture. No amount of laws will be able to

    resolve the problem of journalistic

    professionalism and establish a climate of

    professional responsibility between journalists

    and politicians.

    21-07-99


    Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    URL: http://www.rferl.org


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