BBC News | EUROPE | Serbia clamps down on media

BBC News Online: World: Europe

Saturday, 18 March, 2000, 14:47 GMT

Serbia clamps down on media

By Jacky Rowland in Belgrade

The Serbian authorities have seized the main transmitter of an opposition-run radio and TV station in the latest stage of a sweeping clampdown against the alternative media.

Officials raided Radio-Television Kraljevo in the centre of the country late on Friday, taking with them a number of pieces of equipment.

The editor of the station, which is run by the opposition-controlled town council, said one small transmitter was left, which was powerful enough to reach only one quarter of the usual audience.

The action against the station in Kraljevo came a day after about 2,000 people protested in southern Serbia against the closure of Radio Television Pirot. Magazines showing Studio B logo

The owners of the station visited its transmitter early on Thursday after broadcasts went off air.

They found that the fence had been cut, the door had been broken down and equipment was missing.

They found a note from the police ordering RTV Pirot to stop broadcasting.

Elections

In the past week, the Ministry of Telecommunications has acted against seven separate broadcasters, accusing them of not having a license and of failing to pay for the use of their frequencies.

The Telecommunications Minister, Ivan Markovic, said there were more than 200 broadcasters operating illegally in Yugoslavia.

Lawyers representing independent broadcasters say they do not have a clear legal status, which means they can be closed down at any time.

Opposition leaders say the government has ordered the current clampdown to silence the alternative media before elections due later this year.

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