THE IMAGE OF THE BALKAN NATIONS IN THE SERBIAN MEDIA

(October 1994 - March 1995)

Jovan Teokarevic

The most significant change in the Serbian media in comparison with the previous six-month period (April-September 1994) is a sharp increase in the number of texts on Balkan affairs. To some extent it had to do with various important events happening in the region during this half year, from parliamentary elections in Macedonia and Bulgaria to the dangerous deterioration of relations between Greece and Turkey, Macedonia and Albania, etc. In addition, the state agency Tanjug is no longer the only, or even the most important source of information from the four monitored countries: some Serbian dailies have now permanent correspondents in all capitals of those countries. Serbian public has never had such extensive information from the Balkan countries. Of course and unfortunately, this does not mean that coverage has improved. After a long unpleasant experience with the regime, during the last several months the independent media in Serbia came under an unprecedented attack from authorities. An illustration of this is the take-over of the daily Borba by the Federal Government at the end of 1994, which in turn triggered the birth of another independent daily in Serbia - Nasa Borba. Despite foreign help and good journalists, it is still struggling to survive, like other more or less independent media in Serbia.

Turkey

The image of Turkey, which Serbian newspapers offered during the greater part of the six-month period under review was one of a country torn apart by economic crisis, growing violence in political life, authoritarian rule and backwardness. All this is fertile ground for the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and for an aggressive foreign policy.

Commenting this ever more complicated internal situation in Turkey, an article in Politika on 6 February described a very difficult "exam" the Turkish Prime Minister will have to pass, together with the whole nation. The exam consists of several parts - "politics, economy, Kurds and Islam" and the whole exam will have to be passed in a single effort. The danger lies in the fact, warns the author, that "Muslim redeemers" could become winners.

Numerous texts throughout the period referred to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. On 17 December, for instance, Politika reveals that "step by step, the fundamentalists are conquering terrain in Turkey. They find points of support in the Army, too". Politika thus asks: "Can Ankara, with fes and fereja, enter the European Union?" Or, can it do that with backward people who think they can escape the risk of AIDS just because they are "protected by Allah"?

Another commentary in Politika (9 February) says that Europe, "out of fear of fundamentalism, offers its hand to Turkey, pushing it to the frontline of the battle with that movement, and in return makes possible higher involvement of Turkey in European affairs". The text ends with a question: "Will Europe, for the sake of its comfort, let Islam to this side of Bosphorus, as it did six centuries ago?"

New tensions in Turkish-Greek relations were closely followed by all Serbian media especially during October and February. Great concern rather than explicit pro-Greek option was stressed in most texts, but the media did not miss to say that Turkey can behave aggressively towards Greece (or "to make threats in the old-style") because "Greece is not an equal partner... Turkey has the big support of the Western World" (both quotations from Vecernje novosti, 9 February). Because of this support, the West will keep on condemning Turkey in words only, but will never break ties with it - this can be concluded from most reports in the Serbian media.

The best proof of this was found in the response Turkish occupation of the northern Iraq got at the end of March. Covering all available information on this offensive, most Serbian newspapers stressed that Turkey could occupy the territory of another country and send its army there without being punished because of "Washington which so far supports the Turkish invasion... provided Turkey protects the civilian population living there" (28 March, Tanjug's report, published in several dailies). In numerous reports from Ankara, from 20 March on (especially of the state agency Tanjug) one could also see this constant question: Is this the beginning of another new permanent Turkish occupation, like the one in Cyprus? (for example, 27 March).

In contrast to the tacit support given to Greek military cooperation with other Balkan countries, Turkish military cooperation with other Balkan countries is unanimously condemned in the Serbian press (for example, in Vecernje novosti, 7 February).

The motion in the Turkish Parliament to pass a law which would make military aid to Bosnian Muslims legal, counter to the UN resolution on the arms embargo, presented a good chance for several texts which described how Turkey has so far violated the decision of the World Organization. Tanjug's journalist revealed to the readers of all dailies on 20 March that "Since Turkey has been already secretly sending weapons to the Muslims in Bosnia, this formal denial of embargo is aimed at producing propaganda effects within domestic public, which is extremely anti-Serb oriented. It is also expected that the example of Ankara will be followed by other Islamic countries and that they will increase military deliveries to Muslims in Bosnia".

During the six months under review special attention was given also to the violation of human rights in Turkey. The discovery of the Turkish minister for human rights that no less than eighteen methods of torture are still in use in prisons of his country was given enough space for elaboration and necessary details (Tanjug in Politika, 30 March). The trial of the 35 members of the Greenpeace organization (for holding peaceful anti-nuclear demonstrations) offers similar unpleasant evidence about the Turkish judiciary (Tanjug in Politika, 9 March).

Greece

Between 1 October and 31 March 1995 texts on Greece in the Serbian dailies were again numerous and covered many different issues. Most of them gave, as always, extremely favorable image of the Greek people and its government. This was best shown in reportages about the renewed air-line Belgrade-Athens, published in all dailies on 9 October. None of the texts missed to say that FR Yugoslavia was honored because (after two and a half years of forbidden international flights) the first JAT airplane landed on the runaway of the Athens airport which is used for the highest guests of Greece. Yugoslav ambassador in Athens said on that occasion: "All the time Greece has been fighting with us to lift the sanctions" (Politika, 9 October).

And here is how also emphatically Tanjug's correspondent (on 10 February) begins the text, with what he calls "a brief description of the meeting" (of Yugoslav and Greek foreign ministers): "Deep friendship, harmony in views on all important questions on the Balkans and on the territory of former Yugoslavia, as well as determination of Greece and FR Yugoslavia to contribute to a peaceful solution of the crisis..."

Serbian journalists kept portraying Greeks as people much more inclined to pleasure than to work, with a charming nonchalance. While in some other countries this could be considered a defect, in Serbia it is rather a sign of excellency, a symbol of closeness and similarity between Greeks and Serbs. This is most probably the way a good part of readers will comment statistics on high personal consumption in Greece (despite economic problems) and the structure of the consumption: most money is spent on food, drinks and cigarettes, says Politika on 9 January.

Reviving the usual Serbian image of Greeks as nice, but not totally reliable people, Borba's journalist says in a rather critical tone from Athens that "here... promises are used more as a rhetorical category, and Greeks are real masters in this, than as solid obligations" (2 November). Before it ceased to be independent, Borba was the only daily which sometimes went against the prevailing current and criticized the Greeks. A good point was, for instance, made when Borba on 16 October claimed that the YU-crisis had been very low among Greek priorities during its EU presidency, in the first half of 1994.

Macedonia

Two issues dominated the texts about Macedonia published in the Serbian dailies in the second half a year: parliamentary and presidential elections in October 1994 and conflicts with the Albanians, in connection with the opening and closing of the illegal Albanian University in Tetovo, between December 1994 and February 1995.

As for the elections, despite frequent criticism of the "Gligorov's state and policy" which appeared in most of the Serbian media, this time he was clearly everyone's favorite in Serbia. While this was natural for the daily Borba or the weekly Vreme, which praised the Macedonian president almost without any criticism, it was also the case with the rest of the press in Serbia. The explanation is that any other alternative to Gligorov - i.e. either Macedonian or Albanian nationalism - could easily destabilize the Balkans and endanger Serbia, too.

Because of Gligorov's superiority from the beginning to the end, the Serbian press did not have to openly express that it was supporting him and his coalition. It could just keep on writing on the obvious and the inevitable. Or, it could vilify the opposition, which it did with a partial exception of Gosev's Democratic Party (although there's no evidence whatsoever in the press that he was "the Serbian candidate", as some Macedonian newspapers were suggesting). Albanian parties and VMRO were presented as irresponsible extremists, but fortunately, as Serbian newspapers were implying, this political option is supported only by the minority of the Macedonian population. This is an important message of even the nationalistic part of the Serbian press, which refrain from criticizing Macedonian people; the only target is the government.

In the case of the Albanian University at Tetovo, after previous incessant criticism and "warnings" to the Macedonian Government about "the real ultimate aims of the Albanians in Macedonia", a good part of the Serbian press felt that it had been a prophet and did not hide its pride about it. This attitude was best summarized in the commentary of the correspondent of Vecernje novosti from Skopje, published on 22 February. It says the following about the events in Tetovo: "It was a well prepared and well organized scenario, the basis of which was taken from the already tested activity in the FR Yugoslavia - on Kosovo and Metohija. The revival was - excellent. It was a game between the Macedonian authorities, deeply convinced that radicalization and Kosovization cannot happen, and Albanian nationalists who do not give up their demands and fixed aims". A little further in the text one could find out more about the aims of the Albanians: "The demand for the University would be followed by other demands: Academy of Sciences, recognition of a two-national state, then autonomy, etc, etc. Everything according to the already tested scenario."

The Serbian press persisted in criticizing the Macedonian government for the bad treatment of Serbs living in Macedonia. Summarizing the results of a public opinion poll from Macedonia, Politick on 14 February said that Serbs in Macedonia are treated as a "second-class and insignificant ethnic group". Among many injustices done to Serbs, the editors pointed out, through the headline too, that there is only "one school on 300,000 people" (the number represents an exaggerated estimation of the number of Serbs living in Macedonia today).

Ironical allusions on the weak independence of Macedonia appeared from time to time in the Serbian press. One of them, published during this period (in Politika, 11 January), deserves attention: it is a cartoon which presents the star from the Macedonian flag as the light of an old-fashioned gas lamp.

Bulgaria

After years of complete indifference towards the eastern neighbour, the Serbian media began to show higher interest in Bulgaria in October 1994, when new parliamentary elections were scheduled, but it was only in the period December 1994 - February 1995 that Bulgaria got the first regular coverage in the Serbian press. Two reasons predominated in this radical reorientation. First, the Serbian regime and its media were looking forward to the expected victory of their Bulgarian counterparts - the Socialists, i.e. ex-communists, in December and, second, various parts of the Bulgarian society loudly demanded abroad the lifting of sanctions towards the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, because sanctions were greatly harming the Bulgarian economy, too. That's why a new image of Bulgaria began to be promoted in the media controlled by the Serbian regime, the one of a friend and an ally.

Apart from numerous professionally very well written reports on previously less known aspects of Bulgarian life, this shift naturally also gave rise to unrealistic exaggerations and wishful thinking. Several Serbian dailies reported, for example, on 19 November with unhidden delight the prediction of the Bulgarian newspaper "Troud", that after sanctions FR Yugoslavia would be the "economic tiger of the Balkans". In the same unbalanced manner, Politika on 15 December said that "Yugoslavia is in the centre of attention of the Bulgarian scientific and cultural public".

The victory of Socialists was described as a "triumph" (Politika, 19 December), but it also warned that (contrary to the joy it produced among the Serbian political elite) it might lead to the fall of the Bulgarian lev (headline in Politika, 20 December). Newly elected Bulgarian Prime Minister Jean Videnov and his government were given an extremely warm welcome by all Serbian media at the end of January. In most Serbian newspapers Videnov was presented in the way which should attract not only supporters of the ex-communist parties, but also wider circles, who like to see a young and promising politician. Tanjug's portrait of Videnov (published on 3 February in Politika) contains both elements, but its author also wants to stress that Videnov is the right man for the job because his government generally opts for a balanced approach, the same one he had chosen in his personal life (English high-school in Plovdiv followed by studying in Moscow). Vecernje novosti pushed the same argument further on 4 February taking the example of the Bulgarian foreign policy. Bulgaria, says the Novosti correspondent, has wasted too much time in trying to find its place in Moscow's or Washington's lap.

Following strictly the official Serbian policy, the same daily showed clearly on many occasions that it supported and protected the new Socialist government vis a vis its opposition or from eventual attacks on it from the West. Even before the Government was elected, on 19 January, Vecernje novosti emphasized that Videnov and his "reds" (as Novosti said) were criticized by the opposition for plans to lead "pro-Yugoslav foreign policy". And this was how a Bulgarian parliamentary dispute on a proposed law on the land reform was presented on 15 March: "The law would have been passed easily", says the correspondent of the now best selling Serbian daily, "if it had not been for the opposition, which, being in power until recently, felt its own country as close as the Spanish one, except for the sake of electoral fights, and if it had not found in the draft of the law something that irresistibly looked like... collectivization...".

"Protection" from the West, provided by Novosti, is even more interesting. The most characteristic examples were those of the Reuter's photo which showed the brutality of the Bulgarian police, which "actually never happened" (14 February), or the extradition of the Todor Zhivkov's grandson from Switzerland, which was done deliberately after Socialists came to power, according to Novosti, in order to embarrass the new government (21 February).