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CROATIA
The gradual stabilization of the western Balkans,
combined with closer bilateral ties to neighboring Yugoslavia, encouraged
some increased diversity in Croatia’s media during 2002. On January 7,
for example, national Croatian Radio Television (HRT) broadcast a Serbian
Orthodox Christmas service for the first time since the country declared
independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. In May, after an 11-year hiatus,
Croatia’s main newspaper distribution company, Tisak, began selling Serbian
dailies and weeklies from Yugoslavia at newsstands again.
And although Croatia has been invited to join the
European Union in 2004, powerful far-right opposition, bitter rivalries
in the ruling reformist coalition, and a judiciary in need of reform continue
to frustrate the country’s lively and influential press. The government’s
tense relations with The Hague–based U.N. International War Crimes Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia dominated the news in 2002. Fresh war crimes
indictments of senior military officials stoked nationalist passions and
further strained the fragile government.
Throughout 2002, HRT and its two branches—Croatian
Television (HTV) and Croatian Radio—continued their lumbering transition
from state to public control. HRT faced strong criticism for mismanagement
and politicized decision-making. In February, the Croatian Journalists’
Association and independent journalists criticized HTV editor-in-chief
Jasna Ulaga-Valic for canceling an edition of the current-affairs talk
show “Latinica” that dealt with the highly sensitive issue of fascist
ideology in contemporary Croatian politics. And in April, the Croatian
Helsinki Committee, a Zagreb-based human rights organization, criticized
HTV for failing to broadcast a ceremony at the country’s World War II–era
concentration camp, Jasenovac, after having recently provided live coverage
of a ceremony honoring World War II–era fascist collaborators. Slavko
Goldstein, a prominent historian and member of HRT’s oversight board,
resigned in May to protest the unbalanced coverage.
In June, Forum 21, an independent association of
broadcast journalists, protested that HTV was appointing editors in violation
of its own nomination procedures and called for the selection process
to be reviewed. Then, in late November, 10 senior
HTV editors resigned, complaining of chaos within the station and leading
the Croatian Journalists’ Association to call for Ulaga-Valic’s resignation.
In early December, HRT oversight board member Jaksa Kusan quit, frustrated
with the board’s inability to encourage reforms at the broadcaster.
Croatia’s judiciary continued to hand down punitive
verdicts in libel cases. In March, the Zagreb District Court upheld two
such rulings by the Zagreb Municipal Court fining the independent Split-based
weekly Feral Tribune a total of 200,000 kunas (US$ 25,000) in lawsuits
dating back to the mid-1990s.
January 30
Srecko Jurdana, Nacional
Denis Latin, “Latinica”
Latin, editor and host of the weekly current
affairs program “Latinica” on Croatian Television (HTV), was threatened
with administrative charges and criminal slander charges after an edition
of the program discussed corruption and inefficiency in the country’s
judicial system, according to local press reports. Jurdana, a columnist
for the Zagreb-based weekly Nacional and a guest on the program,
was also threatened with slander charges. During the program, Latin had
asked whether state prosecutor Radovan Ortinski should resign, resulting
in a strong backlash from government officials.
On January 30, HTV acting director Marija
Nemcic filed administrative charges against Latin for allegedly violating
the station’s ethical code. The same day, another state prosecutor, Krunoslav
Canjuga, said he was considering filing slander charges against Latin
and several guests on the program, including Jurdana, lawyers Anto Nobilo
and Cedo Prodanovic, and Judge Vladimir Gredelj.
On February 20, the Foreign Ministry issued
a statement saying that the state prosecutor would not press charges against
Latin and his guests. On February 28, the Commission for Ethics of the
Croatian Radio Television rejected Nemcic’s complaint.
May 31
Sandra Krizanec, Croatian Radio
and Television
Krizanec, a reporter at the Osijek Studio
of Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), was threatened over the telephone
by Parliament member Branimir Glavas, according to the local press. Krizanec
had prepared a brief report for HRT’s noon news show about financial irregularities
committed during the privatization of state-owned companies in the 1990s.
A county prosecutor interviewed for the story implied that Glavas, who
was involved in the privatization of the Osijek daily Glas Slavonije,
had been involved in corruption. Several hours later, Glavas called the
journalist and physically threatened her for reporting the story.
September 6
Osjecki dom
Approximately 100 members of the Croatian
War Veteran’s Association (HVIDR) surrounded the printing house of the
weekly newspaper Osjecki dom for several days and prevented its
new edition from being distributed, according to local press reports.
Members of the far-right HVIDR were angry
that the newspaper was going to publish a list of the country’s 3,300
disabled war veterans, along with information about their disabilities.
Disabled veterans receive generous benefits from the state, but government
corruption dating from the 1990s has allowed political loyalists of the
former ruling nationalist HDZ party who were not injured to receive the
benefits as well. Osjecki dom editor-in-chief Dario Topic explained
that, “We wanted the public to discuss the issue ... and gain insight
into how budget funds are spent.”
Osjecki dom management claimed that
police knew about HVIDR’s plans to block the newspaper’s distribution
but did not prevent the action.
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