H. E. Slobodan Milosevic
President
Belgrade
Republic of Serbia

Vienna, 3 December 1996

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), strongly condemns the closing of Radio B-92, one of a handful of independent radio stations in Serbia.

IPI I is informed that Serbian authorities have ordered Radio B-92, Belgrade’s only independent radio station, to be shut down amid a wave of opposition street protests against Your Excellency’s government. Over the past several days, the station had complained that its signal was being jammed. We now understand that Radio B-92 has received a letter from the Ministry of Tourism and Communication saying the station was operating illegally. Both Radio B-92 and a student station, Radio Index, went off the air as of 15:00 on 3 December.

The Serbian media has been the target of continued harassment by government authorities for their coverage of the opposition protests after Your Excellency’s government annulled the 17 November 1996 municipal elections won by the opposition. Unlike state media, Radio B-92 and Radio Index have been covering the street demonstrations that have shaken the country’s capital.

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in 90 countries, regards the closing of Radio B-92 to be a grave violation of the right to “seek, receive and impart information through any media and regardless of frontiers,” as guaranteed by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We therefore urge Your Excellency to ensure that Radio B-92 is allowed to resume operating and that the country’s independent media is free to report on events currently taking place in Serbia.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director