News for March 10th, 1997

Dusan Popovic, member of the Main Board of the Student Protest said today in his address to the students gathered at the Plato that the students assemblies of the individual schools have made their decisions regarding tomorrow's returning to class, but that the final results of the voting are not yet known. About 20,000 students visited the ministry of education today symbolically showing that they fulfilled the promise given at the beginning of the protest to last a day longer than the people they are protesting against. The students showed the minister of education Jovo Todorovic that they would not give in to any ultimatums and that they would decide when the protest is over since they started it. The Main Board of the Student Protest 96/97 came to the decision for the protest to continue in an unchanged form. Cedomir Jovanovic stated that he had nothing against part of the students returning to class tomorrow, but the the decision of the Main Board is for the protest to continue. "Respecting the decision of the majority of the student assemblies, the Main Board of the Student Protest decided for the protest to continue unchanged and also asks for a session of the University Council to be urgently held so that the Chancellor and student vice-chancellor could formally be relieved of their duties" it is stated in the announcement of the Main Board.

The coalition Zajedno in Nis has filed charges against all members of the City Electoral Committee for which there is doubt that they were involved in the counterfeiting of the citizen's votes on last year's local elections, stated Zoran Zivkovic the mayor of Nis.

The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) sharply criticized the act of the chief editor of the Radio-Television Politika by which he fired Eleonora Prohic the long-time editor of the satellite program of this house.

About 500 scientists and assistants of the Vinca Institute for Nuclear Sciences demanded of the Serbian government to retract the proposal for the discharging of Miroslav Kopecnog the institute manager, and expressed their full solidarity.

The statement given by the general manager of the Serbian National Radio-Television Network (RTS) regarding the dispute with the general manager of BK Television says that the contract between RTS and BK is "a contract based on the business interests of subjects. The contract was not founded on the sympathies towards the editorial concepts of either side but on business-financial interests... At the moment that the contract hinges the expanding and program projects of one side, the same side breaks the contract in order to defend its interests. This practice is something normal not only in business but also in other areas of life and society, starting with human relations", explains the general manager of RTS. The manager of BK Television Vera Radojicic-Potparic addressed the viewers in response to the statement of the manager of RTS. She said that "Mr. Milanovic [manager of RTS] stated that there is no pressure on independent media, but services have been stopped for us, who transmit information program, but not to the televisions which sing around the clock... Our equipment is the size of a typewriter or small refrigerator and uses the power of a iron or water-heater.

The Republic Minister of Information Radmila Milentijevic publicly announced the proposal of a new law regarding public information. The draft version of the law proposes the establishment of a new body - the Republic Board for the Defense of Public Informing. The Board would consist of eight members nominated by the Republic Parliament, one by the each of the following: the president of Serbia, the government, Serbian Academy of Science and Art, the Community of Universities and journalist associations and syndicates.

Back to News index

Back to the Home Page