On the evening of 30 September 1997, riot police brutally dispersed a crowd of demonstrators in Belgrade injuring and arresting an as-yet unconfirmed number of citizens of that city, demonstrators and accidental passers-by. The peaceful demonstrations were sparked by two related incidents of the same day: the replacement of the Mayor of Belgrade and subsequent dismissal of the Director and Chief Editor of the independent radio-television network Studio B soon afterwards.Radio-Television Studio B was once a corporation with the majority of shareholders coming from its own ranks of employees. At the start of 1996 the Assembly of the City of Belgrade, as part of a “re-evaluation” of its role, took ownership and complete control over the network. After three months of demonstrations and the eventual validation of the local elections held on 17 November 1996, the majority opposition took office in the Assembly and altered the makeup of Studio B’s executive committee, promising that the network will soon be returned to its shareholders, and that until then the reporters of Studio B will enjoy complete editorial and broadcasting freedom.
However, contrary to the Statute of Belgrade, the Deputy Chairman of the City Assembly called a meeting of the Assembly for 30 September. Meetings of the Assembly can only be called by the Mayor himself, and his deputy can only do so if the Mayor is absent. In this case the Mayor was not absent, and this turn of events reflects the breakdown in relations between these two officials who belong to different political parties.
At this Assembly meeting, where many councilors were absent, the Mayor was hastily replaced. The appointment of a new Studio B Executive Committee was also placed, completely unexpectedly, as an item on the list of proceedings for the day, and this too was speedily carried out. A few hours after this Assembly meeting the new Studio B Executive Committee met behind closed doors and sacked the Director and Chief Editor. The next day the editors of every Studio B program tendered their resignations.
The individual who was appointed Director and Chief Editor of Studio B quickly took control and banned further broadcasts of prepared programs. The changes in Studio B were carried out contrary to Yugoslav Law.
According to the Public Information Law and the Statute of Belgrade, the Executive Committee of Studio B must include a certain number of employee representatives (in Studio B’s case, 6 of 18 committee members). According to Studio B’s internal rules, these representatives are recommended by the Union. The City Assembly refused to accept the written recommendations of the Union and appointed as employee representatives six people who had never been recommended by the Union. This newly formed Executive Committee elected the new Director at a closed meeting. The new Director took office under threat of physical violence without respecting the legal rules of company registration and public information bodies. There was not enough time to follow the correct procedure nor any opportunity for Committee members to register their objections to this irregular procedure.
The changes in Studio B were not entirely unexpected as some political parties represented in the City Assembly, expressing dissatisfaction with its independent reporting, have in the past demanded a say in editorial policy and threatened reporters with consequences. These most recent events demonstrate how the independence of this network bothers not only those parties that held power in the Belgrade City Assembly until recently, but also some other parties which present themselves as democratic.
The police intervention against the demonstrators and the attack on the independence of Studio B have besides the already mentioned laws breached articles of the Constitutions of the FR Yugoslavia and Serbia related to the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and the prohibition of inhumane acts and willful deprivation of freedom. In addition, these actions represent a contravention of FR Yugoslavia’s obligations under international law, namely articles 9, 19 and 21 of the International Convention of Civil and Political Rights.
