25.5.2015. (Tanjug) - NUNS has protested in the strongest terms the decision of Russian authorities to deny entry to a journalist.

The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) said it "expects the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian embassy to explain why Stevan Dojcinovic was not able to stay in that country," a statement said.

Dojconovic, who works for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), was to give a lecture at the Faculty of Journalism in Voronezh, RF.

NUNS said on Monday that despite having a letter of invitation and valid documents he was held in isolation for 24 hours at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on May 13, and then sent back o Serbia.

"Without any explanation, he was told that he has been denied entry to Russia until 2020," the association said, and added that it considers this to be "scandalous" as Dojcinovic "broke no law, nor is there any basis to limit his movement, all the more since he went to Russia on the invitation of the faculty."

NUNS now "expects an explanation from the Russian authorities because such acts bring into question basic international democratic standards that guarantee freedom of movement for journalists without any limitations."

20.5.2015. (Tanjug) - Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said there is full media freedom in Serbia, adding that all the media have the right to criticize him.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said there is full media freedom in Serbia, adding that all the media have the right to criticize him.

"There is a full media freedom in this country. Of course, it can always be better, and I will do my best to secure it, but they can criticize myself whenever they want, in a way they want, in all the media and there are no problems at all," Vucic said in a Euronews broadcast titled "Global Conversation."

When asked about concerns of the deteriorating conditions for the full exercise of the freedom of expression noted in the progress report on Serbia and the fact that Serbia fell down the world press freedom index by 13 points, Vucic said the country harmonized three media laws with the European laws, and passed them in the parliament.

"I am always ready to hear all of your remarks, all of their remarks, and, if possible, to establish even better conditions for them. Not afraid of that at all," the prime minister pointed out.

16.5.2015. (Tanjug) - Serbia's Prime Minister has featured on the largest number of front pages (446 headlines), while domestic politics has been the prevalent topic, shows the analysis of the Serbian media -Quarterly Mediameter.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Prime Minister has featured on the largest number of front pages (446 headlines), while domestic politics has been the prevalent topic, shows the analysis of the Serbian media -Quarterly Mediameter.

At Friday's press conference, the Quarterly Mediameter presented an analysis of the print media in Serbia, done by the Public Policy Institute, EBART Media Archive and media experts.

In the part about politicians in daily newspapers, the survey notes that as for front-page articles about the prime minister-25 of them were positive, 410 neutral and 11 negative.

The prime minister is followed by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic with 188 front pages, out of which two were positive, 146 neutral and 40 negative.

In terms of the number of front pages, the third-ranked is Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, then Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic, Transport Minister Zorana Mihajlovic, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic and Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin.

When it comes to ministers, Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic has been presented in the best light, Bratislav Gasic in the worst.

The survey included the dailies Blic, Politika, Vecernje Novosti, Danas, Kurir, Informer and ALO.

15.5.2015. (Tanjug) - The Danas daily has the most balanced approach in its reports, while ALO is the "least balanced", say the results of the first Quarterly Mediameter analysis of Serbian dailies, unveiled on Friday.

The Danas daily has the most balanced approach in its reports, while ALO is the "least balanced", say the results of the first Quarterly Mediameter analysis of Serbian dailies, unveiled on Friday.

The survey, undertaken jointly by the Public Policy Institute, the Ebart Media Archive and media experts, and based on front pages published by the Blic, Politika, Vecernje novosti, Danas, Kurir, Informer and ALO dailies, was presented at a press conference.

ALO and Blic front pages feature the most topics conceived by their editorial teams, the Mediameter said (in what was no reference to investigative journalism, but to editorial policy), noting that Politika and Vecernje novosti have the least such reports.

Politika and Vecernje novosti feature more topics on the economy, while national political affairs are the priority topic for the other dailies.

As far as Serbia's European integration is concerned, the survey indicates that the topic is no priority for the dailies.

Serbian political life is the most significant topic and was featured in 305 headlines in the analysed dailies, with the economy ranked second and government activities in third.

14.5.2015 (Blic, B92) - B92 News Editor-in-Chief of B92 Veran Matic has given his statement to investigators in the case against Nemanja Ristic.

"It is a person prone to violence and that intensified by fear," Matic said of Ristic on Tuesday.

Ristic is under investigation for threatening Matic, U.S. Ambassador Michael Kirby and State Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac with messages stating they would be executed by a firing squad.

Matic, who serves as president of the government's commission set up to investigate murders of journalists, has joined a criminal complaint filed against the suspect.

"In the case of the murder of Slavko Curuvija I found documentation that he was threatened on several occasions before he was killed. That influenced me in taking these threats seriously," Matic testified.

Ambassador Kirby told the Belgrade-based daily Blic that he "takes all threats seriously" and reports them to Serbia's authorities.

"I am grateful for the cooperation of Serbian authorities, as well as for the warm hospitality," he was quoted as saying.

13.5.2015 (Večernje novosti, B92) - Dragan Antic, identified by some witnesses as a direct participant in the murder of journalist Milan Pantic, will soon be questioned in Germany.

The daily Vecernje Novosti - that Panic worked for when he was murdered in 2001 - reported this week that "an agreement between the German state bodies and the Serbian MUP's working group investigating the crime, concerning the details of the questioning, is nearly done."

Antic several days ago spoke for the newspaper and suggested he should be questioned via video-link, but refused direct contact with Serbian investigators. However, the competent prosecutor's office working on the case did not agree.

"In this case, there are reasonable arguments in favor of the questioning by investigating authorities, the working group of the Ministry of Interior in the case of murder of Milan Pantic, to be done in direct contact and with the approval of the competent prosecutor" Veran Matic, who chairs the government commission set up to investigate murders of journalists, told the daily, and added:

"We will therefore insist that the German judiciary and police approve an interview according to the standards that will allow professional and lawful work of investigative bodies, and respect the rules of international legal assistance and cooperation."

According to Matic, "anything else could be interpreted as undermining the investigation and legal actions."

The working group is getting new data every day, which is being reviewed in this context, and unlike before, proven fact are considered done and further elimination is conducted to narrow the circle of suspects and evidence, the reports said.

Several witnesses, who have been questioned, pointed out to Antic (whose surname was then Tesic) as one of the key actors in the murder of journalists on June 11, 2001 in Jagodina.

For nearly a year Serbia has been trying to question him, but until recently there was no answer. Antic, however, believes that individuals are threatening his life, and attributing various offenses to him, including the murder of Pantic, so they could "focus the investigation in the wrong direction." Antic, who now lives in Germany, is a former member of special forces, a member of the Tigrovi ("Tigers") unit and the Special Police of the Serb Republic (RS).

In a statement for the daily, Antic said that he has "professional expertise to fight against terrorism and preserve national interests."

"I was always among the best on the training ground and a fighter for justice. I never let anyone manipulate me and draw me into dirty activities. That was my biggest problem, because in such an environment the principle is 'if you're not with us, that is, if you're not dirty, then you are against us.' So I made a lot of enemies, who now accuse me," he said.

However, the article noted, the mobile phone number which he had at the time of the murder was discovered to have been used near the scene of the crime, as well as during the critical time. This has been one of the strongest leads, in addition to the testimony of witnesses who connect Antic with this bloody event. He argues, however, that he did not use this phone card at the time, as he "changed them many times and deliberately gave them to others to use on."

"I sold them with the mobile phone. That was one of my tricks for survival and the fight against the devil himself, because I gained time and sent them in the wrong direction, knowing that I was constantly monitored. The service certainly knows that it's not me, because I was physically followed," Antic said.

Antic also denied that he was socializing with "some manager of a brewery in Novi Sad," saying he never heard of the person in question, and had only traveled to Novi Sad twice.

"I have witnesses to when and where it happened. I'm ready to repeat it all again and take the polygraph test. Everything I am saying is the truth and I am ready to repeat it in front of anyone. Until now I did not want to meet with the Commission and investigating authorities, because I don't trust them. I want somebody neutral to be included and for my test to be performed with greater control," Antic told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, several former union leaders of the brewery in Jagodina have been questioned in detail in recent weeks about the circumstances of the murder Milan Panic, many also taking the polygraph test. Investigative bodies believe that some union leaders have direct knowledge not only about the crime, but also about the direct perpetrators of the monstrous murder.

7.5.2015 (Tanjug) - Representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, the City of Belgrade, the Ministry of Labor and the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) Thursday laid wreaths at the site where three Chinese journalists were killed during the bombing of the Chinese Embassy building in 1999.

BELGRADE - Representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, the City of Belgrade, the Ministry of Labor and the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) Thursday laid wreaths at the site where three Chinese journalists were killed during the bombing of the Chinese Embassy building in 1999.

On May 7, 1999, at 11.45 p.m., NATO bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing Xu Xinghu and Zhu Ying, correspondents of the Guang ming Daily, and Xinhua News Agency reporter Shao Yunhuan, and seriously injuring 21 other people.

Wreaths were laid at the memorial plate that was placed at the bombing site in 2009, and serves as a symbol of friendship between the Serbian and Chinese people, by Charge d'Affaires at the Chinese Embassy Lu Shan, City Manager Goran Vesic, State Secretary in the Ministry of Labor, Veterans and Social Policy Negovan Stankovic and UNS President Ljiljana Smajlovic.

6.5.2015 (Tanjug) - Serbia's media are in a grim situation, Miroslava Milenovic, a member of the Anti-Corruption Council said on Wednesday, presenting the recommendations from the Council's report on the media ownership structure and control.

BELGRADE - Serbia's media are in a grim situation, Miroslava Milenovic, a member of the Anti-Corruption Council said on Wednesday, presenting the recommendations from the Council's report on the media ownership structure and control.

Milenovic said at a press conference that the report is being ignored by the current authorities, just as this was done with the earlier reports presented by Verica Barac, former president of the Council.

"Almost all recommendations included in the 2011 report are being repeated in this one four years later," she said.

It is as if the authorities believe that all problems have been solved by adopting a set of media laws last summer, Milenovic said.

The first three recommendations of the Council relate to the establishing of a transparent and comprehensive registry of the ownership structure.

6.5.2015. (B92, Tanjug) - BELGRADE -- The Managing Board of Radio-Television of Serbia (RTS) elected on Tuesday Dragan Bujosevic as new director-general of state broadcaster.

The RTS Managing Board issued a call for applications for the position of the director-general on February 10. Twenty-six candidates submitted their applications, 11 of whom met the formal and legal requirements.

Bujosevic is a journalist, was born in Belgrade in 1954. He graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences and during his career worked as editor-in-chief of the broadsheet Politika, and a journalist and deputy editor-in-chief of the weekly NIN.

He has received a number of awards: Politika's annual award, the 2001 Duda Timotijevic Award for Excellence in Television Journalism, the 2002 BK Foundation Award for Journalism and Opinion Journalism, the 2008 Stasa Marinkovic Award for Analytical Journalism granted by the Belgrade-based daily Danas.

Speaking after he was elected, Bujosevic said that there would be "no programming, or any other changes" until the issue of the financing of the public service has been solved.

He told the Belgrade-based daily Blic that RTS next year change its model of financing and switch to receiving money from taxes, "which means losing some of the income."

Commenting on the news for B92, Vukasin Obradovic of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) said that RTS is "too influential to be allowed complete freedom."

"The editorial policy will be in line with the wishes of the authorities," he stressed.

5.5.2015. (Tanjug) - The Managing Board of Radio-Television of Serbia (RTS) elected on Tuesday journalist Dragan Bujosevic as new director-general of the national public service broadcaster.

BELGRADE - The Managing Board of Radio-Television of Serbia (RTS) elected on Tuesday journalist Dragan Bujosevic as new director-general of the national public service broadcaster.

The RTS Managing Board issued a call for applications for the position of the director-general on February 10. Twenty-six candidates submitted their applications, 11 of whom met the formal and legal requirements.

Bujosevic was born in Belgrade in 1954. He graduated from the Belgrade-based Faculty of Political Sciences. He was editor-in-chief of broadsheet Politika, and a journalist and deputy editor-in-chief of weekly NIN.

He has received a number of awards: Politika's annual award, the 2001 Duda Timotijevic Award for Excellence in Television Journalism, the 2002 BK Foundation Award forJournalism and Opinion Journalism, the 2008 Stasa Marinkovic Award for Analytical Journalism granted by the Belgrade-based daily Danas.

4.5.2015. (Tanjug, B92) - BELGRADE -- The Independent Journalist Association of Serbia (NUNS) called on media professionals to engage in "Five Minutes of Thunderous Silence" on Sunday.

According to NUNS, they would thus "oppose the further humiliation of their profession."

On the occasion the World Press Freedom Day, NUNS called on all journalists and electronic media to stop their work for five minutes on May 3 at 11:55 a.m. CET, as "a warning about the deteriorating position of journalism in Serbia."

"The government in Serbia stifles critical reporting, while different, especially financial pressures undermine the independence of the editorial policy of the media," NUNS stated.

Last year hundreds of media workers have lost their jobs, and thousands of them, even in profitable media companies have humiliating low wages, the statement reads.

According to a Reporters without Borders' report for 2014, Serbia is ranked 67 on the world list of press freedom out of a total of 180 countries.

"Unconditional support"

The Ministry of Culture and Information expressed on Saturday its unconditional support for the freedom of media, adding it strongly opposes all forms of threats, pressures and endangering the safety of journalists.

"Characteristics of every, including the most developed democratic society, is to continuously fight for the freedom of media, but also for high standards of professional, responsible and impartial journalism," Minister of Information Ivan Tasovac said on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day.

Ministry of Culture and Information and the Serbian government strongly support principles and standards of the freedom of media and expression, which the UN General Assembly, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the OSCE included among their priorities with strategic documents and conventions, reads the ministry's statement, adding that this year Serbia welcomes May 3 with the new media regulatory framework.

The ministry at the same time insists that all unsolved cases of threats, attacks and murders of journalists in Serbia are investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

"Tabloidization"

Serbian Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic said in a statement on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day that Serbia cannot take pride in the media freedom, or the financial situation of journalists in the country.

"The World Press Freedom Day, May 3, is marked this year with a muted sense of satisfaction, as the adoption of the new media laws remains in the shadow of the tabloidization of Serbia and a continued pressure on independent media and journalists," said Jankovic.

Extending his best wishes to all media professionals on their day, Jankovic pointed to their professional, social and constitutional obligation to inform the citizens truthfully, fully and objectively, despite all hardships.

Jankovic stressed that the government should ensure the conditions for their free and unimpeded work in practice and not only on paper.

The set of new media laws, which met with approval both in the country and abroad, has still not achieved the desired results in practice, said Jankovic.

"Under pressure"

The Kosovo media are still subjected to political and economic pressure, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Jean - Claude Schlumberger said on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Sunday.

"Despite some progress in addressing cases involving attacks against journalists, the media continue to be subjected to political and economic pressure, while journalists continue to be intimidated and threatened, which further undermines the freedom of expression and free media in Kosovo," Schlumberger said in a release.

Stressing that unfettered and professional media are key for democratic development of Kosovo, Schlumberger urged the Kosovo institutions to guarantee the freedom of expression and freedom of the media, and to provide for a safer working environment for journalists to inform the public timely and objectively, the release states.

The number of "attacks, threats and smear campaigns against journalists" in Kosovo remains high, said Schlumberger, adding that 24 such cases were reported in 2014, and up to ten until April 2015.

"I strongly condemn these attacks and threats against journalists, as well as any type of influence on independent media," said Schlumberger.

3.5.2015. (Tanjug) - Serbian Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic said in a statement on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day that Serbia cannot take pride in the media freedom, or the financial situation of journalists in the country.

BELGRADE - Serbian Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic said in a statement on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day that Serbia cannot take pride in the media freedom, or the financial situation of journalists in the country.

"The World Press Freedom Day, May 3, is marked this year with a muted sense of satisfaction, as the adoption of the new media laws remains in the shadow of the tabloidization of Serbia and a continued pressure on independent media and journalists," said Jankovic.

Extending his best wishes to all media professionals on their day, Jankovic pointed to their professional, social and constitutional obligation to inform the citizens truthfully, fully and objectively, despite all hardships.

Jankovic stressed that the government should ensure the conditions for their free and unimpeded work in practice and not only on paper.

The set of new media laws, which met with approval both in the country and abroad, has still not achieved the desired results in practice, said Jankovic. 

2.5.2015 (Tanjug) - Ministry of Culture and Information expressed Saturday its unconditional support for the freedom of media, adding it strongly opposes all forms of threats, pressures and endangering the safety of journalists.

BELGRADE - Ministry of Culture and Information expressed Saturday its unconditional support for the freedom of media, adding it strongly opposes all forms of threats, pressures and endangering the safety of journalists.

"Characteristics of every, including the most developed democratic society, is to continuously fight for the freedom of media, but also for high standards of professional, responsible and impartial journalism," Minister of Information Ivan Tasovac said on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day.

Ministry of Culture and Information and the Serbian government strongly support principles and standards of the freedom of media and expression, which the UN General Assembly, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the OSCE included among their priorities with strategic documents and conventions, reads the ministry's statement, adding that this year Serbia welcomes May 3 with the new media regulatory framework.

The ministry at the same time insists that all unsolved cases of threats, attacks and murders of journalists in Serbia are investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.  

2.5.2015. (Tanjug) - The Independent Journalist Association of Serbia (NUNS) has called on media professionals to engage in an international action dubbed "Five Minutes of Thunderous Silence" on Sunday and oppose the further humiliation of their profession.

BELGRADE- The Independent Journalist Association of Serbia (NUNS) has called on media professionals to engage in an international action dubbed "Five Minutes of Thunderous Silence" on Sunday and oppose the further humiliation of their profession.

On the occasion the World Press Freedom Day, NUNS called on all journalists and electronic media to stop their work for five minutes on May 3 at 11:55 a.m. CET, as "a warning about the deteriorating position of journalism in Serbia."

"The government in Serbia stifles critical reporting, while different, especially financial pressures undermine the independence of the editorial policy of the media," NUNS stated. Last year hundreds of media workers have lost their jobs, and thousands of them, even in profitable media companies have humiliating low wages, the statement reads.

According to a Reporters without Borders' report for 2014, Serbia is ranked 67 on the world list of press freedom out of a total of 180 countries. 

1.5.2015 (Tanjug) - Representatives of the Association of Professional Journalists of Kosovo and Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) in Kosovo announced in Pristina that a memorandum of cooperation between the two associations should be signed.

PRISTINA - Representatives of the Association of Professional Journalists of Kosovo and Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) in Kosovo announced in Pristina that a memorandum of cooperation between the two associations should be signed.

Representatives of the Serbian and ethnic Albanian journalist associations gathered for the first time at a round table in Pristina to discuss the key problems of media in Kosovo, UNS released.

The meeting was held on the occasion on May 3, World Press Freedom Day.

The participants agreed that the latest reports by the Freedom House and the United Nations Development Programme on violation of press freedom are worrying and added that conditions for the media have deteriorated sharply in 2014.

The meeting also resulted in a conclusion that Kosovo and international institutions should be urged to monthly disclose information on progress made in investigations into the cases of killed and missing journalists, as well as attackers of journalists, regardless of nationality and gender.  

1.5.2015. (Tanjug, B92) - BELGRADE -- French Ambassador to Serbia Christine Moro presented the French National Order of the Legion of Honor, the rank of Knight, to journalist Olja Beckovic.

It was given for her "exceptional career path and courage," the ambassador said, stressing that this way her country pays tribute to the profession of journalism as a whole.

Beckovic said on the occasion she was awarded at a time when her political debate show, Utisak Nedelje, (Impression of the Week) was canceled after 23 years "thanks to a political decision."

"I cannot and will not hide my personal discomfort with the fact that your country has seen me more clearly and understood me better than my own," Beckovic said late Thursday.

Qualifying her as the symbol of Serbian journalism, Moro voiced hope Beckovic will be able to continue with the professional mission she set out on.

Moro said that from 1991 to 2014 Beckovic was the host of Utisak Nedelje, a talk show her name is inextricably linked to, which, she added, followed development and transformation of Serbia through all those years.

By developing a completely different concept than the one that existed in your country at the time, free journalism in the service of informing the people... you took part in civic education of several generations of loyal viewers, Moro pointed out.

30.4.2015. (B92, Tanjug) - PRISTINA -- Most citizens in Kosovo "are disgruntled with the work of Kosovo's key executive, legislative and judicial institutions," Tanjug is quoting a UNDP-USAID poll.

They have "lost trust in media freedom, and youth unemployment is the biggest problem," the survey, co-funded by the UNDP and USAID, dubbed Public Pulse, has shown.

It notes that only 21 percent of respondents are satisfied with key Kosovo institutions, while the figure stood at 46 percent in April last year.

According to the report, 35.5 percent of those questioned believe that the media in Kosovo enjoy freedom of expression, compared to 40 percent in November 2014.

When it comes to the justice system, 16 percent of respondents believe that it is independent, so the figure is up from 13 percent in November last year.

The report also shows that around 31 percent of those questioned are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the economic situation in Kosovo - 52 percent think that joblessness is a major problem, while 27 percent deem that poverty is the biggest problem.

Only five percent of respondents said that the biggest problem in Kosovo is corruption, said the survey.

The UNDP said that the brief, presented on Thursday, provides "a concise overview of key indicators and results covering the period from November 2014 to April 2015." One of the main findings is that Kosov's president, parliament speaker, prime minister and central institutions r"eached the lowest level of citizens' satisfaction since March 2007."

The findings also indicate that "unemployment, poverty, and corruption remain the biggest problems in Kosovo," and provide "some insights in relation to the recent emigration from Kosovo where more than half of the respondents claimed that at least one of their relatives or friends has left Kosovo in the past six months were also presented."

29.4.2015. (Beta, Večernje novosti, B92) - BELGRADE -- President Tomislav Nikolic has said that "some ministers in the Serbian government influence the media to write negatively or lie" about his activities.

In an interview for the daily Vecernje Novosti's upcoming May 1 holiday edition, Nikolic added that Deputy Prime Minister and SNS official Zorans Mihajlovic's statements about him "are not his, but the government's problem," and that for this reason, he will not be solving it - "or in any way set conditions for the government to do so."

"However, it is obvious that there is a disproportion of ambitions and capabilities and excessive interference in the work of all departments of the state administration and jurisdiction of the president of the Republic," Nikolic in the interview, excerpts of which his office has sent to the Beta news agency.

"I see the influence of certain ministers on the media, who are racing to write something bad or invent it and lie about me, but it's not my problem. This is the problem of those ministers and what are they imagining anyway, how high can they fly, instead of cooperating? Not only am I not criticizing them, I am not criticizing even their moves. If I have any objections, I say it to the prime minister, and never to the media," he was quoted as saying.

Nikolic added that he "knows exactly who releases certain information, half-truths or untruths that are coming into some tabloids".

Speaking about the recent incident when a government airplane he was traveling on had to turn back because of engine failure, and the subsequent reporting of "certain tabloids" about it, the president stated it was "morbid to talk about it mockingly and disparagingly, and accuse presidential advisors of telling lies."

"You know, when the plane is shaking, plunging, then it doesn't occur to you to make the most of it in the media. Although, I must say that it never occurs to you that you will die, either, because obviously, I am convinced of it now, a person has hope until the last moment," Nikolic said of the incident earlier this month.

The president added that he was "proud of his associates because in this dramatic situation not a sound was heard aboard the plane."

"When we landed, I congratulated the pilots, and they told me that there was something with the engine, but that they are not allowed to make a statement - yet they did. They gave a statement to the Directorate of Civil Aviation, I guess. This statement appeared in (the daily) Blic the next day. It did not come from any of us, because we did not even know that the pilot had 'spilled coffee' (on the instrument panel)," said Nikolic.

A report about the incident stated that the problems in the plane began after the co-pilot "spilled coffee and accidentally switched on safety slots." The pilots indicated that they then shut down one of the three engines, and as they could not restart it, the plane was sent to Switzerland for repair.

Nikolic said there was "media spin" of the story about spilled coffee, "and almost no talk about the problems with the engine."

"The report of the Directorate that the engine turned off is treated by the media with half a sentence. Who in their right mind can believe that spilled coffee can lead to engine failure? The very next day the Blic wrongly informed the public that the engine had been tested and was functioning properly, but in reality it was not working the next day so (the plane) flew to Basel without using this engine," said Nikolic.

In addition to her government role, Zorana Mihajlovic is also president of the managing board of the Civil Aviation Directorate.

"If a minister is chair of the board of the Directorate and is in direct contact with Blic, what else can I think but that the story about 'spilled coffee' came from there," the president concluded.

"Official version" doubted

The Politika newspaper on April 28 carried a statement of an unnamed pilot who said he doubted the official version of an incident which caused a government plane carrying President Tomislav Nikolic who had been traveling to the Vatican, to turn back to Belgrade.

The unnamed pilot, who knows the planes which government officials use for trips very well, said that he did not believe that the pilots could have caused the accident by spilling coffee over the instrument panel and thus accidentally triggering the emergency switch since these buttons were well secured precisely to guard against being unintentionally activated.

The source said that he was sure that the Falcon jet actually returned to Belgrade after experiencing a problem with one of its three engines, adding that the crew was covering up the real reason behind the incident.

The pilot said that the switch which the crew said they accidentally pressed when wiping the instrument panel off, had a special cover which protected it from being accidentally switched on, since one first had to lift the cover to reach the button.

The same pilot said that the stated loss of altitude, a drop from 10,200 meters to 7,500 meters, was also fishy and could only be explained as a result "of insufficient power for flight" at higher altitudes, which could have been caused by engine failure.

"The authorities have the duty of bringing to justice all those who are responsible for the fact that our colleagues had not been evacuated from the television building on time," NUNS said in a statement issued on the 16th anniversary of the killing of the 16 media workers in the NATO bombing of the RTS.

The public should find out whether the Serbian military and civilian authorities had been warned of the danger of the RTS building being bombed and, if they had, why they did not take appropriate measures, NUNS said.

"Such a request in no way exonerates those who ordered and carried out the bombing itself. Military attacks on media cannot in any case be legitimate," NUNS said.

Those who ordered the crime are unpunished and only Dragoljub Milanovic, the then RTS director, has served 10 years in prison for having failed to evacuate the news desk and protect the employees, SINOS noted