16. 08. 2005

MORE DEMANDS FOR ILIC’S DISMISSAL

BELGRADE, August 16, 2005 – Petar Lazovic’s outburst is a professional deformity. As a person in charge of public relations, Lazovic should balance between the client and the media, to be “the buffer-man” and to cool down the situation. Instead of all this, we saw the reactions of two like-minded”, said Cvijetin Milivojevic to the Belgrade daily Danas. Cvijetin Milivojevic noted that “the profession of PR in Serbia is in the phase of simple accumulation of capital” and that “the politicians treat the media as their crutches”. “Politicians in Serbia do not have manners for the media and see them as black or white: you are either with me or you are against me. Minister Ilic is not the only one who communicates in such manner. He simply has this ‘gift’ and I think he could be educated. But, what concerns more is the behavior of Petar Lazovic, who was the unofficial PR of Milan Panic and DOS and who was hosting the first news bulletins on the liberated state television from Kosutnjak after October 5, 2000.” Milivojevic adds that it is rather hard to find people in this country who can communicate in a civil manner with the media with different editorial concepts. This is also a problem to Velimir Ilic, as well as to Nenad Canak, Cedomir Jovanovic and Vladan Batic, for example, who find it “unsuitable to speak at TV Pink”. Milivojevic also points out “the amiable relationship” of the ruling power with the journalists who used to insult them. Kostunica, for example, has the best relationship with the journalists of the Belgrade daily Politika, who once reported that he lived with 40 cats or that he had problems of various nature”, said the director of Pragma. Milan St. Protic, formerly close Ilic’s associate and co-president of the New Serbia political party, but today the president of Political Council of the Serbian Democratic Christian Party (DHSS), said that “Ilic obviously changed his position from the one before October 5”. Protic noted that Ilic was inclined to such behavior in the past, adding that it was a part of our folklore: “Such behavior is a reflection of primitivism, vulgarity and aggression, but, unlike others, Ilic does not hesitate to demonstrate it publicly.” However, Protic noted that it would be a big mistake to concentrate now to Ilic’s vulgarity instead of the essence of the problem, that is, the withdrawal of charges against Marko Milosevic. “I understand the B92 journalists, but this Marko Milosevic case only illustrates the regression to the times before October 5. It is absurd that some of the people, who were leading the movement against Milosevic, are now supporting it”, said Protic. Protic also thinks Vojislav Kostunica is behind all this.