17. 08. 2005

PETAR LAZOVIC GETS SUED

BELGRADE, August 17, 2005 – B92 director and Editor-in-Chief Veran Matic has laid a criminal complaint against Petar Lazovic. The complaint against Lazovic, media advisor to Capital Investment Minister Velimir Iic, alleges the criminal acts of insult, libel and endangering safety. It follows threats and insults from Lazovic before, during and after a press conference in Kopaonik on Monday. Matic and other B92 journalists have been subjected to a series of death threats, insults and libel during this year. Although Ilic’s spin doctor Petar Lazovic denied the death threats to B92 director Veran Matic, B92 journalist Ana Veljkovic described Lazovic’s actions a bit differently: “When Velimir Ilic left, and cameras were switched off, Lazovic approached me and told me that I should be ashamed of asking such questions on withdrawal of charges against Marko Milosevic. He then yelled to my face, swore at me and Veran Matic, telling me to pass on a message that he would kill Matic.” Journalists from other media present at the press conference had confirmed Veljkovic’s story. Valentina Nesic, Beta News Agency journalist, witnessed Ilic’s outburst. “After the conference was over, Ilic’s media advisor Petar Lazovic started insulting journalists from RTV B92. He also threatened that he would kill the editor Veran Matic.” At the same time, capital investment minister Velimir Ilic continued attacks on journalists of RTV B92 during his current tour of Serbia. Appearing as a guest on TV M in Mladenovac two days ago, Ilic accused the company of improper use of donors’ funds. “B92 has received twenty million dollars, I know this well, for the development of free media in Serbia. It was the greatest robbery which has happened and they’ve made themselves exceptionally wealthy and conducted a complete anti-Serb campaign. I am inviting Veran Matic, the director of B92, to a television debate. I want to talk to with him because I was involved in setting up the television, since I was president of the Association of Free Cities of Serbia and I was a witness to Veran Matic receiving the money, what he did with the donations, what he took, in what way, who took it, what Bodo Hombach did, all of it. We gave them everything. They have no license, nothing, but they operate, they function, they sting like hornets. They attack every government, anything that smells of Serbia. Look, they’ve got a place for Vuco and Kandic and every Tom, Dick and Harry, but anyone who has any kind of national policies can’t get near them”, said Ilic. According to some ministers, the next parliamentary session will be dedicated to discussion on behavior of minister Ilic and his media advisor Lazovic. G 17 Plus and Serbian Renewal Movement will seek discussion of Ilic’s public statements at the session. Although Serbia’s culture and information minister Dragan Kojadinovic said that the ministers from his political party would raise the issue of Ilic’s behavior, he could not precise whether the dismissal of the capital investment minister could be expected. “Nothing can justify such behavior. However, I am not the one to decide whether it is for exclusion from the government or some other rigid warning notice.” Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica is yet to comment on behavior of the Cabinet member Velimir Ilic. The analysts note that the dismissal of Ilic is less possible, since it would provoke the crackdown of the Serbian Government, which is not in the interest of either ruling coalition party. Journalist of the Belgrade weekly Vreme Teofil Pancic noted that only joined media would be able to do something regarding Velimir Ilic’s case.