08. 09. 2005

SESELJ'S PRIMITIVISM AND MEDIA

BELGRADE, September 8, 2005 - The local electronic media sees Seselj's vocabulary in different ways; what remains is the question whether the broadcast of the recording from the trial where Seselj utters vulgarity is in accordance with professional standards, and whether such an act gives boost to uncivilised behaviour that not so long ago was the common manifestation of murder and expulsion of people of non-Serbian nationality. In an interview to "Danas" daily, Nenad Lj. Stefanovic, editor of the RTS news programme, his forerunner on the same position Gordana Susa and Igor Bozic, deputy editor of B92 news programme had somewhat different viewpoints on the matter. Nenad Lj. Stefanovic used to be a reporter from the Hague Tribunal. He said that Seselj disputed the existence of the Tribunal and pronounced many offending qualifications on account of it. "For me, the question is whether it is necessary to quote every curse of his. We adhere to the world standards, therefore we did not attempt to hide the insults. Should every curse of his go on air to show his attitude towards the Tribunal? I can understand that when broadcasting live this thing could slip by, but to repeat the same thing on the same night, I think that this does not become a TV station. But each TV station has its own style", Nenad Lj. Stefanovic told Danas daily. He underlined that earlier the Tribunal did not allow anyone to contest it in such a manner. "When the trial to Slobodan Milosevic began, his microphone was disconnected each time he tried to utter any such thing. Seselj is the first person allowed to say such things, I assume that by this they wanted to put him in a compromising position as a witness and then say - here is a witness who talks like that. And they acted more than tolerant towards him. The viewers are very different, some were most probably thrilled about it, others that I know wondered if it was even possible for anyone to talk like that. It all depends on the political inclinations", said Nenad Lj. Stefanovic. Gordana Susa says that she would distance herself from Vojislav Seselj's vocabulary in the programme, but that "she wouldn't keep it a secret". "People have to know who he is. Seselj has shown exactly who he is, what he thinks and how he behaves. Distancing myself from it, I would go on air with it. This would most probably violate some ethical principle, but this is not some ordinary trial", Gordana Susa told "Danas" daily. Igor Bozic says that B92 aired Seselj's vulgarities so that "the viewers can see what Vojislav Seselj said and in what manner, and not to support what he said". "On the contrary, it was for the viewers to see his behaviour towards the prosecutor and judges in the Tribunal. People know that we do not hide anything and our policy is that what we broadcast shows people the way they are. I don't think that this is free advertisement for Seselj; and as for those who agree with him and his vocabulary, we cannot influence them anyway. And for those who think it is not alright, this can leave a bitter taste in their mouths", Bozic says.