Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-16-Speech-4-204"
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"en.20000316.7.4-204"2
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"Mr President, I believe that we are all of one mind today as to how this topic should be handled and the way the media are being treated in Serbia. The situation in Yugoslavia is deteriorating by the day. In fact, it seems as if Mr Milosevic and his friends are playing a three-way game by means of which they are trying to deregulate anything which can possibly be deregulated.
Tension surrounding Montenegro is mounting. At Kosovo’s border, the situation is very unsettled and the regime in Belgrade is creating a climate in which large-scale accidents are likely.
The last few weeks have been marked by a series of repressive measures against the independent media. This ranged from high fines to direct intimidation. In addition, there is talk of a kind of internal isolation. It is increasingly difficult to enter the country. I experienced this myself a couple of weeks ago when I tried to attend a few conferences of opposition parties in Serbia. During that weekend, I was refused an entry visa whilst, two weeks prior to this, many international guests had been able to attend that bizarre conference staged by Milosevic. It shows that every effort is being made to keep out outside influences. There is also talk of curtailing communication by telephone, e-mail and keeping tabs on written correspondence. The government seems keen to remove the opposition from local authorities, where they have been entitled to be since the previous local elections.
The new regime can only win the new local elections, expected in May, if the opposition is, in effect, eliminated. I find this a dangerous game.
Consequently, we would like to see extensive protests against this media repression, but the EU should also look for ways to provide direct support to Serbia’s independent media. The latter is a vital lifeline for the opposition which will be mounting campaigns again this spring and which certainly deserves our support, also where the media is concerned."@en1
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