Photo: Dragan Kujundžić/TanjugThe war of the nineties turned into a media war. Some Belgrade media are seriously disrupting inter-ethnic relations in neighboring countries with their editorial policies. Because of this, the Montenegrin Agency for Electronic Media banned some broadcasts of the Belgrade television Happy. At the same time, Serbian REM behaves as a patron of media prostitution and deep destruction of society
Although the Australian odyssey of Novak Djokovic is still the biggest hit, activists on social networks, mostly experts in everything and anything, yesterday and today heartily comment on the decision of the Montenegrin Agency for Electronic Media (there REM) that due to the spread of national hatred, intolerance and discrimination against members of the Montenegrin nationality, the broadcasting of certain programs of the Belgrade Happy Television will be banned for a period of six months. The reason for the ban was the guest appearance of one of the favorite happy-interpreters of reality, the leader of the Serbian Radical Party and a Hague convict. Vojislav Seselj, who insulted Montenegro and Montenegrins in his characteristic expression on dog carts. And there is always a reason.
Many Serbian network experts assess that the ban represents an attack on freedom of speech and opinion, and this is also the position of the majority of the Vučić media, which even talk about the introduction of "media darkness" in the neighboring country. Others rejoiced at this decision, claiming that this lousy television channel, owned by the "controversial businessman" Predrag Ranković Peconi, should have been banned in Serbia a long time ago, and they recalled the countless scandals that are produced on this television every day, which we already googled it. There is a lot of shamelessness in reality shows, which, no matter how horrible they are, are still more honorable than the promotion of war criminals and the relativization of crimes, the spread of chauvinism and nationalism, the rehabilitation of Milošević's policies and primitive propaganda in favor of the Vučić regime, all of which we see in political shows that as a rule, it is led by the "gunman" Milomir Marić. Happy became famous two years ago with a gruesome video showing the dismemberment and cutting of a formed fetus, thus promoting the fight against abortion in the advanced 21st century.
That the latter are right, you can conclude with full certainty even if you are not an expert: it is enough to read the valid Law on Electronic Media. If the Council of the Regulatory Media Agency (REM) was not a club in the hands of the regime, but did its job - not only Happy, but probably all television stations with national coverage, would have lost their broadcasting license long ago.
The law and by-laws, in short, say: that media service providers are obliged to provide free, truthful, objective, complete and timely information, that they should contribute to raising the general cultural and educational level of citizens, that the spread of national and religious hatred is prohibited, that they should provide all political actors during the pre-election campaign period with representation without discrimination... And if they do not comply with this, REM can issue warnings, or temporarily or permanently ban them. What is not clear here? Therefore, it is said that this "independent" body is a cancer-wound of our media scene and patron not only of media prostitution but also of deep destruction of society.
Let's remind that the Montenegrin AEM has previously imposed bans on Happy TV and the local Pink. And many organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina asked the local regulator to react to the national hatred spread by the "big" Belgrade television channels. The reaction was absent due to the complex political situation in Montenegro.
All this raises a very serious question: has the war of the nineties actually turned into a media war? In other words, are the media from Belgrade seriously disrupting inter-ethnic relations in neighboring countries with their editorial policy? The answer is positive, but it is not clear how to get in the way. Those civic-oriented politicians here, who fight against nationalism, and do not leave the programs of these televisions, certainly do not have a solution either.
The case has another dimension. Let's call it the murky relations between Belgrade and the main political actors in Montenegro, which also spill over through the media. Let's remember that, for example, "Informer" had its own Montenegrin edition, which, using the same methods used in Serbia, protected the regime of Milo Đukanović and dealt with his political opponents in the most primitive way. The common denominator of Đukanović and Vučić is still Vladimir Beba Popović.
That things in these Balkan fogs always have a multiple bottom is also shown by the following data: a local quasi-opposition politician, who seems to support Montenegro and fight against Serbian hegemony, is on the payroll of TV Happy.
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