Implementation of Transitional Laws in Serbia 2006

Implementation of Transitional Laws in Serbia 2006which was in favor of adopting the Constitution 210 . Furthermore, during thevoting on Saturday and Sunday, announcers and journalists publicly calledthe population to vote for the Constitution (Radio Television of Serbia,RTV Pink, RTV Kosava, RTV Palma plus, RTV Most, RTV Super...) 211 .Such behavior is prohibited by the Law on Public Information 212 (Article2) and the Law on Broadcasting 213 (Article 68), and also empowered by theregulation on the obligation of public services to respect the principles ofimpartiality and objectivity in Article 79 of the Law on Broadcasting 214 .Adopting the Constitution was represented as an act of patriotism, andfrom that it can be concluded that the opposite option is treacherous andworks against its country 215 . Even the representatives of state institutionsdid not shy away from such harsh qualifications, and the media uncriticallybroadcasted all of this. What’s more, the journalists of the Public service ofSerbia began their reports with the words: „The citizens are fulfilling theircivic duties in large numbers“, „The citizens have shown here also that theylove their country“, etc 216 . Taking one side during the campaign in this wayhas not been recorded since the time of Slobodan Milosevic. Even at thattime, there were media houses which broadcasted the attitudes of the otheroption. This time, with modest exceptions (RTV B92 from time to time),there were no media houses in the country which reported equally on thereferendum campaign 217 .Some representatives of the authorities publicly supported the attacks onthe representatives of the anti-referendum block. The Serbian NationalCouncil and the Students’ Association from Kosovska Mitrovica organizeda meeting at the Republic Square in Belgrade on October 24 th218 . Themost eminent representatives of the block for boycott were accused inthe meeting that they were working in the interest if independent Kosovoand that they were traitors 219 . On this occasion messages of hate directed210 Source: the team of the Initiative for monitoring the electronic media; Jovanka Matic in a statement for thenewspaper DANAS, October 30 th , 2006, available at the website: http://www.danas.co.yu/20061030/dogadjajdana1.html#2,visited on November 25 th , 2006; the report of the Press Council of the Media Center, see aboveunder 199211 Ibid212 The Law on Public Information, see above under 1213 Law on broadcasting, Article 68, see above under 2214 Ibid, Article 79215 On the sources see above under 189216 Ibid217 Ibid218 Insults for those in favor of the boycott, B92, October 24 th , 2006, website: http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2006&mm=10&dd=24&nav_category=11&nav_id=216785, visited on November 25 th , 2006219 Ibid; Leaders of the boycott block, Cedomir Jovanovic, Natasa Micic, Nenad Canak, Natasa Kandic, Sonja58