BELGRADE, Feb 12 (Hina) - A year after the beginning of the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic before the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro only occasionally show interest
in the proceedings, which are covered live only by TV B92.
BELGRADE, Feb 12 (Hina) - A year after the beginning of the trial of
former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic before the U.N. war
crimes tribunal in The Hague, the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro
only occasionally show interest in the proceedings, which are
covered live only by TV B92. #L#
The press regularly reports about the trial, some less, some more
extensively, giving lots of space to the stands of Milosevic's
legal advisors who exchange in The Hague. The reporting of
journalists with the weeklies "Vreme" and "Nin" recently caused
heated debates in "Vreme".
Except for TV B92, other electronic media only occasionally send
their reporters to The Hague.
Milosevic's Socialist Party has protested against the decision of
Radio-Television of Serbia to stop live broadcasts of the trial but
this has not made the state television change its decision.
Opinion polls conducted over the past months show that cooperation
with the U.N. war crimes tribunal is one of the most important
political issues in Serbia, but that the TV audience watch live
broadcasts on TV B92 only sporadically and very few do it closely
and on an every day basis.
Interest in the trial increases whenever the witness stand is taken
by Milosevic's former associates, one of the most important being
former intelligence agent Aleksandar Vasiljevic. Apart from
Vasiljevic's testimony, most debates were provoked by the
testimony of two reporters with the "Vreme" weekly, Jovan Dulovic
and Dejan Anastasijevic.
Those who most frequently warn about Milosevic's regime and its
crimes are intellectuals, independent media and non-government
associations - which over the past years were the main opponents of
his regime - while the largest part of the public is not concerned
with the issue and does not follow the trial.
Most respondents in numerous opinion polls as well as a significant
number of Serbian politicians often repeat that Milosevic should
have been tried "at home", and not in The Hague.
(hina) rml