IMC SAYS RADIO YUGOSLAVIA TRANSMITTERS NEAR BIJELJINA HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTED

SARAJEVO, Aug 20 (Hina) - The radio transmitter system belonging to Radio Yugoslavia, located near Bijeljina in northern Bosnia- Herzegovina, has been disconnected after the Independent Media Commission (IMC) in Bosnia requested that its legal status be defined, IMC spokeswoman Zinaida Babovic told Hina in Sarajevo on Sunday. She confirmed that the broadcasting of Radio Yugoslavia programmes on short wave had been discontinued on Saturday following the disconnection of the transmitter system near Bijeljina. Babovic said that during a regular check-up of programmes of the BH electronic media IMC experts had established that Radio Yugoslavia programmes were being illegally broadcast from a location south of Bijeljina. "We sent a request that the status of these transmitters and the programmes that were broadcast via these transmitters be explained. The request was forwarded with the mediation of the Office of the High Representative and all we know is that the personnel who maintained the transmitters decided to disconnect them after that," Babovic said. The Serbian radio-television reported that the transmitters were allegedly disconnected in a raid by armed persons wearing uniforms but the information has not been confirmed by any independent source. The short wave transmitters of Radio Yugoslavia were constructed 16 years ago in the village of Jabanusa, three kilometres from Bijeljina. The transmitters were reportedly used for broadcasting programmes from a Belgrade studio for North and South Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia. The transmitters had been operating all the time since the signing of the Dayton peace agreement. (hina) rml