OSCE ANNOUNCES NEW PENALTIES FOR MEDIA BLACKOUT VIOLATIONS

( Editorial: --> 1094 ) SARAJEVO, Sept 17 (Hina) - International media experts in Bosnia- Herzegovina on Thursday said that Television Serbia had violated regulations on the media blackout during the Bosnian general elections, held last weekend. On September 11 and 12, Television Serbia, whose programmes can be watched in the Bosnian Serb entity, broadcast interviews with Serbian Radical Party president and war criminal Vojislav Seselj and the leader of Bosnian Serb radicals and presidential candidate Nikola Poplasen, the Media Experts Commission (MEC) said. The MEC is part of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The OSCE Mission today sent a statement to Hina, saying the OSCE Mission head Robert Barry had earlier decided for the Election Appeals Sub-Commission (EASC) to consider this problem. In case of election rule violations, the EASC has the power to remove party candidates from election lists even after the voting process is over. The MEC has also established that the TV station "Kanal S", which broadcasts its programmes from Pale outside Sarajevo, had also violated the media blackout regulation by broadcasting commentaries on the elections by Momcilo Krajisnik, the Serb member of Bosnia's collective presidency. (hina) jn rml/mbr 171703 MET sep 98