It all began in Novi Sad

On the occasion of the Special Dossier on the Media by the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia

Jan Briza

The first independent association of professional journalists in former Yugoslavia, including Serbia, was founded on December 24, 1989 in Novi Sad as the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV). Later in Novi Sad, between September 2 and October 2, 1991, the Association organized "Prozor", the largest and longest protest ever held in Serbia against oppression of the freedom of public speech. Unfortunately, these facts are not widely known even among professionals and experts.

This estimation was recently additionally confirmed in the Media Center in Belgrade during the round table "Newspaper Humour on Trial: Freedom of the Media – a Precondition for Social Progress" – organized by the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) – that brought together renown sociologists, philosophers, lawyers, political scientists, publicists and journalists. The debate was published by NUNS in the "Special Dossier on the Media" within the weekend edition of "Danas" newspaper on June 26-27.

The Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina and "Prozor" have not even been mentioned. Certainly not deliberately or due to some kind of jealousy. The participants – all of them – have been benevolent and open to all environments and all events in this area in Serbia. The trouble is, people do not know much about the NDNV and "Prozor". NDNV was founded at the time of great upheavals affecting many editorial offices in former Yugoslavia. Still, a group of journalists from Vojvodina was the first to dare to publicly distance themselves from the regime's propagandistic association and establish its own, independent organization. The founding document was signed on December 24, 1989 by Andras Fazekas, Mile Isakov, Zagorka Radovic, Darinka Nikolic, Bela Garai, Radovan Colevic, Arpad Nemet, Mihal Ramac, Atila Balaz, Vladimir Harak, Slobodan Beljanski, Svetislav Jovanov i Dojna Buja. More than 400 colleagues joined us in the following two weeks.

Between September 2 and October 2, 1991, each evening at 19.30, the NDNV "aired" from the balcony of its headquarters in 4 Zmaj Jovina Street in Novi Sad its own version of the TV News, the main news and political programme broadcast on the First Channel of the Serbian Radio and TV (RTS). It was a response of independent journalists to the warmongering propaganda of the national TV and other media outlets controlled by the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. This alternative TV News was being "aired" at the same time as the one on the national TV, live from the window at the first floor of the NDNV's building. That is why it was called "Prozor" ("The Window"). From this place, the journalists and their guests – using a form of oral newspapers – spoke to the gathered citizens of Novi Sad about the issues that Milosevic's media used to conceal, distort or simply lie about. On some evenings, this alternative TV News was watched by several thousand citizens.

This window in Novi Sad was a stage for numerous renowned intellectuals, artists, politicians and journalists from all parts of Serbia. Among the first academicians to raise their voice were Aleksandar Tisma, David Albahari, Vojin Dimitrijevic, Laslo Vegel, as well as the following politicians: Zoran Djindjic, Vesna Pesic, Dragoljub Micunovic, Desimir Tosic, Zarko Korac, Nebojsa Popov, Nenad Canak, Dragoslav Petrovic and many others.

The editor-in-chief of "Prozor" was the president of the NDNV, Miodrag Isakov. The editorial office consisted of the most courageous and best journalists from most of the media outlets in Novi Sad and the Vojvodina province.

"Prozor" managed to bring together only a few thousand people, while the Milosevic's regime controlled all the mass media outlets that spoke to the whole nation. Still, this oasis of civil resistance, and some others that were later formed in Serbia, succeeded in bringing him down. What was in the beginning only a lonely voice in the desert, later took a form of a loud thunder of national discontent that on October 5, 2000 led to the democratic revolution in Serbia.

During those difficult and dangerous times, The Bar Association of Vojvodina established a team of lawyers who defended the targeted journalists in courts. One of the most active among them was Milan Dobrosavljev. There were some brave judges as well, like Vesna Soti, Slavica Boric and Radmila Blagojevic.

It would not be right to allow all of the courageous founders of the NDNV, the participants of "Prozor", lawyers and judges to sink into oblivion.

The author is a journalist from Novi Sad, writer of a monograph on "Prozor"

Author: Jan Briza
Source: Danas, 12.07.2010; page: 7