Tiger Eats Penguin

Another independent Belgrade radio station changed owners last week and immediately lost its independent label. "No one is independent today," the new editor in chief told reporters in an interpretation of new editorial policies which will no longer include politics but only light music and entertainment.

The event didn't draw the attention of the EU, State Department or Committee to Protect Journalists or even Serbia's opposition. Even the station staff had nothing against the takeover. The station is the Independent Radio Penguin (on 90.9 MHz) which changed its name to Radio Tiger on Monday, March 18. It changed from the hands of businessman Giovanni Di Steffano to the hands of another businessman - Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan. Both have an indubitable international reputation; they've been tried both here and abroad for various crimes, and some countries still want them. The station's history is intriguing after changing three owners in six months.

Radio Penguin was set up by the late Radojica Nikcevic in 1990 as the first private and independent station in Belgrade (B 92 radio was years old at the time but was listed as a state company). From the start it was an apolitical station with music and entertainment programs and many call-in shows. Nikcevic brought together a large group of young people who could hardly wait for their opportunity after trying to break through into state owned radio stations. "We were so full of enthusiasm," says Darko Kocijan, the station's first editor in chief. Some things weren't clear: where did Nikcevic get the money for studios and equipment, and why did it take him such a short time to get a frequency license and other permits which this state is loathe to hand out (B 92 is still waiting for most of its permits). He shed some light on the mystery when he bragged that he didn't know which security service he actually worked for: Serbian, Montenegrin or federal. Still, it was a fun station and the salaries were fine.

The first scandal (indirect) broke out in early October 1993 when Nikcevic was killed in the parking lot in front of his other company, the Sumadija building society. That professional killing was never solved. Investigators found only two empty .44 caliber cases by the body and an eyewitness who said two men approached Nikcevic, shot him in the head and disappeared. Two things then came to light. First, Nikcevic had a partner - Di Steffano. Second, just before he died, Nikcevic went to Columbia with Di Steffano. That is interesting because, several months later, foreign drug enforcement agencies asked about Di Steffano in Belgrade and his links with the Medellin cartel.

Di Steffano always denied any involvement in the drug trade and the death of his partner.

Penguin was another channel for Di Steffano to advertise himself. Since he arrived in Belgrade, the Italian businessman originally from Pescara (he doesn't speak Italian but is fluent in English with a slight cockney accent) has posed as the owner of Metro Goldwyn Mayer and a dozen other less important companies who came to Yugoslavia because he loved everything Serb. Most probably, he saw the fantastic opportunities for business under the sanctions and a government that urgently needed illegal financial transactions. Di Steffano was an undoubted expert in that field with a British jail certificate to prove it and trials in France and the US. Like Nikcevic, he had a talent to break through bureaucratic barriers; he got a Yugoslav passport in record time with an address close to the Milosevic residence. But, something went wrong with his relationship with the authorities in April 1994 when he was arrested for foreign currency dealings. He was released quickly but the 70,000 DEM posted as bail was never returned. That didn't reflect on Penguin which continued its good music and entertainment although the salaries were no longer as good.

The next scandal happened on April 27, 1995 when Mija Medak, a driver for the station, was accidentally wounded in the stomach by an unidentified Di Steffano bodyguard. That was the straw that broke the camel's back for most of the staff after the owner's arrogance and irregular salaries. In protest, 52 of the staff of 75 resigned. Some stayed and, with some hastily educated personnel, the station continued broadcasting.

Why Di Steffano decided to let Arkan have the station is a topic of speculation. They're old friends: he paid for Arkan's wedding (300,000 DEM) and bragged that he was a general in Arkan's guard. Add to that Di Steffano's comment that he owes Arkan his life and it's clear that if Raznatovic wanted Penguin, Di Steffano just couldn't refuse. In any case, he's been transferring his attention slowly to Italy where he's one of the 100,000 people who are running for parliament. Also since the sanctions have been lifted and the Medellin cartel is gone, the need for his services is uncertain. That is confirmed by the fact that no one from the ruling party came to his wedding last June.

Another question is why would Arkan need a radio since he controls three magazines (Serb Unity, Bullet and Ring). Arkan's deputy Borislav Pelevic said: "Tiger won't settle down until it gets a TV frequency license". So the delinquent and criminal pastry shop owner and businessman could become a media magnate. But will that help him with the tribunal in The Hague?