It Is Too Late, Gentlemen

When one talks of the actor Ljuba Tadic one usually talks of a man whose roles are at the same time his attitude towards life. This can be said, he agrees, about the latest role he has accepted - that of president of the Serbian Board for Free Radio and Television. This Board, according to Tadic, is made up of a group of public and cultural figures (around 30 of them), of different profile and party alliance, whose ambition is to assist, by way of democratic discussion and talks "instead of hatchets", in bringing the TV out of a position in which it shoots more than it informs, fabricates hatred and lies and endlessly produces lists of traitors, i.e. Serbs of "better or worse quality". The Board isn't registered anywhere, and for the time being mainly plays an educational and protective role. The educational one can be seen in "Borba" where people from the Board give very interesting and successful reports of the TV news, precisely explaining and recognizing the trickery and manipulation of information, but praising every positive shift towards professionalism. The protective role of the Board is reflected not only in its attempts to protect journalists from persecution and trial, but to defend the free wavelengths for independent radio and TV stations from the intimidation of TV Serbia.

"I was very happy to accept the role of president of the Board because I am not a member of any party," says Ljuba Tadic. "I am close, though, to all those who want to change this world and not blow it up come wind, come weather. There is nothing wrong in taking part in something that is needed by us all. As far as I myself am concerned, I no longer have to worry whether I will have to answer for what I do and whether the TV will allow me to be on the screen or not. I've made so many films and dramas that there's no way they can avoid me. Also, I am not fighting for power. And I want to irritate certain people. At one stage, when no-one knew yet how all this would end, I was very much alone when I opposed the strangulation of the free press and its transformation into a servant of daily politics. It was with pleasure that I returned to a liberated "Politika", because I am convinced that without the freedom of the important institutions, University, newspapers, TV, there can be no freedom for any of us."

In the past few weeks, on various occasions, and most often at round table talks between the government and the opposition, frequently discussed was how to change the governing party's present election guillotine into a fair race between almost equal opponents. The most energy has been spent in making compromises on the type of electoral system and number of election posts, while once more the equal representation of all parties in the media has somehow stayed in the background. The governing party still cynically states how it is "neglected in most of the media". ("I broke out in goose pimples when I heard the SPS president announce this, and they still haven't subsided," laughs Ljuba Tadic.). Certain opposition parties wouldn't have anything against a non-party body, similar to the Serbian Board for Free Radio and TV, overseeing the behavior of the media at election time. Others fear that there are dangers in this, but most often offer no vision of the role of the media in the elections. To them all, irrespective of their existing differences, the media and its attitude remains a possible reason for once more refraining from taking part in the elections.

"Whatever is decided, it is too late for any kind of regularity and fair play," says Ljuba Tadic. "It is too late for those who are leading us into the deepest darkness to get out. It is also too late for those who want to lead us towards something better to change anything. Two months, which is all that is left before the elections, is really too short a period. Even if the TV were to change its policy at this very minute it would be extremely difficult to seriously change anything in the minds of a large number of people who for years have been the victims of one propaganda. Whatever happens, all those who think that a goal can be reached through talks and sense, and not by force, will still be called traitors of Serbia. Maybe there is still enough time for many to change their costumes, caps and trousers, but what is in their heads is far harder to change than many people think. For this reason I am convinced that it would be a big achievement if after the elections there were at least a few more intelligent people in parliament. This is probably the maximum that can be hoped for in a situation such as this; it is too late for anything more".

"It is difficult to recall the times when news programs were more unobjective than they are today," says Tadic. "As far as the memory permits, television was never so much in the service of one melody and one way of thinking as it is today. It is correct, of course, that after the war the TV was long in the service of one party, but it was all done in a much more civilized manner. The more time passes, the more we are buried by such television and the incompetent people that run it and appear on it. It is probably due to their incompetence that they are so crude. They are probably not aware of what is done when from night to night people are poisoned by such lies and hatred, enough to affect the thinking of normal people. This is what eats me up. If only a portion of this energy spent on poisoning people were directed towards the outside so that the world could have a better idea of the present situation which the government always stresses as being so noble," says Ljuba Tadic.