Funeral for Slavko Curuvija

Last respects were paid to Slavko Curuvija by several thousand residents of Belgrade, among whom were members of his close family, friends, associates, journalists, public and cultural figures...  The Editor in Chief of Curuvija's weekly magazine "Evropljanin", Ljiljana Smajlovic stated that "Slavko Curuvija was a brave man, by contrast with those people who shot him in the back, and those who bombed him like cowards from the sky."  Journalist Voja Zanetic delivered his last farewell to a friend and a colleague.  He uttered the reporter's news regarding Curuvija's death: "Between sirens which signal danger of bombing from the sky, Slavko Curuvija was killed with a bullet on solid ground.  On Easter 1999."

Owner of the daily newspaper "Dnevni telegraf" and the weekly magazine "Evropljanin", Slavko Curuvija was killed in the Belgrade street of Ivo Lola Ribar, in the passage way of number 35.  The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) announced that Curuvija "was killed with a firearm by unknown assailants, and that the staff of the Secretariat in Belgrade are intensely searching for the perpetrators of this criminal act."  Only the daily newspaper "Politika" specified that Curuvija was killed around 4:40 p.m., and that he was shot by two assailants "dressed in black, with black ski hats.  Three, four shots were heard, after which the two ran out of the passage way, heading toward Takovska St.," reports "Politika", quoting the testimony of a citizen who was on the spot.  "Vecernje novosti" reported the next day that Curuvija "was shot in the back, that one shot was to the head, while the other to the heart," as well as that the killers used their guns to hit and render unconscious Branka Prpa, who was with Curuvija at the time.  Shortly before, the two of them, according to this paper, "were having lunch with a friend, and at about 4 p.m. headed toward the building in 35 Lola Ribara St., where the offices of the marketing department of the "Dnevni telegraf" are located, on the fourth floor of which the deceased used to live."

The official biography of Slavko Curuvija is this: born on August 9, 1949 in Zagreb, he graduated from Belgrade's Faculty of Political Sciences in 1978, and shortly after found employment as the commercial secretary and expert associate for relations with the public in the enterprise "Masinogradnja" in Belgrade.  According to the biography carried by the Beta Agency, he was a permanent correspondent for the Zagreb paper "Danas", then for the Center for Social Research, and since 1984 he is an Analyst with the Bureau for Analysis with the Federal Secretariat for Internal Affairs.  From 1986 to 1994 he was a commentator, and editor of a domestic politics feature, and then the Editor in Chief of the "Borba" daily.  He worked for the "Komunista", NIN, "Vjesnik", "Vecernji list", "Nedelja", "Pobjeda", TV Beograde, TV Politika, TV Sarajevo and for some European magazines.  Together with Momcilo Djorgovic, in 1994 he founded the magazine "Nedeljni telegraf", and in 1996, the daily "Dnevni telegraf", the first private daily paper in Serbia.  He was its Director and Editor in Chief, and after he separated with Djirgovic, also its owner.  He founded the magazine "Evropljanin" last year.

On October 14, 1998, "Dnevni telegraf" was temporarily banned, with its offices being shut according to the Decree of the Government of Serbia on Special Measures Under Conditions of NATO Threats Against the Country.  At the end of October the entire property of the DT-press company was appropriated, after which the papers and magazines were registered in Montenegro.  Because of the articles and illustrations in the "Evropljanin" in October of 1998, a District Court in Belgrade fined Curuvija and his company with a penalty of 2.4 million dinars, on the basis of the Law on Information.  A new fine of 1.2 million dinars against the Montenegrin company DT followed on November 8 of last year, because of breaching of the Law on Information.  Together with two journalists from the magazine, on March 8 Curuvija was sentenced to five months in prison for disturbing the public.  The appeal was pending.

Slavko Curuvija wrote two books and scripts for many TV shows.  He wrote commentaries and reports on Kosovo in the period form 1986-1988, a series of articles on political prisoners in Yugoslavia, and then "Testimonies of Spies" and "Croatia on the Other Side of the Wall."  He is the recipient of the annual award of the "Borba" daily.  The part of his biography which is not printed in "who's who" editions is best expressed by said at his grave, above his coffin, that Curuvija was a brave man, and not "like those pieces of sh--!"

He was controversial both in his journalistic and political opinions.  He was praised and attacked.  The last attack, prior to his fateful entrance into the passageway of the building in which he lived, was cowardly for Curuvija did not have a chance to defend himself against it with the same speed with which he was attacked.  VREME's sources indicate that the Police is undertaking a detailed and thorough investigation, and it should be hoped that its results will answer speculations whether Curuvija's death was politically motivated.  It is certain that this awful act does not support the freedom of the press, but it does support the enemies of our country who took Curuvija's assassination as yet another justification for the attack against the FRY and for the NATO intervention.

The Association of Independent Journalist of Vojvodina pointed out in its telegram or condolence to the family and the editorial staffs of the "Dnevni telegraf" and the "Evropljanin" that its members "are shocked by the cowardly, professionally executed murder of Slavko Curuvija, a journalist who founded several papers and magazines and who stirred and contributed to the improvement of the market for news in Yugoslavia."  The Association demanded an energetic investigation "in order to cut all suspicions at the root that these difficult times of war have initiated the shooting of all journalists who think differently."  The Association of Independent Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) also condemned this murder, noting that "regardless of what motive is at question, this brutal act can only cause condemnation."  On the day of the funeral the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) also spoke out in a telegram: "UNS wishes to express its astonishment and bitterness on the occasion of the death of its colleague Slavko Curuvija..."  Reactions also arrived from the international organization for the protection of journalists, Reporters sans frontieres, with its seat in Paris, which expressed "regret and indignation at the murder of Slavko Curuvija."  The Association of Private Media, one of whose founders was Curuvija himself, stated: "At the difficult time of aggression against our country, when all media stand with their people and fatherland, we demand that this crime be investigated as quickly as possible, and that the criminals be brought to justice.  Only in this way will it be possible to remove fears that these difficult times can lead deranged people to think that such heinous acts can be used in dealing with journalists, regardless of what they stand for."  The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) noted that only several days prior to Curuvija's murder, one Belgrade daily ran a commentary in which Slavko Curuvija was being accused of treason.  ANEM claims that in all his public appearances!

 and contacts with many officials, Curuvija ceaselessly worked against the NATO aggression on our country, pointing out the dangerous and imaginable consequences of such an action."  Stressing that Curuvija behaved in the same way since the beginning of the NATO aggression against FRY, and that this crime represents "a murder of a good and loyal citizen of Serbia and Yugoslavia."  Here we quoted statements by different media groups, with other reactions coming from the leaders of some parties, different parties, citizens' groups and others...  Everyone clearly indicated their demand that light be shed on this incident so that speculations regarding a political settlement be removed.  National interests of Serbia are defended through intelligent politics, and without that there is no weapon which can defend us from others and from ourselves.

R.V.