(4 Dec 1996) English/Nat

America has thrown its support behind the Serbian radio station which was shut down by Serbian authorities.

Radio B-92 was knocked off the air on Tuesday by authorities determined to halt reporting on a wave of daily street demonstrations against President Slobodan Milosevic.

The radio staff issued a statement calling on countries attending this week's London conference on the Bosnia peace process to push for the station's "right to broadcast".

And on Wednesday the U-S state department criticised the Serbian government for such draconian measures.

The U-S State Department pulled no punches over making its feelings clear concerning Radio station B-92 which was thrown off the air after criticising Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

Speaking on behalf of the American administration Nicholas Burns had this message of support for the Serbian people protesting against the annulled elections and the closure of B-92.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The United States is taking the side of democracy for Serbia. United States believes the voice of the Serbian people ought to be heard on Serbian radio and T-V, ought to be heard in the streets of Belgrade and throughout the country. And that the votes of the Serbian people on November 17 ought to be counted fairly and allowed to stand as a true reflection of the sentiments of the population."
SUPER CAPTION: Nicholas Burns, State Department spokesman

America did more than voice its support for the radio station.

Burns announced station B-92 would soon be back on air through using facilities provided by the American backed station Voice of America.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"And I'm pleased to say that the Voice of America, Serbian Service will now carry, over the next couple of days, as part of its normal broadcast, it will now carry programmes originating from Radio station B-92. They will effect a phone hookup and early tomorrow morning (Thursday) when the citizens of Serbia arise if they want to listen to the Voice of America they'll be able to hear Radio B-92."
SUPER CAPTION: Nicholas Burns, State Department spokesman

Following the closure of the station and the refusal of Milosevic to acknowledge the local election results, America stated they had no intentions of lifting sanctions against Serbia.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Because of Milosevic's actions he has just dug the hole deeper, and he has isolated himself further and he is almost guaranteed, there's no way the United States is going to lift these sanctions, which really hurt against Serbia, because of his repression."
SUPER CAPTION: Nicholas Burns, State Department spokesman

Journalists carried on broadcasting for as long as they were able, and found huge support among thousands of local Serbians in Belgrade.

But the authorities closed down B-92 on Tuesday as demonstrations continued in the Serbian capital over what opposition parties said was massive fraud by the ruling socialists in local elections last month.

The authorities sent a letter to the station saying B-92, one of the few independent news sources in Serbia, was operating illegally and without a license.

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