When friends turn foes
By Senad Slatina and Sead Numanovic Posted Fri, Sep 1 2000
For Dnevni Avaz (Daily Voice), the most prominent newspaper in Bosnia-Herzegovina, June 6, 2000 signaled the end of its honeymoon with the government.
At 4 o’clock in the morning, the tax police broke into the premises of Bosnia’s biggest daily and began an inspection of its finances. Two days later, the police claimed they found evidence of tax evasion and ordered Avaz to pay nearly US$500,000 in back taxes and penalties. It threatened to seize the newspaper’s assets if it did not obey the order and froze its bank accounts.
Although it is possible that Avaz has evaded taxes, a common practice in a country where the government imposes enormous taxes and routinely use tax inspection and penalties to wield its power, it is generally believed that the newspaper is being punished for its crusade against government corruption — a series of investigative reports charging officials with misconduct in the process of privatizing some of the most lucrative businesses.
The newspaper denied the charges, refused to pay and fought back by launching a campaign against the government, which resulted in numerous condemnations of the inspectors’ conduct from domestic and international institutions.
The headlines were sensational: “Prime Minister Against Media Mogul!” “Ruling Party Versus Its Former Newspaper!” “Government Against the Press!” They summed up the most spectacular media affair in postwar Bosnia.
The key figures in this unexpected drama are Edhem Bicakcic, Prime Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Fahrudin Radoncic, owner and publisher of Dnevni Avaz. What makes the fracas more intriguing is that both had once been close allies of Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic.
Prime Minister Bicakcic is the vice president of the ruling Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and is most likely to succeed Izetbegovic after his announced resignation from the three-men Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina in October this year, a position considered the most important and influential in the Bosnian political life.
Radoncic, a well-known journalist in former Yugoslavia, served for a short time during the Bosnian war as first secretary of Bosnia’s military commander. He launched Avaz, a biweekly, at the end of 1993. It became a daily in October 1995, the first daily newspaper in postwar Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Through the years Dnevni Avaz has eagerly supported Bicakcic’s political advance. All actions of his government were widely covered and praised in the paper. At two occasions Dnevni Avaz proclaimed Bicakcic “person of the year,” a prize the paper awards to the most prominent public figure in a calendar year. In return Bicakcic used every opportunity to glorify the rapid and impressive achievements of the new Bosnian daily.
Although Dnevni Avaz is a privately owned paper, there have long been speculations that the SDA partly financed the launching of the daily. Prime Minister Bicakcic recently disclosed that SDA made substantial investments in establishing Avaz, and that it was planned to be a party media outlet. Avaz has never denied SDA’s financial assistance. Yet, nobody ever discovered what was the exact proportion of SDA’s investment and what Radoncic’s share was.
Independent newspapers and magazines have frequently complained about the advantages Dnevni Avaz had due to its close ties to the inner circles of the ruling party. Because of its exclusive reporting from the political top — frequently provided through Radoncic’s connections — the paper gained a good reputation and was often referred to as The Washington Post of Bosnia by foreign diplomats.
What touched on the drastic change in Avaz’s editorial policy? Some say the flattering reputation forced Avaz to live up to it; others, notably the paper’s own staff, hold that the overall situation in the country, the conduct of SDA officials and their sensitivity toward criticism all facilitated the changes. Although it has never criticized Izetbegovic, Avaz has investigated other high-ranking officials and exposed a number of frauds in the privatization process, in which lucrative businesses once under state ownership became overnight the private assets of SDA bureaucrats.
After SDA lost some important local elections last April, its leadership said Avaz’s reporting was a main reason for the party’s defeat.
Bosnia’s top leader, Izetbegovic, has remained silent. Yet, many believe that he secretly moderated and brokered a deal that the whole issue should be put to rest until after the November elections. Both sides tacitly agreed to this proposal.
Radoncic has claimed the prime minister offered to cut Avaz’s tax payment if the paper stopped writing about corruption of SDA officials. Radoncic said he refused that proposal. The prime minister was not available for comment on the allegations.