03. 09. 2004

Karic TV using military transmitters

BELGRADE, September 3, 2004 (B92) -- Bogoljub Karic's BK Television is broadcasting in forty locations throughout Serbia using transmission facilities belonging to the Serbia-Montenegro Army, the chairman of the state's media watchdog body said today. Broadcast Agency Council chairman Nenad Cekic told media on Friday that agreements for five and ten years respectively were signed between BK TV and the then Yugoslav Army in 1997 and 1998. This, said Cekic, is illegal, because the army is not permitted to use its reserved frequencies for civilian broadcasting. "BK television's equipment is located at two very important locations, on Mt. Kosmaj and Cer. This means that Yugoslav Army locations are used for broadcasting programmes, which is the lesser part of the problem. “The worse part of the problem is that the Yugoslav Army has allowed BK to use 40 frequencies for broadcasting in urban areas,” said Cekic.