Bulgaria

[BG] Penalty for Content Inciting National, Political, Ethnic and Religious Intolerance

IRIS 2012-7:1/10

Rayna Nikolova

New Bulgarian University

On 19 April 2012 the Council for Electronic Media imposed a penalty equal to the amount of BGN 3,000 (EUR 1528) on the Nova Broadcasting Group (Penal Decree no. 25). A political cause of the Serbian paramilitary organisation Chetnichki pokret had been presented during the broadcast Karbovski Direct, aired on 28 January 2012 from 4.51 p.m. to 5.18 p.m. An illegal revolutionary movement for the liberation of Kosovo called its orthodox brothers to arms. There was an exclusive interview with its chief Bratislav Zivkovic and his Bulgarian comrades Pavel Chernev and Zivko Ivanov.

The anchorman asked what the message of the movement to the orthodox brothers was and what had happened purely demographically in the Balkans. He also asked about Turkey’s role in modern history. Zivkovic stated that "Turkey has always had influence throughout the region and that the region will not be peaceful hereinafter. Turks will not be peaceful. Turks in Macedonia will not be peaceful. [...] Now, more than ever, we must be united and turn against evil. The evil has to leave the Balkans. If that is the will of God, our goal is for the Balkans to have only orthodox [peoples] - Bulgarians, Serbs and Greeks. If that is the will of God, [our goal is] to pursue the Turks as it becomes possible."

The media service provider Nova Broadcasting Group has admitted the creation and dissemination of broadcast content inciting national, political, ethnic and religious intolerance, which violates Article 17, para. 2 of the Radio and Television Act (RTA).