Documentary about Kosovo banned in Czech Republic

[Sarmatian]

Documentary about Kosovo made by Czech national TV station. that was supposed to be aired in March this year, was first moved to April and finally taken completely of the schedule because of the pressure of the Czech government. The documentary was scheduled to be shown some time before Czech parliament made their second try to recognize independent Kosovo, since first was unsuccessful.

The government's reason to refuse to show the film is because it is "biased and shows only one side of the story", according to Czech daily Aktualne (in czech). The director Vaclav Dvorak and his associates said that although they've shown in the film some archive footage from the Serbian TV, not a single penny was received from Serbian government, organizations or any Serbs. Dvorak asked them to point out one image, picture or a segment which was untruthful, the question which remained and still remains unanswered.

Disappointed and frustrated by the decision to take the film of the schedule, the director Dvorak and his associates decided to show the movie on youtube.

One hour long documentary can be seen in its entirety on youtube (also it can be downloaded from all better torrent sites ) in 10 parts, with english subtitles, if anyone is interested.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10

Censorship or not? Does the government have the right to decide which documentary is truthful or untruthful? Was this done so that Czech parliament can recognize Kosovo with a clean conscience? I mean, if the second try failed, forcing them to have a third go on the issue of Kosovo recognition would have been embarrassing.

Do we have any Czechs here? I'm sure they could give some more info on the issue. My Czech is pretty bad. I understand general meaning but not all words.

[Marshal Murat]

Talk about keeping people in Czech.

[Samurai Waki]

Ugh. Well that was bloody depressing. Thanks for sharing that...

[Tribesman]

Does the government have the right to decide which documentary is truthful or untruthful?

Does a government have a right to decide what news is broadcast or printed , is it allowed to stop transmitions and replace editorial and management staff , is it allowed to cancel entire schedules to replace them with political bollox ?
How about is it right for a government to arrest journalists for making documentaries ?
Now I wonder what government I am talking about .

You do have a point that the Czech republic is sliding down the scale over press freedoms , but it has a long way to go before it hits #67 and is still falling

[Sarmatian]

Does a government have a right to decide what news is broadcast or printed , is it allowed to stop transmitions and replace editorial and management staff , is it allowed to cancel entire schedules to replace them with political bollox ?
How about is it right for a government to arrest journalists for making documentaries ?
Now I wonder what government I am talking about .

Knowing your style, I'd say you're insinuating something here, but you have to remember that you're talking to someone to whom English is not the first language. So if you could be a wee bit clearer, I'd appreciate it.

Also, I forgot to mention that Dvorak and the rest of the team face lawsuit because they've released the movie on Youtube, and by doing that they've violated Czech national TV right to exclusivity of the film.

[HoreTore]

but you have to remember that you're talking to someone to whom English is not the first language.

Well, tribesey isn't a native english speaker either, he's irish....

Anyway, on topic, I give it a big

It could be a documentary claiming that talibani guerilla soldiers smoking opium are the masterminds of the teletubbies for all I care, the government has no right to apply any kind of pressure or censorship on the media in a civilized nation.

If the press crosses the line into illegal land, it's still not an excuse for the government to act. That's a job for the courts.

[Tribesman]

Knowing your style, I'd say you're insinuating something here, but you have to remember that you're talking to someone to whom English is not the first language. So if you could be a wee bit clearer, I'd appreciate it.

Little old me insinuate something ?
I am shocked I tell ya truly shocked
OK I will make it nice and simple , you appear to be concerned about press freedom and broadcasting rights in the Czech republic , which is very commendable indeed .

It isn't nice when governments block information and surely something like a documentary deserves to be aired .
So now then what country is at position #67 on the current list of states stopping the freedom of the press ? Doing things slightly worse than blocking a broadcast and suing over copyright ...you know things like threatening and arresting the journalists if it doesn't like the documentaries they make or the articles they write or any of the stuff in my last post ?
Not of course suggesting that the country is the worst in europe as Moldova and Ukaraine though improving are still way down lower and of course Belarus is hanging right near the bottom on par with countries like Zimbabwe .
You could of course use any of the many studies on press freedom and government censorship to find the same results concerning this country as a means to identify the country in question , you could even use the ISI one that held their last meeting in its capital city ...or perhaps you could take a look out your window and see if you can identify which country is not doing very well on the press freedom issue .

[Sarmatian]

I thought your point was "it's even worse in your country", but couldn't figure out what #67 is all about, although it's universally a very bad point. It's not good here, but it's even worse over there.

I personally don't think that press freedom is a problem in Serbia after 2000, so I'm amazed at such a low score. I wonder how did they calculate it... And why's the rating was solid 11.50 in 2006, and made an incredible jump to extremely bad score of 21 in 2007. What's with the arrested journalist because of documantary, I don't know about that?

It's like you're living here and not me

Also do you know some specific examples of this

Does a government have a right to decide what news is broadcast or printed , is it allowed to stop transmitions and replace editorial and management staff , is it allowed to cancel entire schedules to replace them with political bollox

or you're speaking in general?


On the topic, my point wasn't that press freedom is a problem in Czech republic but rather that it's a problem when it comes to Kosovo. You have a country that is very liberal and then something like this happens.

[Tribesman]

On the topic, my point wasn't that press freedom is a problem in Czech republic but rather that it's a problem when it comes to Kosovo.

Which is ironic since press issues about Kosovo are one of the problems that caused the decline in Serbias ratings , together with documentaries on the wars and war crimes .

I wonder how did they calculate it...

For that you have to go to the "how this list was compiled" feature at the bottom of the reports (or the top in the ISI one)

Also do you know some specific examples of this

Only what is mentioned in the reports on press freedoms .

What's with the arrested journalist because of documantary, I don't know about that?

Oh just a little thing about arrest as a traitor because the government didn't like the documentary he made .

And why's the rating was solid 11.50 in 2006, and made an incredible jump to extremely bad score of 21 in 2007.

Mainly because of changes in the broadcasting act and events around B92 .

although it's universally a very bad point. It's not good here, but it's even worse over there.

Actually its a very good point since you didn't make the bad-worse-bad comparison , its like someone from Fianna Fail saying fine Gael are corrupt or Iran saying America supports terrorists .

[Sarmatian]

Which is ironic since press issues about Kosovo are one of the problems that caused the decline in Serbias ratings , together with documentaries on the wars and war crimes .

Possibly. When I compare today's situation to how it has been before 2000, now it's positively excellent, but it could be that if I lived in a liberal country before, like somewhere in Scandinavia or Ireland, I would find the current situation very bad.

For that you have to go to the "how this list was compiled" feature at the bottom of the reports (or the top in the ISI one)

Yeah, I know, but it's rather poorly explained - "The questionnaire was sent to partner organisations of Reporters Without Borders (14 freedom of expression groups in five continents) and its 130 correspondents around the world, as well as to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. A scale devised by the organisation was then used to give a country-score to each questionnaire. The Statistics Institute of the University of Paris provided assistance and advice in processing the data reliably and thoroughly". What kind of scale, who filled out questionnaire, which human rights groups, which jurists etc...

Only what is mentioned in the reports on press freedoms .

Here is 2007 report. Where did you find here info about "Does a government have a right to decide what news is broadcast or printed , is it allowed to stop transmitions and replace editorial and management staff , is it allowed to cancel entire schedules to replace them with political bollox" ?

Oh just a little thing about arrest as a traitor because the government didn't like the documentary he made .

Nothing about it in 2007 report. What's the documentary and what's the name of the journalist?

Mainly because of changes in the broadcasting act and events around B92 .

Well, here is the statement from ANEM (Association of independent electronic media, in serbian), where they're are complaining because this law allows cities, municipalities to form their own local TV, radio stations or local newspapers. They're afraid that those stations might be misused, although I don't see why they think that privately owned media couldn't be misused. Also, I'm rather inclined to bet that they're mostly afraid of the possible competition if new media are formed.

And what about B92? The station is richer and have more influence than ever.

Actually its a very good point since you didn't make the bad-worse-bad comparison , its like someone from Fianna Fail saying fine Gael are corrupt or Iran saying America supports terrorists .

You see, here you have to make a difference - I'm not the same as government of Serbia. I'd made some personal observations, in this case about Czech government putting pressure on national TV about the documentary. About that particular case. That doesn't mean that I believe everything is tip-top in my country or any other country, but that doesn't revoke my right to speak about it or makes my points less valid. It would be the same if I told you that you don't have the right to speak abot terrorism because of the IRA. It's bollox, as you say.