Croatian authorities on Monday invited a representative of the Serbian Embassy to talks at the Foreign Ministry, asking that measures be taken with regard to "negative and unfounded observations on Croatia, its institutions and companies in the broadcasts of the Serbian TV Pink broadcaster," the ministry said in a statement.
"Bearing in mind the fact that the said media company uses public frequencies of the Republic of Serbia, Serbian state institutions have been requested to act urgently in line with legal regulations" and put an end to the negative media campaign against Croatia, the ministry said.
After his yacht was impounded in Croatia for violation of customs regulations and put up for sale at an auction, the owner of Pink Media Group, Zeljko Mitrovic, decided to ban the promotion of Croatian tourist destinations in the programmes of his media company, threatening also to ban the airing of Croatian music and films in the five countries where Pink operates.
Mitrovic said his attorneys would send to European institutions extensive documentation on what he claims is "the selective enforcement of Croatian regulations and the unlawful operation of Croatian customs authorities, as well as documentation pointing to corruption in various institutions."
Mitrovic's yacht was seized in Croatia's territorial waters in September 2010 for violation of customs regulations and international conventions, and it was put up for sale at an auction after he refused to pay customs duties in the amount of two million euros.
The Serbian Independent Journalists' Association last Thursday criticised Mitrovic's statement, saying that it was contrary to the Act on Advertising which guarantees to foreign legal and natural persons the same rights as those enjoyed by domestic legal and natural persons, and noting that the owner of a private broadcaster using public frequences must not exploit the broadcaster to settle private disputes.
