Serbia: Reactions to Gaddafi's Interview on Pink TV

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.

Libyan president Muammar Al Gaddafi gave an 8-minute phone interview to Serbian TV Pink on February 28, describing Libya as “an absolutely peaceful” country and declaring its rebellious people “Al Qaida gangs.” He spoke of unrestrained and drugged groups of young people who occupied mosques, intimidating visitors:

They fired at a mosque with machine guns. The young people were moving through the streets, firing from Kalashnikovs. […] They were shooting at anything that moves. Whoever was moving, they would kill him. If someone opposed them, they would slaughter him the way [Zarqawi] did. Without any doubt, these gangs are Al Qaeda. […]

Muammar al Gaddafi says Libyans have no reason to rebel. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse B. Awalt/Public domain)

Gaddafi also referred to the story of the alleged participation of Serbian military pilots in the bombing of protesters, calling it a failed attempt of bad propaganda placed by the (unnamed) Arab media outlets. He suggested that a Serbian pilot had been offered money to falsely accuse the Libyan army of ordering him to shoot at the people:

An Arab station was in contact with a Serbian Air Force officer named Daniel. They were trying to bribe him into saying that Libya sought the planes of Serbia to attack its citizens. They told him: “Say that and you'll get the money.”

TV Pink also ran a short report from Tripoli, showing scenes that fit Gaddafi's description of a “peaceful Libya”: sunlit streets with palm trees, luxury cars and relaxed residents sitting in local street cafés. Life looks completely normal, including at a residential block that had otherwise reportedly been bombed by Gaddafi's forces.

TV Pink, Serbian national consciousness

Undoubtedly, Gaddafi has chosen the right channel for his appearance. TV Pink is one of the most popular national TV networks that mainly runs entertainment content (reality shows, music, soap operas). In the '90s, its greatest popularity came with local prophets and astrologists.

TV PinkTV Pink was founded during the reign of Slobodan Milosevic. The owner of TV Pink, Zeljko Mitrovic, was a member of JUL, a political party led by Milosevic's wife, Mira Markovic. In this period, a friendship with Zoran Lilic, the former President of Yugoslavia and a Milosevic supporter, was formed, and it is rumored that he was the one who helped arrange the “exclusive” interview with Gaddafi.

Where is the blood?

Reactions to the interview were naturally varied, but comments on one Serbian internet forum, Krstarica [SRB], also showed several confused citizens who, lacking access to images of violence from Tripoli, accepted Gaddafi's statements as truth.

In a discussion thread titled “Libya is peaceful, world media are spreading lies,” Yamamoto writes:

People who stayed there, as well as those who arrived by “rescue” planes, testify that they do not understand what images we are seeing. All of them deny the intensity of the events in Libya.

Bernard O observes:

Pink's TV records confirm that some buildings are intact, although, according to CNN, they were destroyed in the criminal bombing of Gaddafi's army.

Jevropa sadly notes:

This is a splendid country. Now, the world's scum will come to destroy all this man has created and to make the people poor despite [the country's] wealth.

Pedjica tries to be realistic:

I am not sure how the rest of the country lives. I saw Tripoli on Pink. I saw cars no older than [the year] 2000, the buildings are relatively new, and it is a beautiful city. As far as I could see. The truth is probably somewhere in between!

To remind fellow netizens of how good life in Libya supposedly is, Caliburn posts an excerpt from a recent Serbian newspaper story, which is titled “Libyans Live Like Gods” and is based on a testimony of Dragan Gordic, a Serb who has lived in Libya for years:

I do not believe that the riots broke out because of dissatisfaction. They have no reason to be dissatisfied because they live like gods… They do not work much, and they come to the office around 9 A.M. and already at noon they go home to pray, and that happens five times during the day… They have free medical treatment, education, electricity, and all food products are 30-40 percent cheaper than at home. Everyone who wants to study abroad just needs to write a request and they receive a scholarship from the authorities. About 5 million people have registered 15 million cars. In general, these are expensive and good cars, and they have easy access to them because for a 50,000-euro car you pay 3,000 or 4,000 euro, and the rest is subsidized by the state.

Reactions on Burek.com [SRB] also confirm that President Gaddafi and TV Pink have convinced many Serbian people that Libyans have no reason to revolt.

Smook has an idealized view of Libya:

Statements of our citizens who have resided and worked in Libya absolutely match. They say that phone is free, electricity is free, and interest-free loans for up to 10 years are available. Housing is provided by the state or its price is symbolic. For a few dollars you fill your car's tank. […]

RawenClaw 3190900 warns:

His tribe is one of the three largest in Libya. Any conflict with them turns into a civil war.

Paganin1 reveals:

The reporting in the domestic media on the developments in Libya is striking. “The dictator Gaddafi, towns liberated from the government forces, hundreds of victims of the dictatorship” and much related nonsense. Now, given that Serbia is a “banana republic” under the patronage of our famous “democratic” and “friendly” forces, we have the answer as to who is trying to manage this crisis in Libya…

Vale on CafedelMontenegro says:

Cheap food, cheap fuel, education and health care for free. Very soon, they will come to grieve for Gaddafi. Our people who lived and worked there know it best. May God give us Gaddafi's government for 40 years.

Pink TV or CNN

Those most outraged by the fact that the Serbian channel gave the Libyan dictator such a prominent public political platform, are mainly gathered on the B92 web site:

It is a quite accepted fact that Pink is in the service of Gaddafi. They also faithfully served Slobodan (Milosevic) and Mira (Markovic). “People are sitting in cafes sipping the coffee.” It was same here where I lived in the time of (NATO) bombing. People were sitting in the cafes and they were drinking their beer, but it does not mean that there was no bombing. In the center of the city that was not bombed people were very relaxed, but nearby, close to the factory that was bombed, people left their homes and went out of town…

Bg says:

Gaddafi communicates with the outside world through Serbia to the hysterical delight of his fans in Serbia, and to the outrage of normal people.

Nikon Savest says:

If Pink interviewed Kim Jong Il he would certainly say that in North Korea roses are flowering, the economic growth is 20% and all people enjoy freedom.

Realist says:

The man who used tanks and air crafts against its own nation deserves only loathing. It is no wonder the fact that Serbs love and support him, given that Milosevic, gravedigger of his own people was able to survive so long in power.

Terenac is sarcastic:

It's not true that only we Serbians support him. With him are also all those mercenaries he hired to fight for him.

Sava, a Serb who was evacuated from Libya, attempts to present an ideal picture of Gaddafi's “kingdom” as the opponent of all the anti-Gaddafi comments above:

I returned to Serbia in yesterday's evacuation of Serbian workers from Libya. I would like to deny a false picture of events in Libya that have been shown in some of our media. In the town where I lived it was a very quiet, to the point that children normally went to the school, shops were open and people moved freely. Libyans with whom I worked tried to convince me that people are with Gaddafi… Our people have already experienced the same scenario so that everyone is clear about how propaganda works. I hope that everything will finish as soon as possible and that everyone, including your news agency [B92], will show the true picture of events in Libya.

9 comments

  • I totally think that Mr Gadafi is a blood thirsty dictator. And TV Pink is an awful media made in times of our own dictator Milosevic. Sadly it is quite popular nowadays here.

  • Misha

    On the other side, there are CNN and its satellites. Acceptable option – I don’t think so. Perhaps for the people who didn’t establish contact with their own brains. I remember well their dressed and melodramatic reports from Serbia back in 1999. Just these days we can read “here and there” small letter printed articles that “this and that” report from those days was dressed, false or completely invented (for example “Adventures of Hilary Clinton on Sarajevo airport “under the fire of Serbian snipers” – everything is true except the fire of Serbian snipers). But, who cares now?
    So, why should I believe to CNN more then to TV Pink.

  • DJT

    For over a decade now, my news from Serbia came exclusively via B92, thus giving me the impression of a sane, rational society with a diversity of opinions and healthy self-criticism. I had barely heard of TV Pink before this article. Apparently every society has its own Fox News analog.

  • FIICK BBC&CNN

    CNN and BBC are 100 times worse than TV PINK, lies lies and more western propaganda and lies. Where are the WMDs in IRAQ? still waiting on those..

  • Urosh

    In Serbian language:
    TEMA: Napad na Libiju!
    Sramota! Isto kao kada su napali drzavljane Srbije 1999. godine. Svetskim mocnicima zinulo dupe za tudjom zemljom. Izdali ih i nasi vlastodrsci. Kazu kako je u Libiji diktatura. Ja bih voleo da zivim u takvoj diktaturi: da od drzave dobijem besplatan stan bez ikakvih rezija, da imam besplatno zdravstveno osiguranje, da imam pravo lecenje u zdravstvenim ustanovama, da se deca besplatno skoluju u zemlji, da dobiju stipendije da studiraju u inostranstvu. Kazu kako je nezaposlenost u Libiji, kako mladi podupiru ulicne bandere. Cudno? A kako je toliko stranaca naslo uhlebljenje u Libiji? Izgleda da mnogi Libijci nemaju radne navike. Kako to da su im Crnci cistili ulice, iz Srbije je otišlo mnogo zdravstvenog osoblja da rade u Libiji i bili su veoma zadovoljni zaradama. Kazu da je u Libiji zastarelo rusko naoruzanje. A pomocu ruskog radara u Srbiji je otkriven nevudljivi Fantom, i oboren, pa su delove Fantoma raznosili ciganskim taljigama. Zelim da sa takvim zastarelim ruskim naoruzanjem budu oboreni nevidljivi Fantomi i u Libiji. Po mom saznanju bar 75% obicnog naroda, drzavljana Srbije, je protiv napada stranih drzava na Libiju. Kazu kako se Srbi svadjaju, da nisu slozni. Ispada da su i Arapi takvi. I mnogi Arapi iz celog sveta napadaju svoje Arape u Libiji. Plasim se da ne pocnu da love Gadafija i njegove branioce i da ne ubiju Gadafija u nekom belosvetskom zatvoru kao Slobodana Milosevica. On je vodja Libijaca, libijskih drzavljanja, i ukoliko narod smatra da nije nešto dobro u njegovom upravljanju, onda to treba sami da razrese miroljubivo izmedju sebe a ne da im belosvetske haraclije dele svoju takozvanu pravdu.

    • Pravac onda pa nadji sebi odgovarajucu diktaturu: mozes kod Gadafija, mozes u Severnu Koreju, kod vojne hunte u Burmi, Kuba i tako dalje. Sve je besplatno samo ne smes ni da pisnes jer ce mrak odmah da te proguta.
      Ako ti neznas sta znaci diktatura i tiranija onda ti nemogu ni ja to objasniti.
      Sto se tice radara i slicnih gluposti ne znam ni sta bih ti rekao. Ajde mi reci koliko su avioni puta leteli nad Srbijom i gadjali sta su hteli? Koliko je njihovih aviona oboreno? Jedan, nijedan? Ti verovatno smatras da smo mi pobedil nato pakt, jel?
      Znaci po tebi Libijci su debili i tu im spasa i napretka nema nego samo da ih vodi politicar tipa Gadafija? Verovatno je za tebe SLobodan M. otac nacije.
      Vodja Libijaca koji svoj narod koji protestvuje gazi tenkovima i ubija bombama i avionima? Da mirno rese svoje probleme?
      Ocigledno da si jako mako informisan i da bas ne razmisljas kriticki.

  • rmr

    Serbian people support Ghadafi! We know from 90’s what media propaganda can do to claim support for agressing country.
    Do they really care about civilians??? They’ve killed a lot of them in Serbia and now again in Lybia!!
    Think about it….

Join the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.