Yesterday, after many years of tenancy in other printing houses, three daily and nine weekly newspapers and magazines, got their own printing house. Among them is the “Blic”, which owns 25,1 percent of shares in this joint venture. The ceremonial opening of the first independent media printing house in Serbia and Montenegro was attended by representatives of European Agency for Reconstruction and Development, French, German and Danish ambassador, representative of UNESCO, the Minister of Culture Branislav Lecic, who are also the donors of this project, which is worth around 4 millon euros. The owner and the user of this printing house is the Assotiation of private media, a consortium of  mentioned newspapers.
Before the very openning, around noon, the distinguished guests, ambassadors, and chief editors of the media strarted arriving. Firstly, they were taken on a tour around the printing house. They could see Corax’s caricatures illustrating the repression of Milosevic’s regime on the walls.
- In the past three years, this project started to be a dream, then turned into a nightmare, then again into a dream, and now it is the reality. This printing house is now open thanks to the vision of the journalists, who opposed Milosevic’s regime – stated Mogens Schmidt, director of UNESCO’s Department of freedom of expression, democracy and peace.
Powerful printing machine is around 30 meters long and weights 730 tons, was transported from Germany to belgrade on 45 trucks. Thirty people were specially trained to assemble, operate and work on this machine, so it could last longer. They will work in a building of 1300 square meters, which has been built in only six months.
- For me as a minister, it is a great honour to open this printing house, which will greatly help the freedom of media to take one step further. Everything related to freedom of media is a priority for the Serbian Government, as is the importance of building its infrastructure – stated Branislav Lecic, Serbian Minister of Culture.
Chief of Operational Centre of the Agency for Reconstruction and Development, Adriano Matiz, was also content, because the greatest media project in Serbia finally came to completion.
- This project was initiated in time of Milosevic’s repression over media, when the media, journalists, and editor were arrested, and some of them even killed. Nowadays, on the other hand, reformation goes on in many sections of society, and also among media, which we help, so Serbia and Montenegro have got a donation of 770 million euros through our agency, and this should help this country step into europian integrations – Matiz said.
The project of building the printing house, as remarked by Gabrel Keller, French ambassador,  was initiated in 1999, after the murder of Slavko Curuvija. This tragic event, Keller aded, convinced us that something had to be done.France supported Serbia and Montenegro’s admitance in European Council, and we shall help you quickly fulfill all your responsibilities. This printing house will also be available for other concerned newspapers, and all this in favour of the development of free media – Keller said.
J.P.

This is the translation of the article published in “Blic” on
September 26th, 2003