Serbia's Tanjug Agency Still Working Despite Closure

Tanjug, the news agency founded by the Yugoslav Communists in the 1940s, is still operating despite being closed by the government last month when it failed to find a private buyer.

Vesna Rakic Vodinelic, a lecturer at the law faculty of Union University in Belgrade, told BIRN that although the agency was producing less output, it was continuing to operate, which she said was illegal.

"Tanjug does not exist as a legal entity anymore. This is completely illegal," Vodinelic said.

The government closed the agency on November 5 after two unsuccessful attempts at privatization.

The director of Tanjug's management, Branka Djukic, on November 16 told employees not to come to work any longer because the agency no longer existed.

However, the agency's website has been continually updated with the latest news since then.

Before the government's decision to close Tanjug, it had 188 employees. According to some estimates of employees, around 30 people are still working in Tanjug.

Jadranka Zujovic, the former chief editor, told BIRN that the management was supposed to implement the "liquidation of the agency" according to the government's decision and not continue working.

But she said that Tanjug's management was waiting for the government to act and "keep Tanjug alive.

"As we can see, the state is still not reacting. [Prime Minister] Vucic promised to do something... and they are waiting for that," Zujovic said.

Jasminka Kocijan, another former employee, told BIRN that those loyal to Tanjug director Djukic had retained jobs after the shutdown.

"I could not turn on my computer [in the office] because I was disconnected. The only criteria for staying is loyalty to the director," she said. Djukic expected "Vucic...