The protest "Ready For Satire" was held on April 1 at the Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square in Zagreb. Three thousand people joined together to send the message that they support freedom of speech, satire, democracy and human freedom.

The cancelation of the political satire show "Mounted Process" drew thousands of citizens into the streets of Zagreb last week to protest what many see to be overbearing censorship.

Censorship

The decision to cancel the show, aired by Croatian Radiotelevision, a station partly funded by citizens, was made by the company's "program board," a body that isn't mentioned in any of the Croatian Radiotelevision documents, revealed GONG, a civil society group in Croatia.

"The protest was held on the occasion of the cancelation of the show 'Mounted process,' a harsh censorship for which none of the Croatian Television editors wanted to take direct responsibility," says Jelena Berković of the group Platform 112.

The last move by the management of public service media on the eve of the "Ready For Satire" gathering was the cancellation of the agreed participation of initiative representatives in the show "Croatia Live." The Croatian Television journalist team still appeared on Zrinjevac and broadcasted the news about the gathering.

Only laughter

To silently ignore the abolition of political satire on the public service broadcaster would be a dangerous message to send, especially for journalists, and a large number of them came to support the event.

Self-censorship, which has so far been motivated by a desire to keep advertisers, could now progress into censorship as a matter of survival for the journalists, who can no longer hope for small fees from some of the non-profit media, the funding for which has become questionable with the arrival of the new government.

The thousands of people who gathered in Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square show that there are people who will not tolerate the denial of the right to freedom of expression.

Comedians and musicians performed at the gathering; shouts and slogans could not be heard, only laughter. There were no big speeches, but the creators of the "Mounted Process" came to the stage to express their gratitude for the support.

Stars of the evening were certainly imitators of the Croatian political leaders - that is, the Croatian president, prime minister and deputy prime minister. Every joke at the expense of Croatian politicians was greeted with approval, and there was no distinction made about the left or the right.

They will not be silent

The event, which lasted for four hours, ended with a show by the band Elemental, which was put together on barely a week's notice. For those who decided to celebrate April 1 by showing the futility of efforts by the ruling Patriotic Coalition to abuse media for its own gain, fun was certainly at hand.

Indeed, people did not gather in a destructive rage, but in a defiance that clearly showed that they would continue to voice their complaints publicly, in the streets if necessary.

The complete report from the protest is available on the Internet site of one of the organizers of the protest, the Croatian Journalists Association. The photo gallery from the 'For Satire Ready' protest is available here.