The independent union of workers at BHRT has sent an appeal and request to the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina not to allow the adopted budget proposal to go through the parliamentary procedure, in which there are no items that provided for financial assistance to cultural institutions and BHRT. It requests the founder of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina to convene an urgent joint session of both Houses as soon as possible with only one item on the agenda – the current situation at BHRT.
Until then, BHRT is threatened with electricity and gas disconnection and seizure of property due to debt to the European Broadcasting Union. In that case, not only BHRT would be shut down, but also Federal TV and Television Sarajevo, which are located in the BHRT building, the Border Service transmitter, the Agency for Identification of Donations and the transmitter of telecom operators.
BHRT is facing a new, alarming financial challenge. Solutions are not in sight. In addition to the debt to the Indirect Taxation Administration, the Federal Tax Administration and the European Broadcasting Union, the Public Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina could be left in the dark and in cold.
“Heating and electricity could soon be turned off to BHRT. Contributions to workers have not been paid for 10 years. It is very difficult and challenging to produce a program when you do not have the basic tools to work,” warns BHRT Program Director Neda Tadić.
Former member of the Federal Parliament and former BHRT journalist Sanela Prašović-Gadžo calls on the ruling parties not to allow the shutdown of BHRT, because, she points out, it is the shutdown of the state. She also has a concrete proposal.
“I ask Mr. Čović to ask his HDZ colleagues to put on the agenda of the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina amendments to the Law on Executive Procedure adopted in the 2018-2022 mandate, because this will solve the influx of RTV fees,” said Prašović-Gadžo.
The HDZ leader promised assistance in finding money for the normal functioning of the Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We will do everything we can to ensure that BHRT can function normally when it comes to finances. If it is not the budget, because someone will obviously block the budget, we will find another way to finance it because we promised that to the Administration and management,” said HDZ President Dragan Čović.
The position of SDP MP Saša Magazinović is that there must be money for the basic functions of BHRT, especially since the RAK funds have been unblocked at the state level.
“I have no answer to the question of why it is not possible to provide BHRT with the funds that we managed to unblock after eight years when it comes to RAK funds. Only then will it be possible to talk about managing funds within BiH. For basic functions, my position is that there must be money,” believes Magazinović.
Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot join the European Union without a financially sustainable Public Broadcasting Service. The state is doing nothing to save it, says the president of the Association of BH Journalists Marko Divković.
“Let’s recall the 14 famous conditions. In 12th place is the financially sustainable, technically reliable and editorially independent Public RTV Service,” Divković notes.
Due to the non-implementation of the Law on the Public RTV System of BiH on the distribution of the RTV fee, RTRS owes BHRT more than 100 million marks. At the end of July, the Supreme Court of Republika Srpska issued decisions in favor of BHRT in two court proceedings conducted against RTRS, confirming RTRS’s obligation to share funds collected from the RTV fee with BHRT. The decision was made after the Constitutional Court of BiH had previously determined a violation of BHRT’s rights.
