The decades-long problem of financing cultural institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) culminates in a possible lawsuit against the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports.
“We are not lawyers, but I think we have arguments for a lawsuit and that we will sue the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports,” says Strajo Krsmanovic, director of the Art Gallery of BiH.
Long-standing problems of seven institutions of importance for BiH
The Art Gallery of BiH is one of the seven scientific and cultural institutions that in 1992 had the status of institutions of state importance for the then Republic of BiH (RBiH).
In addition to the gallery, there is also the National Museum of BiH, the National and University Library of BiH, the Historical Museum of BiH, the Museum of Literature and Theater Arts of BiH, the Cinematheque of BiH and the Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired of BiH.
Almost thirty years after the war, the new authorities have still not assumed the founding rights and the obligation to fund these seven institutions from the budget. Therefore, these institutions are financed by applying for public calls, which are announced every year by institutions at various levels of government.
“And as governments change, we had various combinations, because some ministers try to apply palliative measures (measures to ease the suffering of a terminally ill patient),” Krsmanovic explains.
He explains that the Art Gallery of BiH used to receive 220.000 BAM (about 110.000 euros) from grants, for example from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BIH, and last year it received only 40.000 BAM (about 20.000 euros).
He points out that the situation is worst in the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, which is headed by the new minister Sanja Vlaisavljevic. This year, the Ministry divided the fund, which is intended primarily for financing seven institutions of state importance, among as many as 28 beneficiaries, Slobodna Evropa reports.
E.Dz.
