POSITION OF MEDIA IN BH
WITHIN CONTEXT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
reporting period: 01.01.-31.12.1999
From the end of 1998, the Helsinki Committee
for Human Rights in BH has been monitoring with
particular attentiveness the position of media in
the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
especially the cases presenting various forms of
pressures exerted by the authorities and
individuals over the media, media workers and
their families. Within the project, the analysis
of the state in respect of freedom of expression,
freedom of media and position of journalists in
it is being made. On the basis of this project,
i.e. analysis within it and through the
co-operation with journalists’ associations,
public media, all journalists individually as
well as with other concerned, we are trying to
get insight into media and to make estimate to
which measure freedom of expression is respected.
Essentially, we are trying to promote freedom of
expression and journalists’ rights through
joint effort and actions undertaken on that
ground, i.e. to eliminate numerous negative
appearances in this field.
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BH,
shortly to say, estimates that the state in
realisation of freedom of expression and freedom
of media in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the
reporting period is very difficult. For example,
only in the May report of the International
Helsinki Federation even three cases were
recorded of violation of this aspect of human
rights. Minister of Information in the Republic
of Srpska was openly intimidated by the Serb
ultranationalists and his car was burned down.
The Mayor of the municipality of Zenica made
direct pressure over the leadership of local
media trying to put their editorial policy under
his control. That report accentuated the case of
beating of two journalists of Novi list
from Rijeka in Mostar.
The attempt of assassination over the owner and
director of Nezavisne novine (Independent
Newspapers) and radio NES Zeljko Kopanja in Banja
Luka in October, was a culmination in creating an
atmosphere in which media and journalists become
targets for killing. Kopanja is a pioneer in free
journalism in the Republic of Srpska and was the
first in that entity to support integration of BH
media. That terrorist act is, as a drastic
assault over independent journalism, a
demonstration of force through which the voice of
truth, democracy and reason wanted to be made
silent. The investigation and search for
perpetrators of this horrible crime has not moved
from the starting point in this case also as in
many previous cases. Unpunishment of perpetrators
of the previous physical assaults over the
journalists and media (murder of journalist in
Zavidovici, throwing of bomb on the editorial
office of magazine Dani, demolishion of
equipment of “Studio 99”) stimulated hant
after journalists and brought to attempt of
assassination over Kopanja, with extremely
difficult consequences.
The Helsnki Committee for Human Rights in BH
estimates and expresses its fear that pressures,
intimidations and even physical assaults and
attempted assassinations over journalists and
media can be even more present in the forthcoming
pre-election period.
During the reporting period, the Helsinki
Committee, through public media, warned of the
seriosness of the situation, initiated actions
aimed at fighting against various forms of
pressures over journalists and freedom of public
expression and was engaged in establishment of
legislation in this domain. The Committee has,
among other things, given contribution to
decriminalisation of defamation and libel.
The Helsinki Committee, from the angle of
protection of human rights, recognised six forms
of attacks over free journalism and freedom of
expression: threatening personal safety of
journalists and physical assaults over media,
making pressure over public media and
journalists, closness of sources of information
and inaccesibility of information, law
regulations, misuse of media, and material
position of media and journalists.
THREATENING PERSONAL SAFETY AND PHYSICAL
ATTACKS OVER MEDIA
As already mentioned, tragic culmination in
assaults on journalists is an attempt of
assassination over the director and
editor-in-chief of Nezavisne novine and
“NES Radio” from Banja Luka Zeljko Kopanja,
after which both his legs were amputed. The
monstrous assault took place after series of
articles in Nezavisne novine about
financial and other abuse of power-holders in the
Republic of Srpska. The estimate is that Serb
ultranationalists were especially angry with the
series of texts in which, for the first time in a
newspaper in that entity, through a research
journalism, a file was opened in respect of
crimes committed over Bosniaks, Croats and other
non-Serb people by Serb nazi-fascists in the
passed war. The intention was to have made
Kopanja and his media silent as well as to
threaten media and journalists in the Republic of
Srpska and BH. Prior to attempted assassination,
Zeljko Kopanja and his family were receiving
threatening letters and were blackmailed. Fifteen
days prior to attempted assassination, he was
asked to pay his personal and his family’s
safety with 500,000 DEM. It is important to note
that it was only by chance that his wife and son
escaped the explosion.
Intimidating public media workers in the Republic
of Srpska resulted also in intimidating Minister
of Information in the government of that entity,
Rajko Vasic. His empty car was burned down.
Acting President of the Serb Radical Party Mirko
Blagojevic, at one meeting, accused Vasic of
“committing crime against Serb people” and
because of that “Chetnik’s court-martial”
(Chetniks are Serb nazi-fascists) was in session,
and decision of such courts, as a rule, is a
capital sentence. Vasic was threatened because
Serb extremists did not like some of his
statements. Serb ultranationalists demolished an
independent Radio Station “Osvit” (Down) in
Zvornik thus causing considerable material
damage. The Mayor of the city of Doboj Mirko
Stojicinovic physically assaulted the
correspondent of RTV BH and BETA agency Milan
Srdic. Former Co-Chair of the Council of
Ministers of BH, official of the Serb Democratic
Party established by Radovan Karadzic, Boro
Bosic, now director of thermo electric power
plant Ugljevik, switched off the power to PIM,
the first alternative RTV house in the
neighbouring Bijeljina. Switching off took place
when RTV took shots of Bosic attacking one
officer of Bijeljina municipality for depriving
him of his “right”. The crew of PIM wanted to
dislocate the transmitter to another place in
order to provide for alternative power supply but
they found the place and equipment for new
transmitter damaged.
Mika Damjanovic Avdo, free-journalist from Orasje
where the Croat Democratic Union is in power,
addressed the competent institutions in BH
because of threats with death sent by an owner of
one local company, Ivica Benkovic Marsev. He
threatened the journalist with cutting his head
if he dares making picture of the locality where
his company intends to build a market centre or
writing about Benkovic himself. In the area in
which HDZ is a dominating party, a serious
physical assault happened over the journalists of
independent Novi list from Rijeka
(Republic of Croatia) who wrote about President
Tudjman and Croatian nationalists in a very
critical manner. Two unidentified persons took
out from the hotel in western Mostar journalists
Robert Frank and Ronald Brmalj and beaten them up
heavily, smashing right fist of one of them “to
prevent him from writing in future”. The
international peace mission believes that
assailants could be even local Croatian
policemen. Setting fire to Radio Usora is one of
the attacks on media as well. All copies of the
independent weekly Nacional from Zagreb
disappeared from newspaper-shop in Mostar.
Attacking journalists is also a characteristic of
the area in which the Party of Democratic Action
is in power. Thus, the journalists Branka Vrebac
and reporter Pavle Condric from television of
Kiseljak, both Croats, were maltreated by a group
of Bosniaks in the Association of Killed
Bosniak-Muslim Soldiers of the Canton of
Sarajevo. The repeater of the independent RTV
“Studio 99” in Sarajevo was mined with
plastic explosive. The equipment of RTV Bugojno
was robbed.
PRESSURES OVER MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS
The anonymous letters, threatening phone
calls, unexpected coming across and sending
threats are everyday appearance in media life in
BH. We should emphasise that public and competent
institutions got to know only for some of the
pressures. Namely, many journalists do not want
to publicise the threats sent to them considering
them as price for their professional engagement,
while some of them do not want to further provoke
new intimidation directed to them or their
families. The Independent Media Commission (IMC),
among else, introduced a phone line, through
which journalists throughout BH, can register all
kinds of behaviour affecting their rights and
professional privileges. Through IMC, the
journalists can obtain legal assistance.
Editor-in-chief of TV Zenica Medina Delibasic,
editor-in-chief of Radio Zenica Spahija Kozlic
and chief of Information-Market Centre of
Sarajevo’s Vecernje novine (Evening
Newspapers) in Zenica Selvedin Avdic sent a
letter to the High Representative following the
pressures and unacceptable demands of the Mayor
of Zenica Ferid Alic. The direct cause was a
demand of Alic to Director of RTV Zenica Remzija
Hukeljic to dismiss Delibasic and Kozlic or he
would be dismissed otherwise. The reason for his
demand is the fact that RTV Zenica publicised the
letter of one association to Alija Izetbegovic
and Carlos Westendorp, speaking critically of the
situation in Zenica, in which SDA of Alija
Izetbegovic is in power. Threats of the Mayor
were sent even after refusing repossession of the
apartments to Serbs and Croats, their pre-war
tenants. Alic addressed Avdic in a similar way.
The size of political paranoia toward independent
newspapers can be shown in a fact that the Vice
President of the Party of Democratic Action Halid
Genjac used a cartoon in a new year quadruple
issue of Oslobodjenje for severe attack on
editorial policy of that renowned independent
newspaper, accusing it of equalising the role of
the three leading national parties during the war
– Serb Democratic Party, Croat Democratic Union
and Party of Democratic Action. Then
editor-in-chief of Oslobodjenje Mehmed
Halilovic with arguments proved that Genjac had
wrongly “read” the cartoon and that
accusation of equalising the roles of the parties
during the war was ungrounded. However, Halilovic
emphasised that that was against the concept of
national political organisation in respect of
tragic effects of that option and that in that
context, the SDA was also under critical
magnifying glass of the said newspaper. Dika
Bejdic, correspondent of Oslobodjenje received
threats after publishing article with names of
local functionaries living in someone else’s
apartments.
There is a characteristic example of acceptance
of censorship in Gradacac. Thus, the SDA keeps
under the control the local radio-station
financed from the municipal budget, whose
journalists are at the same time the
correspondents of Dnevni avaz and of RTV
of Tuzla Canton. Besides, the Secretary of the
Municipal Secretariat for Administration and
Social Affairs asked from journalists to submit
to him first all “doubtful” texts while the
Secretary of the Secretariat for Economy and
Utility Issues asked that none information from
his field of work could be published without his
knowledge and permission.
BH Muslim religious leader reisu-l-ulema Mustafa
ef. Ceric publicly accused editor and speaker of
BH TV news Midheta Kurspahic of using, among
else, the formulation Jesus Christ, but not Isa
– according to Kur’an, during the Ramadan,
and on occasion of the Catholic Christmas. Ceric
accused Kurspahic of not being good Bosniak,
Muslim as well as the RTV house where she works
for “catholicising Muslims”. Reis spoke of
some “magazines” spreading hatred toward
Islam, thinking of critical articles in the
independent press. Such ungrounded accusations
were also sent by the association of Young
Muslims (organisation established before the
Second World War, the member of which was from
early young days, Alija Izetbegovic, President of
the Party of Democratic Action and the member of
the BH Presidency) after the articles in Oslobodjenje
criticising efforts to put RTV of BH under
service of Bosniaks, Muslims and statement of
Ceric as well.
Rade Popovic was arrested in Sarajevo and
following the reaction was set free. He was
cameraman of Serb RTV from Banja Luka, and was
arrested on the grounds of criminal charges from
1992 according to which he, as a former worker of
RTV of BH took away a car of that institution.
After the hearing, Popovic was released and he
will defend himself before the court in regular
court procedure. He estimated the overall
behaviour toward him as correct. However,
basically, this is also a case of threat to
freedom of media and freedom of movement in BH.
The journalist of Dnevni avaz from
Sarajevo Almasa Hadzic was bluntly met by the
police of Serbia (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
at the border of BH while she was returning from
journalist task in the Yugoslav autonomous
province of Sandzak where a great number of
Bosniaks live. Hadzic was kept for three and
half-hours during the night and early morning.
She was investigated about her trip and contacts
she had.
The reporter of TV BH Sanela Prasovic and her
family were exposed to severe threats after her
reportage in which she disclosed illegal network
for provision of passports to Serbs from BH.
Threats were sent particularly from Celje
(Republic of Slovenia) in which the agency
dealing with this unlawful job is located.
The Association of Croat War Veterans of
Herzeg-Bosnia (HVIDRA HB) threatened three
journalists of Croat ethnic origin – Pejo
Gasparevic (HINA news agency, based in Zegreb),
Marija Topic – Crnoja (EROTEL) and Blazica
Kristo (HRTV Oscar C) – accusing them of
betraying Croatian interests in BH because they
attended expert seminar organised by the
Independent Media Commission (IMC) in Mostar.
HVIDRA is an exponent of the Croatian
ultranationalists.
The Association of the Croatian Journalists
strongly protested when members of SFOR, during
the action in western part of Mostar (led in
order to collect evidence about activities of
illegal Croatian information service in BH)
“forcefully entered the premises of EROTEL and
literally detained their fifteen workers, forcing
them to put a piece of paper in front of them
with written down names and surnames and
photographed them in such a position, keeping
them detained for four hours”. SFOR stated that
EROTEL was not an aim of the operation, but that
it was located in a building that was an object
of the action.
Pressure of the authorities over media and
journalists is also expressed in court disputes
following journalists’ articles.
Editor-in-chief of the independent daily Slobodna
Bosna Senad Avdic was twice sentenced to
suspended sentence while the third time he was
released. If he had been sentenced for the third
time, he would have had to go to jail. However,
even in that case, the authorities demonstrated
their power sending court policemen in early
morning hours to take Avdic from the editorial
office when the magazine was in a final phase of
preparing magazine for publishing. The policemen
did not allow him to communicate with anybody. 15
criminal charges are filed against Avdic but
Senad Pecanin, editor-in-chief of the independent
magazine Dani is in the similar situation,
as well as editors and journalists of that
editorial office, who are also exposed to
physical, verbal and court pressures.
Arrival of court policemen in order to take Avdic
as well as his releasing sentence happened when
the High Representative Carlos Westendorp, within
the scope of his intervening measures in respect
of the judiciary system, suspended libel and
defamation as criminal acts and included them in
civil proceedings. The arguments spoke in favour
of protection of research journalism.
BARRED ACCESS TO SOURCES OF INFORMATION
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BH
several times publicly expressed its concern due
to more frequent unavailability of sources of
information and non-transparency in the work of
organs at all the levels of authorities as well
as public enterprises and institutions through
which the citizens are deprived of their right to
be informed of the work of institutions which is
directly connected with their financial, social,
political and cultural position. We shall
illustrate this kind of approach toward the
election body with several examples.
We especially emphasise barred access to
information of the Ministry of Interior Affairs
of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
unwillingness to co-operate with public media of
the Minister Mehmed Zilic, for example,
ungrounded and impermissible refusal to give
information in respect to murder of Deputy
Minister Jozo Leutar and series of unlit
terrorist acts in Central Bosnia. The Helsinki
Committee also pointed at restrictive information
service of the BH Presidency and Council of
Ministers in respect of giving information. The
characteristic case is the case of the Minister
of Finances of the Tuzla Canton when he replied
on a question put by editor-in-chief of Dani
Senad Pecanin how the funds are formed and spent
from the cantonal budget as follows: “I am not
interested in giving you this information”. We
should specially emphasise here the cases of
selective giving the information by state and
entity bodies to some media, of course, those
media under the control of some of national
parties. Alija Izetbegovic, on a question whether
Dnevni avaz has an exclusive right to his
statements, interviews and generally to his
addresses to public replied: “It does not have
exclusive right, but I have no time to do all”.
Moreover, Izetbegovic divided journalists to
those who are “journalists and those who are
“journalists – prostitutes” alluding to
support of international organisations to
independent media in BH.
The Serb Radical Party of the Republic of Srpska,
six months before assassination on Kopanja denied
access of journalists of Nezavisne novine
to press conferences of that party. General
Secretary of that party Ognjen Tadic explained
this act with assertion that the journalists of
that newspaper wrote “lies and untruth from the
media conferences of SRRS”.
The Croat Democratic Union has also its media and
its favourite journalists. Their officials and
representatives in the authorities are
inaccessible for public, this being
characteristic for areas in which HDZ is
dominating political power.
However, despite such situation, journalists and
crews of independent media, especially written
media, are succeeding in developing their
research work thus disclosing numerous essential
facts speaking in favour of misdeeds and of
accountable persons for the misdeeds in the war
period as well as of misuses, robberies and
black-marketing in the post-war period and of the
responsibility of holders of authority for that.
In that context, there are articles about
obstruction of the Dayton Agreement. A number of
investigations and court procedures were
initiated only after pressures being exerted by
the public, and following the journalists’
findings on criminal acts and their perpetrators.
Thus, the area of free public word is being
spread this contributing to a democratisation
under extremely difficult circumstances.
LAW REGULATIONS
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BH,
during 1999, insisted upon law regulations in the
field of public information and communication. As
it is already emphasised, former High
Representative Carlos Westendorp brought the
decision to conduct the acts of libel and
defamation under civil proceedings not under
criminal law. The Independent Media Commission
and the Helsinki Committee prepared for the
Parliament of the BH Federation the amendments to
decriminalise libel and defamation. But, after
this, there has appeared the issue of an amount
of money fines when treating libel and defamation
within civil proceedings. Namely, extremely high
money fines have been proposed which by
themselves are threats for free journalism and
lead to auto-censorship. Pronouncement of such
fines to editorial offices would practically mean
end of media. Therefore, the Federation
Ombudspersons suggest that fines be symbolic (1
DEM) and that damaged party receives satisfaction
through publishing true information and public
apologise.
Measures of Westendorp included also systematic
solution in arranging basic RTV network in BH.
Within this, transformation of RTV BH into two
parts is foreseen – RTV of the Federation of BH
and a part which would together with other parts
of the system make Public RTV Service for the
entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, this being of
capital importance for peace process, i.e. for
normalisation of the state in the country and its
democratisation. Political resistance by national
oligarchies hinders the completion of the
essential undertaking in media area of BH. The
Helsinki Committee has given full support to this
project and expressed dissatisfaction with
blockade of the process of reorganisation.
Particularly severe resistance to establishment
of the Public RTV service at the level of BH has
been extended by the Prime Minister of the
Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik who is a
political favourite of the international
authorities. The decision of the High
Representative to rename the main RTV in the
Republic of Srpska (Srpska RTV) to RTV of the
Republic of Srpska was conducted. However, the
struggle for transformation of RTV RS into a
media centre, that would primarily act as public
service, has not been finished yet. In this case,
there appeared a conflict between the
representatives of the international community
and Prime Minister of RS Dodik following his
efforts to establish full governmental control
over the RTV RS. In order to incite the process
of transformation of RTV BH, the High
Representative Wolfgang Petritsch brought the
decision on the composition of the Steering Board
of RTV of the Federation of BH. The Party of
Democratic Action and the Croat Democratic Union
were against such a composition since it did not
include people who would listen to the parties’
orders. We should note here that SDA and HDZ
could have initiated bringing a decision in the
Federation Parliament, but they did not do it as
they usually block the process of establishment
of RTV at the level of the Federation of BH, i.e.
transformation of RTV BH. In addition, there is
an international supervision both in the RTV of
BH and RTV of RS.
Positive step in this area was jointly moved by
the competent entity ministers Fahrudin
Rizvanbegovic and Rajko Vasic by submitting
initiative to the Council of Ministers of BH to
initiate the procedure that BH access the
Conventions and Additional Protocols of the
Council of Europe in respect of the media. This
refers to the Convention on Transfrontier
Television, on Protection of Copyright and
Similar Rights in Broadcasting Satellite
Television, and additional protocols. Thus,
fulfilment of smaller part of obligations at the
level of both entities and entire BH in respect
of reform of media has been initiated. These
obligations, established by the Madrid
Conference, are also preconditions for accession
of BH to the Council of Europe.
Special problem is EROTEL, RTV organisation that
rebroadcasts the programme of the neighbouring
Republic of Croatia in the territory of Bosnia
and Herzegovina. It basically presents great
Croatian design in BH and it is under the control
of HDZ. The Independent Media Commission (IMV)
put a ban on (re)broadcasting of its programme
because EROTEL refused to respect BH law
regulations in its engagement in BH. EROTEL
refused to carry out this decision and possible
engagement of SFOR has been announced. Among
else, IMC asked that EROTEL in BH uses 11 instead
of former 41 RTV transmitters.
The IMC intervened also because of unlawful
re-broadcasting of the programme of RTV of Serbia
from the neighbouring Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia. The decision banned transmitting that
programme via transmitters on the mountain of
Trebevic near Sarajevo.
A number of electronic media in BH was punished
because of unregulated registering and because of
non-respect of norms in the sphere of
distribution of the programmes, i.e. use of
frequencies. The IMC has issued permits for
temporary work of radio and TV stations. IMC
announces that many of 227 electronic media in BH
shall stop working since they will not be able to
fulfil the rules for obtaining permits in
duration of two to five years.
ABUSE OF MEDIA
The Independent Media Commission (IMC) reacted
several times in respect of abuse of media
position. Thus, RTV “Sveti Georgije” (St.
George) from the Republic of Srpska had to
suspend broadcasting for three months because of
violating the programme-editorial code and
refusing to pay money fines pronounced, then
Radio station Mostar, in a part of the city which
is under the control of the Croat Democratic
Union. After fulfilling demands of IMC,
suspensions were lifted. Broadcasting of the TV
programme of channel “S” in the Republic of
Srpska was also suspended and money fines in that
entity had to pay “Sveti Jovan” (the owner of
which is the daughter of Radovan Karadzic), Radio
“Srpsko Sarajevo”, RTV Srebrenica, while in
the territory under the control of the Croat
Democratic Union, broadcasting of the radio
station Drvar was suspended. The Croat RTV of
“Herzeg-Bosnia” from Mostar was fined for
repeated violations. The suspensions were lifted
before their expiry if the managers of those RTV
stations in meantime accepted norms from the Code
prescribed by the IMC, as well as decisions of
this body.
All the above mentioned fines were being
pronounced because of war-mongering or
schauvinistic activities of the mentioned media,
because of encouraging hatred toward peace forces
or because the shots of parts of programmes for
which it was believed to be in controversy to the
Code of Editing the RTV programmes in BH were not
submitted. In one year, IMC recorded 150
violations of the Code while in 36 cases
decisions on fine were brought.
MATERIAL POSITION OF MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS
A difficult material position of media and
journalists is a serious threat to freedom of
media and their survival. Western mediators speak
in favour of the need that media in BH become
profitable companies. This is completely in
disharmony with the reality of the country
destroyed in the war, in which only a small part
of economy is reactivated and in which
privatisation has just started while at the same
time there is grey economy, black-mail and
corruption ruling in BH. Media market is
narrowed, price of newspapers are high and
purchase capacity of the population is little.
The international subject therefore have to
establish strategy in the field of media in BH
which would be adjusted to its characteristics
and prospects keeping in mind that the
independent, professional and research public
media are of significant importance for peace
process and total transformation of the country.
Sudden withdrawal of some of donors from this
territory and leaving media to non-existing
market would cause discontinuation of significant
public media, this being not in favour of the
process of democratisation and regaining of the
international confidence and finally,
effectiveness of the international mission in BH.
Among the drastic examples of position of media
we can mention a very renowned magazine Svijet
which ceased to exist. Due to lack of financial
means, the only independent weekly in Una-Sana
canton Prezent also ceased to exist. Under
the influence of the authorities (SDA) all firms
from this area stopped advertising in Prezent
and even refused to pay for services already
done.
The fact that the status of media is not legally
regulated significantly affects the fate of media
and journalists and it caused that journalists
have not been legally protected. Insensibility of
some of foreign factors in media in BH for the
position of journalists was expressed in the
“OBN case”. Namely, there is a marathon court
dispute between OBN and 11 dismissed workers.
“Because of permanent cheating in respect of
employment contract, and because of harassment by
the persons in charge” the former journalists
demand compensation for damage to the amount of
200,000 DEM. Some workers were also dismissed in
the Radio FERN. Among others, the journalist
Dzevdet Tuzlic was fired and the new director of
this station did not even want to speak to him
about it.
There is also another drastic case in respect of
39 workers of RTV “Studio 99” who sent their
appeal to the IMC to intervene with the director
of that RTV house Adil Kulenovic in order that
debt to the amount of 80,000 DEM be paid to them
for their services. These workers also said that
they had been thrown out from the premises and
had not been even allowed to take their personal
belongings, without any explanation and under
control of bodyguards. When one of the former
workers mined the repeater of “Studio 99” in
anger, Kulenovic reacted through press calling
his former workers “terrorists and collectors
of debts”.
The Office of the High Representative (OHR) and
domestic authorities mutually accuse each other
for material position of media. Thus, OHR, for
the time being without effects, has given
initiative to the Federation Government to write
off the million debt to RTV BH in order that this
RTV house enters the process of transformation
starting with financial zero. This was response
to objections of domestic authorities for lack of
foreign assistance for the Federal RTV BH. OHR
stated that SDA and HDZ were looking for
donors’ assistance for the Federal RTV BH while
at the same time spending great amounts for the
cantonal RTV stations which are neither
independent nor multiethnic nor transparent in
finances. This is a good example of the state in
media system in BH in which it is necessary to
additionally intervene as soon as possible in
order to create conditions for its reform and
material stabilisation.
CONCLUSION
The Helsinki Committee for Human rights in BH
estimates that in BH there are public media which
are approaching criteria of objective journalism
and standards, or they have reached them already.
Their activities and effects are of extraordinary
importance for the implementation of the Dayton
Peace Agreement and overall democratic
transformation of the country. On the opposite
side there are media under the control of
national oligarchies that obstruct the peace
process and democratisation. Thus therefore, it
is necessary to speed up the process of overall
reform of media system in BH, this being
impossible without full engagement of the piece
mission in BH and the international institutions
outside the country. Meaningful donors’
engagement is crucial if we are to preserve and
to develop acquired values in the sphere of
public communication.
Public media, among else, are of crucial
importance for affirmation and protection of
human rights and freedoms and the Helsinki
Committee for Human Rights in BH shall do all to
further develop co-operation with them. In the
past year, thanks to that co-operation, the issue
of rights and freedoms of people was a regular
content in a number of public media in BH, this
contributing to the increase of social awareness
for this issue.
Finally, we should point at several encouraging
facts in respect of public communications in BH.
Thus, the private news agency ONASA, which was
established within Oslobodjenje, has
opened its agency in the biggest city of the
Republic of Srpska, Banja Luka. Studio 88,
established with the international assistance,
started operating in Mostar, in which young
people from both parts of Mostar shall be
working. The OSCE Mission and the Office of
Ombudspersons of the BH Federation agreed on
establishment of Assistant Ombudsman for Media
who is to monitor the realisation and violations
of right to expression as well as activities and
movement of journalists and who will take part in
implementation and creation of law regulations in
this field. News analyst and until recently
editor-in-chief of Oslobodjenje Mehmed
Halilovic, the first President of the Union of
Independent Professional Journalists in BH too,
was nominated to this function. The Helsinki
Committee for Human Rights in BH welcomes these
steps as direct contribution to developing
democratic media environment in BH.
No.: 35A-12/99
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