DF: Public services BHT and FTV are on the verge of closure!

The Democratic Front warns the public and the ruling political establishment that the material and financial situation in Public Services (BHT and FTV) has reached a critical lower limit and that these media are on the verge of closure, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

In addition to the fact that the difficultly initiated digitalization process and the attempt to find a more adequate RTV fee collection system were halted by the dismissal of the responsible Minister of Transport and Communications (DF) in the Council of Ministers, we have information that BH Telecom has stopped transferring funds received from subscription fees for the month of December to the public services. Namely, no official authority (Council of Ministers, responsible ministry) has yet done anything about potentially extending the contract for the continuation of collection in the current manner.

Let us remind you that this subscription method is declining every month, and public services are recording monthly losses of hundreds of thousands of marks on this basis. The parliamentary majority has not yet appointed a new minister; instead, a candidate who is currently being investigated by the BiH Prosecutor's Office has been nominated. Therefore, it will take time until a new minister is appointed, and until then, as things stand, the final acts before the closure of public services are unfolding. It is difficult to escape the impression that this scenario was conceived in political kitchens, with the ultimate goal of subordinating free journalism to the current government and spreading false optimism to a deluded populace.

The Democratic Front supports the efforts of the management and trade unions of public services in the fight to preserve one of the symbols of state identity and calls on them to exert constructive pressure on the current government through all democratic means to extend the operation of these media.

Recent events in Poland and the appointment of a political figure from the ruling structures as the general manager of the public service led thousands of citizens to the streets who do not approve of this act, but advocate for free media, as a corrective to the government, and their freedom primarily implies financial independence.

In our country, the General Hospital is closing with almost no reaction, our country is losing "Slobodna Bosna" as if God never gave it, and we know what it was and how much it meant, since the war. We fear that the public services face the same fate. There is complete media darkness. Will it be too late when, and if ever, we wake up?