Marina Pendeš first objected to the golden lily, then visibly frustrated 'due to the campaign against HDZ' left the BHRT studio

(Patria) - BHRT's special program "Don't Turn Off BHRT", dedicated to the multi-year financial and institutional crisis of the state public broadcaster, has opened a series of political and identity issues.

The debate was particularly intensified by Marina Pendeš, a delegate of HDZ BiH in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament, writes Faktor.

As a guest on the show, Pendeš reacted at the very beginning to claims that she had previously stated she did not pay the RTV subscription, emphasizing that she was misquoted.

As she said, she did not claim that she did not pay the subscription, but that she was unsure if the subscription for the past year had been paid at all.

She went on to raise the issue of symbolism in BHRT's programming, stating that she had an objection during the opening credits of the show, which, as she said, featured a golden lily.

- I have an objection. There is a golden lily in the opening credits. What is that message? Who is it for? It's certainly not for paying the subscription - Pendeš stated.

When asked what she associated the golden lily with, she replied briefly: "What else would I associate it with?"

When suggested that the lily is part of Bosnia and Herzegovina's history, Pendeš disputed this, emphasizing the difference between the historical white lily and its contemporary symbolism.

- Excuse me, it is not. Don't say that - it's not golden but white, because it's a characteristic of royalty. It's about the colors of the flag, but it didn't have to be a lily either - Pendeš pointed out.

During the discussion, she also stated that she felt outnumbered in the show, emphasizing that she was speaking from the position of a representative of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She recalled "political processes since 2004", and the "fact that a separate channel in the Croatian language, nor a public RTV corporation, was never established".

- The national Bosniak interest at that time was not to establish a channel in the Croatian language. Of course, a corporation was not established either. HDZ BiH advocates for a solution where BHRT operates as a system - Pendeš said.

Reacting to the host's claim that BHRT broadcasts in the Croatian language, Pendeš replied that, in her opinion, this was not fundamentally fulfilled.

- You think you are working in the Croatian language. Working in the Croatian language means that, when it comes to the 40 days of Lent, I can see a show about that topic - and I don't see one.

It's not just Mass for Christmas and Easter that Croats have. There is also cultural and historical heritage, and even the question of who the Nobel laureates from BiH are - Pendeš said.

Speaking about the difficult situation BHRT is in, Pendeš rejected accusations that HDZ is responsible for the public broadcaster's crisis, stating that the key problems lie within the organization itself.

- Are you now accusing HDZ because you are not doing your job? Your problem is here, in this house. Minister Forto cannot solve your problem, nor can Marina Pendeš or members of Parliament. They can help, but the main issue is with the management and leadership - she asserted.

She added that BHRT's management must conduct a detailed business analysis - from debts and the number of employees to costs and resource rentals.

- It needs to be determined who is in debt, how many employees you have, whether you need that many people. I feel sorry for the engineers who do not have adequate salaries for the work they do. A serious and quality analysis is needed - Pendeš concluded.

In the end, she left the show saying she was leaving because they had started a campaign against HDZ in this show, to which the host told her that this was not a campaign, but a discussion about the democratic functioning of the public radio-television system of BiH.