Šabić: BHRT leadership, acting on political orders, wants to put an end to FTV

(Patria) - The General Director of RTV Federation of BiH, Džemal Šabić, stated today that the cause of the problems regarding the financing of public services lies in the fact that the ruling policies and centers of power want to eliminate the possibility of any other side's opinion being shown on television at all.

Speaking as an introductory speaker at the session of the Association of Independent Intellectuals Krug 99 on the topic "Euthanasia of Federal TV", Šabić reminded that the current problems began when the BHRT management, led by Belmina Karamehmedović and members of the Supervisory Board Elvira Lemeš, Valentina Rupčić, Rajko Radovanović, and Slavko Rolih, who come from the cabinet of politics, decided not to sign the extension of the contract for the collection of the RTV fee with Elektroprivreda BiH.

Šabić is convinced that they did this in agreement with the current structures in power in the Federation, and thus both public services suffered damage of 5.6 million KM in two months. He claims that BHRT's motive was not to collect more funds through a different distribution of collection, but to implement decisions of certain centers of power to put an end to FTV.

Šabić emphasized that FTV will persist in the ideals of free journalism without a subservient attitude towards any politics, whether in power or in opposition.

He believes that they should return to the Law on the Public RTV Service, which should establish a Corporation or reform it on some healthy foundations so that all three public services can join the currents of the free world.

“The current blockade of the legally based system of collecting the RTV fee aims to collapse the entire system of the Public RTV Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with old, recognizable intentions of placing it under the political and financial control of the SNSD and HDZ,” emphasized Adil Kulenović, president of the Association of Independent Intellectuals Krug 99.

It is necessary, as Kulenović added, evidently, to euthanize the most professional member of the Public RTV Service - Federal Television, in order to strengthen the old specters of ethnic division of the country and fully realize the concept of ethnic services as key levers for further destruction of the state and society.

“This is the path towards further fascization of the struggle of Bosnian-Herzegovinian society and the strengthening of conflict power structures aimed at destroying the state. Neither RTRS meets the minimum international or domestic standards and legal obligations, and after sponsoring and promoting Valentin Ćorić, especially not the ‘service in reserve’ - RTV Herceg-Bosne,” Kulenović stressed.

According to his words, it has become evident that the current position of the BHRT management has been instrumentalized to its own detriment and for the final destabilization and euthanasia of the Federal Television system, which in key segments of the program and editorial policies corresponds to the interests of citizens and the democratic public, Kulenović assessed.

The editor of the political magazine "Mreža" on FTV, Nevzeta Koljenović, emphasized that this media house has never and will never work in the interest of any political party, and perhaps because of such a way of working, they are a problem for many, but it will not stop them.

“We journalists can only defend our freedom and independence ourselves, and no one except journalists can give us that freedom and independence. The political magazine ‘Mreža’, as the most-watched show in the country, despite numerous political pressures, has never succumbed to them, so we will not succumb to these economic ones we are currently experiencing either,” added Koljenović.

The editor of the dialogue show "Answer the People" on FTV, Darjan Babić, said that the latest statement by one of the leaders of the "Trojka" that the managements of both public services should be replaced to follow their politics gave him even more enthusiasm to continue inviting people from the opposition and those who think critically to the show.

“We will not be microphone holders, we promise you that. As the editor of a dialogue show, when we work on political topics, I gather literally everyone - both the government and the opposition. But recently, as this started happening and after these statements, we definitely need to have even more opposition,” concluded Babić.