SDA: There is no justification for shutting down FTV, it is obvious that the Trojka is behind BHRT's actions

(Patria) - The shutdown of Federal Television (FTV) is an inadmissible attack on a part of the public media service of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the SDA announced today.

As they point out, television programs were not shut down even during wartime, nor during previous financial crises.

"There is no justification for such an action now either. The BHRT management, by refusing to sign an agreement that had been in effect for six full years, prevented the collection of subscription fees, thereby causing millions in damages to both BHRT and FTV, and after leaving both broadcasters without funds, decided to shut down FTV due to debt. The mutual claims and relations between BHRT and FTV, as well as the method of distributing subscription fees, must be resolved within legal frameworks and with the support of competent state and federal institutions, not through unilateral decisions to suspend programs - the SDA emphasizes.

The public media system, they point out, belongs to the citizens who finance it.

"No individual, not even the BHRT management, has the right to shut down any part of the system with their decisions and deprive citizens of their legal right to information through public media services. Given the far-reaching and very harmful consequences, we call on the competent judicial institutions to determine the potential existence of criminal responsibility. Taking into account the actions and statements of the leaders of the 'Trojka', it is obvious that this party group is behind the actions of the BHRT management, with the intention of politically controlling the media service - the SDA stated and added:

"The responsible state minister Edin Forto has been loudly announcing 'a solution for a sustainable public service' in public in recent months. Forto's 'solution' has led to the shutdown of FTV's program. This is obviously just a prelude to the 'Trojka's' next steps, which were announced in his statement by the president of NiP (Elmedin Konaković), who claimed that 'a long-term solution will happen when people who will act as the 'Trojka' policies demand will sit in the managements of FTV and BHRT'."