Umbrella Association condemns Konaković's statement on public broadcasters and the allocation of 10 million KM to BHRT and FTV

(Patria) - The Umbrella Association, which brings together 13 independent investigative media outlets, considers the decision of the BiH Council of Ministers to allocate 10 million KM of public funds to public services in BiH unjustified.

Public services should not receive millions of public funds as long as their reporting priority is the protection of political elites, not the public interest, the statement said.

The Umbrella Association supports the demands of the Independent Trade Union of BHRT Workers and their latest appeal to resolve the financial and other difficulties in the functioning of the state-level public media service. However, it considers the financing of programs with public money that will not have a critical stance towards politicians and the political appointment of staff in public services to be unacceptable.

The Umbrella Association demands that public services be depoliticized and professionalized, which should be a prerequisite for receiving funds. While independent media have faced economic and political pressure for years, the state allocates millions for media reporting that suits the financiers - namely, state institutions.

Therefore, the Umbrella Association justifiably poses the following questions:

1. Since when should public services behave in accordance with the policies of political parties or coalitions? This is a direct and unambiguous attack on media freedom and freedom of speech.

2. Why, despite the collection of fees for radio and television receivers, which go exclusively to public RTV services, are ten million marks allocated from the budget?

3. Why does BiH not have a fund to support investigative journalism?

4. On what criteria does the BiH Council of Ministers determine to whom and how much funds will be allocated from funds financed by all citizens of BiH?

"A public service is needed in every democratic country. However, public services do not exist for politicians, but for the public. Greater accountability of the management of these media to citizens would also contribute to more stable financing.
Furthermore, Umbrella expresses serious concern over the statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elmedin Konaković, and the leader of NIP, suggesting that a long-term solution for public broadcasters, FTV and BHRT, should be directed towards fulfilling the political demands of the Trojka. Such an approach directly jeopardizes media independence and freedom of speech, creating serious concern for democratic values," the Umbrella Association's statement reads.