on the reasons why TV journalist Tihomir Ladisic was taken off the late night talk show "Otvoreno", which he edited and anchored.
Seven of the 11 Council members voted on two proposals, but neither received a majority vote.
The proposal to support News Programme editor in chief Vladimir Roncevic's report on why Ladisic was taken off the show received five votes for and two against.
The same happened to the proposal under which no significant violations of journalistic duties and principles were committed in the contentious episode of "Otvoreno", which dealt with Bosnian Croat Ivica Rajic's plea agreement with the Hague war crimes tribunal. This proposal also noted that the Programmes Council did not have the right to interfere in the HRT's personnel policy.
Roncevic claimed in his report that Ladisic anchored the Rajic episode in an entirely unprofessional manner because he made unfounded claims. He said Ladisic reiterated 12 times that Croatian and Serb troops shelled Sarajevo together in the 1990s, disregarding the fact that no one had confirmed this.
Ladisic told the Programmes Council he did not commit even the smallest professional error or omission, that he respected all journalistic standards and laws, and presented facts from reliable sources and official and reliable documents.
He said the documents on which he made his claims were confidential and he could therefore not reveal them, and added that he was not given the approval to lift the secrecy seal before the episode went on air.
Programmes Council member Danko Bljajic said Ladisic did not have to reveal how he obtained the documents. He added the reasons why Ladisic was fired from "Otvoreno" were inconsistent.
HRT director Mirko Galic said no political pressure was made on the HRT leadership and that Ladisic failed to convince him that he did his job professionally.