FORUM 21, HRT REPORTERS SAY SABOR OBSTRUCTING HRT'S WORK

ZAGREB, Sept 12 (Hina) - The Forum 21 association of the electronic media and Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) reporters have stated that the parliament's failure to appoint the HRT Council obstructs the implementation of the Law on the HRT, preventing the transformation of the HRT into a public institution and its work, and even bringing into question the upcoming parliamentary elections. #L# The heads of Forum 21 and the Croatian Television (HTV) branch of the Croatian Journalists Association, Luka Mitrovic and Velimir Djuretic, recall in a statement issued on Friday that the HRT Council is legally bound to appoint the HRT's general director, as well as the heads of other business units, editors-in-chief of news departments and programme directors of Croatian Radio and HTV, as well as approve and monitor HRT programmes. As the Council has not been appointed, the HRT is operating illegally, they say. The fact that all current management and editorial posts are temporary has resulted in a drop in professional standards, privatisation of news programmes, and the inability to establish programme responsibility, the two officials say. This puts the HRT in a position where it cannot cope with the challenges of the future, including welcome competition ahead of the granting of the licence for a third national TV network, they say. The two officials also claim that the parliament has brought into question the lawfulness of the upcoming parliamentary elections, as the HRT Council must follow precisely defined legal obligations in its coverage of the election campaign and observe strict media rules which Croatia accepted when it applied for membership in the European Union. (hina) rml