ZAGREB, Jan 5 (Hina) - The Committee for Public and Integral Croatian Radio Television (HRT) will send the Government and the Parliament a petition requesting the postponement of a bill on HRT and the establishment of a new working
group to draw up a new bill, which should include two HRT representatives. The petition will be offered for signing to all HRT sections, after which it will be sent to the government and the Sabor. At a two-hour panel the Committee held today, the president of the Croatian Journalists' Association's HRT branch, Veljko Djuretic, said the bill was dangerous for HRT because it did not offer the basic financial preconditions for the establishment of an independent and public television. The authorities still want to control the public media, Djuretic said, adding that while proposing the bill, the awareness of a public television was overpowered by political interests and the interests
ZAGREB, Jan 5 (Hina) - The Committee for Public and Integral
Croatian Radio Television (HRT) will send the Government and the
Parliament a petition requesting the postponement of a bill on HRT
and the establishment of a new working group to draw up a new bill,
which should include two HRT representatives.
The petition will be offered for signing to all HRT sections, after
which it will be sent to the government and the Sabor.
At a two-hour panel the Committee held today, the president of the
Croatian Journalists' Association's HRT branch, Veljko Djuretic,
said the bill was dangerous for HRT because it did not offer the
basic financial preconditions for the establishment of an
independent and public television.
The authorities still want to control the public media, Djuretic
said, adding that while proposing the bill, the awareness of a
public television was overpowered by political interests and the
interests of business and communication groups.
The Committee demands that dialogue with journalists and the rights
of HRT employees be respected and that HRT's financial and
political independence be protected as they believe that by
transforming into a public institution, HRT would directly be
linked to a ministry. Financial independence is not possible as
long as HRT depends on political decisions, because television
subscription is still determined by the Sabor, Djuretic said.
The Committee also opposes political influence on HRT as a public
institution and influence on HRT programmes through a council which
would also include parliament representatives.
The Committee also opposes the cancellation of the third radio and
TV channels, the reduction of the number of regional channels and
the separation of the Transmitter and Communications section
without a previous analysis.
Croatian Radio Information Section deputy editor-in-chief Domagoj
Versic believes it is incomprehensible the government, which
proposed the bill, is offering something that cannot be fulfilled,
i.e. that three programmes be broadcast on two channels.
Attending the panel were HRT director Mirko Galic and editor-in-
chief Neda Ritz. Galic said the government had twice rejected HRT's
suggestions, which, among else, included a request that HRT be
organised as a company and that the composition and model of
appointment of members of the HRT Council be changed.
He added that the management had not made any investments into the
Transmitter and Communications sector in the past ten months and
would not until the question of separation was resolved.
Galic announced that the management would next Tuesday meet with
the Supervisory Board and on Wednesday with the HRT Council to
discuss the bill and define their stands, which, he added, they
would defend publicly.
(hina) rml