HND WELCOMES GOVT ANNOUNCEMENT OF URGENT CHANGES ON HRT

ZAGREB, Mar 9 (Hina) - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Thursday welcomed the government's announcement that it would launch into making changes on Croatian Radio-Television (HRT) immediately. "Coverage of the protest against general Tihomir Blaskic's sentence in front of the United States Embassy and the Croatian Government (in Zagreb) show the time has come to liberate Croatia's citizens of the terror of false and tendentious reporting," HND's Executive Board said in a statement. Croatian Deputy Premier Zeljka Antunovic gave HND president Dragutin Lucic and vice president Drago Pilsel guarantees that the government would acknowledge a bill on HRT drafted by an HND expert team, the statement said. Antunovic yesterday said the government was starting urgent changes on Croatian Television (HTV) due to dissatisfaction with cases of non-balanced reporting. Premier Ivica Racan said the HRT issue would be settled at the next parliament session. "The HND welcomes the government's final initiative to take some steps in connection with irresponsible and unprofessional editors, for instance on HTV," said the HND statement signed by Pilsel, who is also the HND expert team's coordinator in charge of drafting a new HRT law. In the statement, the HND reiterates it is imperative that those who over the last decade falsely reported, spread words of hatred, national, religious and other intolerance, and were given responsible editorial functions as the ruling party's patrolmen cede their positions to proved professionals, namely those who have not degraded the profession nor the code of honour. (hina) ha jn