CROATIAN RADIO'S CHANNEL THREE IS CULTURAL GOOD -- EDITORIAL OFFICE

ZAGREB, June 5 (Hina) - Editor-in-chief of Croatian radio's Channel Three, Stjepan Cuic, warned Monday the Government's bill on Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) could be understood as an annulment of the Channel Three (HR 3) which broadcasts programmes on culture and science. The Government forwarded the bill into Parliamentary procedure last week. The bill motions that the (HRT) would broadcast on two television and two radio channels, and the third channel would be offered for concession. The HRT bill could be understood as an intention of privatising HR 3, which would mean that the area of systematic presentation of cultural and scientific programmes and the creative research of the radio medium was fading from the corps of public radio at the state level. The HR 3 editorial office warned that the HR 3 was a cultural good with almost 40 years of work, established and developed on the best traditions of European radio practice. "The HR 3 has for decades been consolidating the basic human rights -- the right to culture and science, in line with the European convention on the issue, so-called Rome Convention, and it is difficult to fathom a possibility of bringing the task and practice into question," Cuic said in a statement. (hina) lml jn