GALIC RESIGNS AS MEMBER OF CROATIAN TELEVISION BOARD

ZAGREB, Feb 10 (Hina) - Mirko Galic, a member of the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) Board in charge of television, on Wednesday offered his irrevocable resignation to HRT director-general Ivica Vrkic, to his membership in the HRT Board. Galic cited the disagreement in the programme and editorial policies, the HRT's uncertain financial situation and the general as well as political atmosphere around the HRT as the main reasons for his resignation. In his statement Galic pointed to the increasingly evident disagreement in the programme and editorial policy, which has intensified lately due to obvious bias in a part of the news programme, intervention in some TV features and particularly due to the replacement of the editor of the agricultural broadcast "Plodovi zemlje (Fruits of the Soil)", Ivo Loncar. "I cannot accept such acts and consider them as being contrary to the spirit of open and public television, but I could not prevent them," Galic wrote in the statement. The second reason for his resignation was the uncertain and unsettled financial situation of the HRT, especially following a decision to collect the Value Added Tax on television subscription fees. The third reason is the general and especially political atmosphere surrounding the Croatian Radio and Television which is, according to Galic, unfavourable for the free and creative work as well as for the standards of the public television and open, objective and impartial journalism. "I have not achieved what I intended and that's why I am resigning," he added. Galic is a journalist, a former Paris correspondent of the Croatian media and a member of the Forum 21 - a society of electronic media reporters within the Croatian Journalists' Association. (hina) jn ms