CROATIA MUST IMPLEMENT REFORMS TO RADIO AND TELEVISION - OSCE

VIENNA, March 24 (Hina) - Croatia should implement reforms to the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), the HRT Council, the director's office and the Telecommunications Office, and ownership relations as regards the media should be made transparent, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in its annual report on the freedom of media issued in Vienna on Wednesday. OSCE Commissioner for the freedom of the media, Freimut Duve, presented a booklet entitled Freedom of the Media - Annual Report 1998/99, including reports on media freedom in several OSCE member- countries, including Croatia. The eight-page section on Croatia mentions the return of 'banned reporters' and a decrease in the degree of 'hatred speeches' on the HRT, but also claims that transmissions by the reporters-returnees were being censored, while hatred-speeches have returned to the radio and television in the past several months. The document calls for the upcoming elections in Croatia to be observed independently and with balance, not repeating the 1997 model when the HRT had during the presidential election campaign given outstanding advantage to incumbent President Tudjman. Political censorship on the HRT carried out by its leaders is allegedly coming from highly ranked officials, and aggressive campaigns have not disappeared from television, the report said. The document also mentions the HRT's refusal to cover efforts aimed at the reconciliation of Croatian citizens, as well as a very controversial aspect -- activities in neighbouring Bosnia- Herrzegovina. Chances are slim that the fourth television programme will begin functioning within the next several years, and there are no guarantees that it will truly be an alternative in news and informative programmes, the OSCE stressed. The 'most normal' paper covering current news is "Jutarnji list", the report said. However, as many other independent newspapers, the paper has also met with numerous difficulties, the document stressed. The report also mentioned the problem of the "Tisak" distribution company which is in great debts. The future of Tisak is questionable, and since the banks which intend to take over the company are state-owned, it remains a potential for political manipulations. Tisak has denied any kind of political dimension to its not paying debts, but it is the small and independent publishers that are suffering the most, the document stressed. Court proceedings against reporters are another form of pressure against reporters and the media, the OSCE said. (hina) lml