ZAGREB, Dec 22 (Hina) - The Croatian Television (HTV) favours the ruling party in the coverage of the electoral campaign, chief of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Croatia, Peter Palmer, said
in Zagreb on Wednesday. At a regular news conference Palmer said that frequent appearances by state officials connected with the ruling party had been noticeably frequent on HTV's news programmes since the beginning of the electoral campaign and the last week before its official start, "particularly as regards reports of relatively minor importance such as the openings of bridges, buildings, roads, etc.". "By airing such reports the HTV has in effect cooperated with the efforts of state and government officials to use their public appearances as campaigning for the ruling party," Palmer said. He added the HVT had increasingly and openly sought to tarnish opposition parties through highly t
ZAGREB, Dec 22 (Hina) - The Croatian Television (HTV) favours the
ruling party in the coverage of the electoral campaign, chief of the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission
to Croatia, Peter Palmer, said in Zagreb on Wednesday.
At a regular news conference Palmer said that frequent appearances
by state officials connected with the ruling party had been
noticeably frequent on HTV's news programmes since the beginning of
the electoral campaign and the last week before its official start,
"particularly as regards reports of relatively minor importance
such as the openings of bridges, buildings, roads, etc.".
"By airing such reports the HTV has in effect cooperated with the
efforts of state and government officials to use their public
appearances as campaigning for the ruling party," Palmer said.
He added the HVT had increasingly and openly sought to tarnish
opposition parties through highly tendentious reporting.
"Recent reports attacking foreign and domestic non-government
organisations for allegedly supporting the opposition appeared to
be a clear and deliberate attempt to tarnish opposition parties as
mere stooges of foreign interest," Palmer said.
Giving opportunities for parties to present their programmes on air
cannot be a substitute for fair and balanced reporting on news
programmes, he said.
Palmer also spoke about the need for voters registers to be accurate
and up to date, for minority members to be informed about their
voting possibilities and the complete elimination of the
possibility of multiple voting, as there "are concerns that some
voters may be able to vote abroad as well as in Croatia,"
particularly because voting abroad will take place for two
consecutive days.
Asked to comment on the information that an OSCE translator in
Korenica (central Croatia) had torn the ruling Croatian Democratic
Union's (HDZ) electoral posters, Palmer said the OSCE Mission was
investigating the case, but that the information at hand was that
the person in question had torn posters from his private property,
that is, from above his store.
The Croatian Government and the OSCE chairman office had negotiated
and the OSCE Permanent Mission in Vienna confirmed on December 9,
that the Mission's mandate in Croatia "has been frozen for another
three months. The intention of the issue of the mandate's extension
will be discussed between the chairman office, which from the New
Year, will be Austria, and the new (Croatian) Government," Palmer
said.
(hina) lml mm