Anger in Bosnia as proposed changes to national broadcaster are dropped

Bosnia’s House of Representative have scrapped a proposal to change the financing of the country’s state broadcaster, Radio Television Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT), a reform seen by many as essential for the survival of the network.

The decision, which was passed on Tuesday, caused particular anger among the personnel at BHRT.

“We are really surprised by this decision and by the attitude that our politicians have shown towards the public television service,” said Damir Smital, president of the Independent Union of BHRT, in an statement to the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, adding that if finance reforms are not made, BHRT will not be economically sustainable.

The reform package included changes to TV tax, and rebalancing the share of revenues from advertising and taxes that would be distributed among the state television and the broadcasters of Bosnia’s two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. The proposal failed to pass as it did not obtain the necessary votes from delegates from the Republika Srpska, Bosnia’s Serb dominated entity.

Source: Balkan Insight