The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, today met the chairman of the Founding Board of the new Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tadej Labernik.
The Board chairman informed the High Representative that the Founding Board was preparing the ground for the launch of a public radio-television service for BiH, in agreement with Entity public broadcasters, and to create the conditions for a Federation public network.
The High Representative expressed his appreciation for the Founding Board’s work thus far and emphasised his support for the prompt implementation of the public broadcasting decision delivered by his predecessor, Carlos Westendorp, on 30 July.
The establishment of a public radio-television service for all citizens, free of political control and financially transparent, represents a crucial element to establishing a stable democracy in BiH. Political manipulation of electronic media helped ignite the war and sustain it. Independent, pluralistic public broadcasting will help build the peace.