“Mr. Milorad Dodik’s threat to call on the public not to pay their RTV Tax is irresponsible, unprincipled and can only have a negative effect on the public broadcasting system as a whole,” said the High Representative’s Senior Deputy (SDHR), Ambassador Martin Ney today. The SHDR was reacting to statements made at a press conference yesterday at which Mr. Dodik stated that the SNSD, the party he leads, was considering a call to boycott payments of the RTV Tax.
“Such statements could easily be misconstrued as an attempt by a politician to exercise undue political influence over the editorial policy of the country’s public broadcasters; not just BHTV, but also RTRS and FTV, which are funded through the same RTV Tax system,” said Ambassador Ney .
An independent and professional public broadcaster is a key pillar of a democratic state and one of two remaining requirements for BiH’s completion of the European Commissions Feasibility Study; without this BiH can not move to the next stage of European integration. “I expect responsible European orientated politicians and parties to uphold the values and principles that form the very basis of the EU’s system of values and this means supporting the independence of the public broadcasting system,” added Ney .
Proposed ublic broadcasting Laws, currently before Parliament, generate greater decentralisation within this system which means better representation for all parts of BiH society. “If this country wants a strong and effective broadcasting system that can represent and reflect BiH’s multifaceted society then BiH’s politicians should expend more effort in seeing to it that the legal obligations are adhered to, especially when it comes to ensuring that the PBS System is properly financed through an efficient tax collection system as foreseen in the PBS Law,” concluded Ney today.