„The public needs to know that in January 2013, the Council of Ministers, upon a proposal of chairman Bevanda, without the involvment of ministry in charge and by outvoting of one of constitutive peoples, has been adopted a law which foresees an establishment of TV channel in Croatian language. However, more than a year has passed, but this law still hasn’t been put into parilamentary procedure”.
Saša Magazinović, MP in House of Representatives in Parliamentary Assembly of BiH
Comment:
The issue of a public TV channel in Croatian language has been reaffirmed by the HDZ BiH as the General Elections in BiH are approaching. This topic was discussed at the session of this party’s presidency on April 7th, with the conclusion that the law regulating an establishment of this channel should enter the parliamentary procedure, but also that there is a need to organize a round table on the topic, with the goal of “informing the public and HDZ BiH officials on all levels on the progress in this area and to discuss all legal options to solve the issue of forming a Croatian channel within the public broadcasting system.”
After this statement was made, Saša Magazinović, an MP in House of Representatives in Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, has reminded the public that proposal law which enables for the aforementioned channel to be established, has already been adopted in the Council of Ministers more than a year ago. Speciffically, Council of Ministers has agreed, with majority of votes, on Proposal Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Public Radio-TV Broadcasting System in BIH on its 34. session, held on January 11th 2013. This law was proposed by the chairman Vjekoslav Bevanda, who comes from HDZ BiH, and was adopted with support of ministers from HDZ, SNSD and SDS, while SDP’s and SBBBiH’s ministers have voted against it. This proposal has never reached the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, which makes this statement of Magazinović undoubtedly true.
One could, however, wonder on the reasons for HDZ’s drive to reexamine “the legal options for establishment of Croatian channel”, since the proposal law has been written for over a year now. “Legal options” to pass a law which has been agreed upon in the Council of Ministers are quite clear – the proposal law is subsequently sent to the Parliamentary Assembly, where both houses of parliamen vote on it. It remains unclear what are the exact “legal options” that HDZ feels the need to further explore, unless, of course, the statement has been made as a mere preelection gimmick in attempt to reopen one of the heated topics that this party has been exploiting in its preelection campaigns for years.
(Istinomjer.ba)