OSCE media freedom representative concludes official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina with safety of journalists and digitalization high on the agenda

SARAJEVO, 3 July 2015 – OSCE media freedom representative Dunja Mijatović, today  concluding her first official visit to the country, commended the initiative taken on 1 July by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to support free expression and the rights of journalists and to strengthen and monitor the safety of journalists.

“I welcome the decision by the BiH Council of Ministers to improve the legislative framework for freedom of expression and the fight against impunity of attacks against journalists,” Mijatović said. “It shows the political will to address the crucial issues related to media freedom in the country where since 2006 only fifteen percent of the cases have been resolved.

“It is not acceptable that attacks such as the attempted murder of Željko Kopanja 16 years ago remain unsolved,” she said.

Concluding her trip, Mijatović also called for an immediate start of the process to switch from analogue to digital broadcasting, the implementation of public service broadcasting legislation and preserving the independence and competencies of the Communications Regulatory Agency.

Mijatović emphasized the crucial importance of digitalization for the country, stressing that it is the only country in the South East Europe that has not started the process. She welcomed the commitment by Minister for Transport and Communications Slavko Matanović to unblock the process through a decision by the Council of Ministers. Mijatović also underlined the need for a fully functioning, independent and sustainable public service broadcasting system and regulatory authority.

“The delay in digitalization has already resulted in switching off the BHTV broadcast signal,” Mijatović said. “Further delay will create more problems for the whole broadcasting sector both in terms of media plurality and economic sustainability.

“Lack of implementation of the public service broadcasting legislation continues to damage the whole system and continuously erodes their financial and editorial independence. The authorities must ensure the radio and television tax is efficiently collected in order for the public service broadcasting system to be financially sustainable.”

In her meetings Mijatović also addressed the need to preserve freedom of expression on the Internet and expressed concern about the high number of civil defamation lawsuits, mainly brought by politicians against critical media.

“Politicians must have a higher tolerance for critical speech and should in general refrain from such actions,” Mijatović said. “In most of these cases there is not even an attempt to use the self-regulatory mechanisms to address such grievances.”

During her visit the Representative met with BiH Presidency Chairperson Mladen Ivanić and advisers to the other two members of the Presidency; the Speaker of the BiH House of Representatives Šefik Dzaferović and a group of parliamentarians; Chairperson of the Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdić; Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak; Minister for Human Rights and Refugees Semiha Borovac and Minister of Transport and Communications Slavko Matanović.

She also met with Members of the Federation BiH Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister of Republika Srpska (RS) Anton Kasipović, and Ministers of Interior Aljoša Čampara and Dragan Lukač, as well as RS Minister of Transport and Communications Neđo Trninić. She also met with the management and the board of the Communications Regulatory Agency, the management of the three public service broadcasters and journalists and civil society representatives from across the country, as well as several ambassadors of OSCE participating States to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the international community.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom