OSCE-funded study shows Croatian TV free from outside control, weak on minority issues

ZAGREB, 16 April 2003 - An OSCE-funded study on the Croatian State broadcaster HRT published in Zagreb today indicates that the station has managed to free itself from outside control, but still does not pay enough attention to issues such as refugee return and minority rights.

The study, which was carried out by the non-governmental organization Media Council of the Croatian Helsinki Committee, confirmed that HTV had a very large influence over Croatian society, but that it had been depoliticized and covered the activities of political parties in a more balanced way.

At the same time, the report says that HTV paid insufficient attention to important post-war issues such as refugee return, treatment of minorities and human rights. Issues related to Croatia's European integration also received little coverage.

The study was commissioned in order to determine whether HTV truly served the public and met the needs of Croatian society in the post-war period.

"This study shows an improvement of HTV's broadcasting, but more could be done to turn it into a station that serves the interest of Croatian society as a whole", Ambassador Peter Semneby, Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, said at a press conference today. "We hope that the Media Council will be able to continue its valuable monitoring work, in particular considering that HTV still dominates Croatia's media space, with little competition."

The OSCE Mission is providing 40,000 euros to finance the project. One of the main goals of the project is to support the establishment of an institution in Croatia which can take over from the international community the monitoring of the country's electronic media. The development of free, independent and pluralistic media, and the reform of existing media legislation in line with European standards, are part of the OSCE's mandate in Croatia.