SARAJEVO, MAY 8 (ONASA) – General Director of Radiotelevision of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belmin Karamehmedović, in a guest appearance on Jutra za svi, explained why there was a temporary denial of services to Federal Television, reiterated the situation BHRT is in due to both entity public services that they illegally appropriate for themselves part of the money from tax collection that belongs to BHRT.
He said that there is an option and that BHRT has to reduce its program and maybe stop broadcasting.
“For years, we have been hostage to the complete broadcasting system in BiH. The law that provides for the establishment of a corporation, due to the political will in the RS and decisions of a political nature, was never implemented. Then BHRT was given the task of temporarily providing the services that the corporation was supposed to provide to FTV since 2005. We have been doing it all this year, according to the humanitarian price list, but we have been doing it all this year, until today,” said Karamehmedović, explaining the situation in which BHRT found itself, and continued:
“We no longer had any choice, we were brought to the wall. BHRT employees were brought to the brink of ruin. We have not received stamps from FTV for the last five months, even according to that humanitarian price list.”
It is true, he said, that FTV has paid for services until now, but it is not true that they have paid for everything.
BHRT is forced to prove in court that they are staying in BHRT’s premises, without having paid for it.
Also, none of the viewers know that every day BHRT has warnings from our creditors.
“They are not interested in the fact that we did not charge FTV for our services. Nobody gives any pardon, and we are expected to fulfill our obligations. In five months, FTV’s debt to us has grown to one and a half million marks. And for all these five months, FTV settled its obligations towards its employees, and at this moment we owe ours two hot meals, and God knows when we will be paid,” explains Karamehmedović.
This whole crisis story started with RTRS exiting the system in 2017.
They started charging on the territory of the RS and kept the money for themselves, and now they owe BHRT over 80 million marks.
“To this day, we are in the courts related to this, we have been working all this time with this lack of money. We have also done what we could according to the RTRS, although they are a separate system, we have sued every brand and these court processes are ongoing. It was not a problem to provide services to FTV all these years, our employees even complained about it, but we can no longer work without charging for our services,” says Karamehmedović.
He noted that there was even a time when BHRT did not have money for health insurance, so the inmates could not be treated.
“No one asks how BHRT works. We have reached the wall and we still can’t do it anymore. Despite the lack of money, we are working at full capacity, yesterday we did a perfect broadcast of the opening of the Arnaudi mosque, in our program this lack of money is not felt because people work without words. We have been underestimated for years, no one has any understanding for us all this time,” Karamehmedović pointed out and stated that FTV has received a warning four times so far, since they are fulfilling their obligations to the workers even this past five-month period.
Karamehmedović clarified that for six years FTV has been illegally keeping money belonging to RTRS in its account and will not agree to any other agreement except that illegal way, i.e. the way to be in the surplus for 25 percent of collected funds that do not belong to them.
“In the previous six years, on the basis of the old contract, FTV did not transfer five percent of funds to RTRS and in that way illegally withheld funds, both public services (RTRS and FTV) are in the surplus for the amount they do not transfer to BHRT, while BHRT When the authorities proposed that the amount of 25 percent from the FBiH territory should go to BHRT, that the debt of RTRS should be partially compensated, FTV did not even want to hear it, but wanted to continue to illegally appropriate that part of the money “Plus, we have never seen the money from tax collections, not even stamps, even though 50 percent of the collected money belongs to us,” Karamehmedović points out.
It was even suggested that the 25 percent belonging to RTRS be divided, however, FTV did not want to accept that either.
“I cannot put my signature on something that is in some way a criminal offense. They offered some imaginary increase in services, however, they do not pay for these services even according to this humanitarian price list. FTV is being set up by blackmail. They did not even agree to the proposal that the EP transfer from calculates everyone’s share, and that the disputed 25 percent remains in the EP account until an agreement is reached – and FTV refused on the previous agreement”, stated Karamehmedović and emphasized:
“We can no longer work for nothing, it is very possible that we will be forced to deny our program, and maybe even suspend it, said Karamehmedović. (end)