Maroević: The situation in BiH is constantly deteriorating

The CRA, which was once a model for regulatory institutions in the region and Europe, is now under political leadership and is making decisions that have more to do with politics than with regulation of this key sector. The best example of this type of action is the recently imposed disproportionately high sentence against Senad Hadžifejzović.

Frane Maroević has an extremely rich experience of living and working in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the surrounding region. He was an official in the International Community in our country, he also worked as a spokesman for the Office of the High Representative as well as the EU Delegation in Bosnia, and he was also the head of the OSCE and a representative of that multinational organization for media freedom.

He is now the director of the International Press Institute (IPI). IPI is the oldest international organization advocating free media.

How do you see the state of media freedom in Bosnia and Herzegovina? What are the biggest problems you have noticed?

- In the last few years, the situation has been getting worse. Laws are being changed to prevent media freedom and freedom of access to information. Threats and attacks on journalists are becoming more frequent, leading politicians like Milorad Dodik to regularly threaten and insult critical journalists, especially women. The economic situation in the media is becoming increasingly difficult to manage, institutions such as the Communications Regulatory Agency are under political influence, the public broadcasting system is collapsing because there is no progress in its establishment.

The latest negative move is the amendment of the Criminal Code in Republika Srpska, where defamation is reinstated as a criminal offense. Bosnia and Herzegovina decriminalized defamation 20 years ago and was the first country in the region to do so. So this is a retrogressive move that opens various possibilities of pressuring journalists. In general, the criminalization of defamation is contrary to international norms for freedom of speech, and this is the position of all organizations working on human rights. I recently had the opportunity to meet with journalists, lawyers and activists from Republika Srpska in Vienna. They confirmed to me the negative elements of this law.

Although the Law does not call for imprisonment, the fines are relatively high and of course, if you are unable to pay, a prison sentence is possible for failure to pay the fines. The definition of defamation is subject to wide interpretation and leaves the possibility of political influence and pressure. Also, this Law can theoretically be applied to the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond its borders, because everything that is published on the internet is of course also accessible in the Republika Srpska. I don't see any other reason for this law other than pressure that can be exuded on the media and journalists. We already have plenty of examples where politicians and public officials throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina use civil law and lawsuits to intimidate journalists, so the criminal law in Republika Srpska gives them one more and very powerful tool for pressure.

I also took notice of the difficulty of free access to public information. Bosnia and Herzegovina used to be at the very top in this sector, and today the laws on free access to information, which are intended to provide information to citizens and journalists, are less and less applied. Institutions often ignore requests and do not respond to inquiries and protect private instead of public interests.

The Communications Regulatory Agency, which was once a model for regulatory institutions in the region and Europe, is now under political leadership and is making decisions that have more to do with politics than with regulation of this key sector. The best example of this type of action is the recently imposed disproportionately high sentence against Senad Hadžifejzović.

Physical, verbal and online attacks and threats by politicians such as Milorad Dodik, who again these days publicly threatened and called for violence against journalists from Buka, BN TV, Capital and N1 television, are becoming more and more common. His goal is to create a hostile environment for critical journalists, which also leads to security threats. There are calls for lynching which are leading to citizens threatening journalists themselves, attacking them or their property, and in this way a very negative atmosphere is created for media freedom and freedom of speech.

The economic situation for the media is getting worse, which is unfortunately also a global trend. However, in Bosnia and Herzegovina the advertising sector is politicized and it is clear that in many cases, politically eligible media receive large marketing budgets of public companies. The media, which suffered huge financial losses due to the COVID pandemic, have become increasingly dependent on public funds that are under political control.

I would also like to point out the currently catastrophic situation in the public media. The situation is worse than in 2010, when I left Bosnia and Herzegovina for Vienna. BHRT is constantly threatened with collapse due to non-compliance with the law from 2003. The boards of directors of all three broadcasters are increasingly prone to political influences, and RTRS has long been clearly inclined towards political leadership.

All this is happening in a situation where accurate and objective information is needed more than ever.

According to your recommendation, what should be done to eliminate it?

- First, I think that much more solidarity is needed from everyone, especially among journalists themselves, when it comes to attacks on freedom, threats and political attacks. Citizens and journalists must be aware that by remaining silent they approve of such attacks and that at any moment they too can become targets of such attacks. Freedoms and human rights are gradually abolished and the space for freedom of speech narrows, and the system of oppression is tested and perfected on the weakest categories. I often think about the poem which was written by a German priest after the Second World War where he says that when they came for trade unionists, communists, Jews... he did not react because he thought it was none of his business, but when they came for him too, there was no one left who could react. The message is that any attack on someone's human rights is something that concerns us all.

Is the deteriorating rule of law the real source of worsening media freedom?

- It is difficult to say whether the poor state of the rule of law is the cause or consequence of the deterioration of media freedom. However, the media play a key role in controlling the public sector and the rule of law, so jeopardizing media freedom can only further threaten the rule of law.

Is the media itself to blame for the worsening state of media freedom and to what extent?

- The right address for this situation is politics.

Is it possible for Bosnia and Herzegovina (with the state and non-governmental sector) to deal with the challenges of media freedom on its own? Or is the help of the International Community needed?

- No country can deal with all these problems alone, so everyone needs the help of international institutions and other countries. However, the time has long passed when the International Community had both the interest and the power to lead the resolution of these and other problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In conclusion, all sectors of Bosnia and Herzegovina must deal with these challenges with the help of the International Community.

The article was realized as part of the Transition program of the Government of the Czech Republic and with the financial assistance of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina (@CzechiainBiH). The content reflects the views of the interlocutors who are the choice of the editorial staff of Politicki.ba and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Czech government.