Sarajevo, 1 December 2025 – The BH Journalists Association has addressed the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, requesting his urgent reaction to the dramatic situation at the Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) and the political barriers preventing the funding of this public broadcaster.
“We kindly but firmly appeal to you to react urgently and call on the Presidency of BiH, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, and the Council of Ministers of BiH to ensure the financial stability of BHRT and enable its unhindered functioning, and to take a clear stance that political obstruction of BHRT’s financing is unacceptable and contrary to the principles of public broadcasting in democratic societies”, BH Journalists state in their letter to the High Representative.
They explained that the state public broadcaster of Bosnia and Herzegovina is languishing in a state of complete financial collapse, with a real threat of shutting down operations and more than 700 employees losing their jobs. Such a situation is the result of prolonged political blockades and the failure to implement existing legal obligations, including the lawful distribution of RTV tax revenue. It is unacceptable that the survival of the state public broadcaster depends on political calculations and narrow party interests, while citizens are deprived of their basic right to timely, accurate, and impartial information, BH Journalists emphasized in the letter to Christian Schmidt.
“We remind you that BHRT is an institution of state importance whose survival directly affects political stability, the protection of the public interest, and the functioning of democratic processes in the country. Institutional blockade of BHRT represents an alarming pressure on media freedom and threatens to dismantle the entire public information system in BiH. In accordance with Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the mandate of the OHR to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the peace agreement and to ensure the stability, functionality, and integrity of state institutions, we consider this an urgent case requiring your intervention. If domestic institutions continue to ignore their legal obligations, we appeal to you to use your authority to enable a temporary or permanent financing mechanism for BHRT and thereby support the establishment of a long-term sustainable, depoliticized, and stable model of public broadcasting in line with European standards and recommendations of international organizations”, the letter states.
The request of the BH Journalists Association is based not only on the powers granted under Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement but also on Schmidt’s decision from July 2025 to settle a debt of 120 million KM owed to the private company Viaduct from the state budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina — even though the public was never transparently informed about how such a large debt arose or who in Republika Srpska was directly responsible for it.
BH Journalists also remind Schmidt of his 2024 decision requiring the state and legislative institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina to assume the obligations of the founders and “owners” of seven cultural institutions, including the state’s responsibility for their stable financing and sustainability.
“Our request for a special decision regarding the survival of BHRT is also based on the fact that it was the Office of the High Representative that created the first Law on the Public RTV System of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, among other things, defined the models for collecting and distributing RTV tax revenue between the three public broadcasters: BHRT, RTVFBiH, and RTRS. For years, we have witnessed your office silently observing, without any relevant or legitimate reaction or institutional interest, the violation of the Law on the Public RTV System, even though your mandate includes the authority of an international representative — that is, an ‘intervener’ in situations where the civilian aspects of the peace agreement are not being implemented effectively”, the letter emphasizes.
BH Journalists once again stress that the urgent intervention of the High Representative is necessary to prevent the shutdown of BHRT, as well as the degradation of the tripartite public information system, which is a key source of information for the majority of citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The shutdown of BHRT would represent an irreparable collapse of media freedoms throughout the country, which is why responsible and transparent action by institutions and international actors such as the OHR is of vital importance, the Association concluded.
