BOSNIA - SILAJDZIC SEEKS CONTROL OF FEDERATION TV

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 002568

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR(DICARLO),EUR/SCE(FOOKS/STINCHCOMB)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PHUM KPAO BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA - SILAJDZIC SEEKS CONTROL OF FEDERATION TV

REF: A. SARAJEVO 2406


B. SARAJEVO 2370

C. SARAJEVO 2253

D. SARAJEVO 131


1. (SBU) Summary: Political and media contacts allege that
Bosniak nationalist parties are conspiring to seek control
over the editorial policies of public television. An
upcoming vote in Parliament to replace the Bosniak board
member for Bosnia-Herzegovina Radio and Television (BHRT)
will provide the first opportunity for a Party for Democratic
Action (SDA) faction led by Bakir Izetbegovic and Party for
BiH (SBiH) to promote their candidate. A draft public
broadcasting reform law in the Federation Parliament may
provide an opportunity to punish Federation Television (FTV)
for reporting perceived to be critical to Bosniak national
interests. These events could lead to the stifling of news
reporting critical of Bosniak national parties and their
politics, provide a challenge to the freedom of the media and
expose a further weakening of SDA President Sulejman Tihic's
control of his party. End Summary.

Election for BHRT Bosniak Board Member
--------------


2. (SBU) The state Parliament will soon select a new
candidate for the Bosnia-Herzegovina Radio and Television
BHRT) managing board following the recent expiration of the
term of Bosniak member Plamenko Custovic. The election is
slated to be on the agenda of the next Parliamentary session,
which has not yet been scheduled. We were told by political
and media contacts that an SDA faction led by Bakir
Izetbegovic supports the candidacy of Sacir Filandra, head of
the Preporod Muslim Cultural Society. Filandra is a
self-described independent unaffiliated with any party.
Although Filandra is not known for his nationalist views we
are concerned that he has been identified by SBiH and the
Izetbegovic wing of SDA because of his susceptibility to
political pressure. SDA President Sulejman Tihic reportedly
supports a different candidate, Ahmed Zilic, who many media
professionals view as an independent and professional
alternative. BHT news programs have a reputation for
objective reporting and have not shied away from criticizing
Bosnian political leaders, including for their failure to
meet the requirements to initial a Stabilization and
Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU. We are told that
Izetbegovic has cut a deal with SBiH to support Filandra in
order to protect Bosniak national interests. The outgoing
Bosniak board member was reported to oppose political
interference in the content of state television reporting.
Several contacts expressed concern that a board member, loyal
to Izetbegovic and his SDA faction, would work with
nationalist Serb and Croat counterparts on the managing board
to stop reporting critical to political leaders.

Nationalist Challenge to FTV Leadership
--------------


3. (SBU) Several political and press sources have expressed
concern to us that the Bakir Izetbegovic's SDA faction also
agreed to work with SBiH to remove FTV senior leadership.
FTV is known for its objective broadcasts, including
investigative reports on corruption, war crimes, and
organized crime. FTV news broadcasts also regularly
challenge the nationalist rhetoric of Bosnian politicians
from all ethnic groups and address controversial issues, such
as the ineffective response of the Islamic Community to the
rise of Wahhabism in Bosnia. FTV's flagship news magazine 60
Minutes has been particularly critical of the entity and
state political leaders and ministers. FTV political
editor-in-chief Bakir Hadziomerovic (a Bosniak) has broadcast
sharp criticism of Silajdzic, and FTV recently aired a
detailed expose of alleged misuse of position by SBiH Foreign
Minister Sven Alkalaj. FTV also publicly questioned the
placement of several relatives of Izetbegovic and Federation
Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic in management positions at
BiH Telecom. Serb board member Nikola Deretic is also
exerting pressure on the board where he recently asked for
the replacement of Hadziomerovic.


4. (SBU) SBiH has made no secret of its hostility to FTV or
its editorial policies. SBiH Federation MPs used the
opportunity presented by a debate in the Federation

SARAJEVO 00002568 002 OF 002


Parliament on an audit of FTV to openly attack FTV officials.
Several SBiH MPs threatened to remove FTV officials,
including Hadziomerovic The attacks did not dissuade
Hadziomerovic from airing news segments critical of
nationalist Bosniak politics, both SBiH and SDA, however. He
recently broadcast footage documenting the exhumation of a
grave of Sarajevo Serbs killed by a Bosniak military unit in

1993. The footage was graphic and was an implicit challenge
to Bosniak claims that no Sarajevo Serbs were victimized
during the 1992-1995 wars. (Note: Three weeks ago during the
15th anniversary of SDA's creation of the 10th Mountain
Brigade, an SDA cantonal politician recommended paying
respects to the late Brigade commander Musan Topalovic a.k.a.
Caco, who was killed during the war. Hadziomerovic's
reporting reminded the public that Caco and his men were
responsible for a 1993 massacre of approximately 42
non-Bosniaks as well as of nine Bosniak, Serb, and Croat
soldiers and police sent to arrest Caco. End Note.) We were
told that Hadziomerovic was been put under police protection
following the broadcast.

Public Broadcasting Reform
--------------


5. (SBU) One of the conditions for Bosnia to initial a
Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU is
public broadcasting reform. A draft Federation Law on Public
Broadcasting has been held up in the Federation Parliament
over perceived threats to the national interests of Croats,
but we are told those concerns are being resolved. Once
adopted, the law would allow the Federation Parliament to
name a new FTV steering board, providing SBiH and its SDA
allies with an opening to replace the current FTV leadership
with more pliable steering board members and senior editorial
staff. (Note: The current steering board was installed by the
HighRep. End Note) It is not clear how soon the PBS law issue
will be resolved in the Federation, given the preoccupation
among political leaders with the crisis over the HighRep's
October 19 measures, but we are told that a vote could come
by the end of the year.

Comment
--------------


6. (SBU) If accurate, SDA and SBiH attempts to control public
broadcasting are reminiscent of their recent jockeying to
control two large and profitable public companies BiH Telecom
and Elektropriveda (Ref C). If Bakir Izetbegovic's SDA
faction succeeds with SBiH's help in gaining the election of
their preferred BHRT board candidate, it will be another blow
the authority of SDA President Tihic and his ability to
control the rank and file of his party. Perhaps more
disturbing is the alleged Bosniak nationalist effort to take
control of FTV. This combined with Dodik's successful
silencing of opposition in RS media and January boycott of
BHRT (Ref D) would deprive Bosnian citizens of objective
television news reporting. Several contacts from the Bosnian
media are concerned that these actions signal a return to the
immediate post-Dayton situation in which almost all entity
media outlets were under nationalist control. This would
solidify control by nationalist parties in their respective
entities and provide cover for the misuse of the
privatization process by corrupt politicians, not to mention
to reverse significant USG efforts to promote the freedom of
the media.
ENGLISH