Home Production of Public Immorality

They take a billion kuna a year and the financial report looks like in the age of communism. Unprofessional and without independent audit.

According to the Law on Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), the parliament supervises this only state-owned television company. The parliament refused last year’s report on the HRT’s work due to embezzlement and a politically coloured Croatian Television (HTV) that is a part of the HRT.

No change in HTV leadership 

In a normal democratic world, such a refusal would result in certain changes in the leadership of the public TV company. I stress the ‘public’ because it is financed by our citizens. What happened on HRT? Nothing! It is still shaken by embezzlements and politically, it is still in the function of left-wing opposition parties that skilfully manipulate the public by distorting the image of certain events.

And they are applying the old Bolshevik method so that only a small number of participants of a news know the truth about the event and the millions in the auditorium are fed a lie. They, thus, create not only the present, but also the past. I will mention only some examples of serving lies on public TV.

Lie, then promotion 

It the creation of a negative image of the right-centre government, means are not chosen. The central news anchor does not restrain from falsifying a court decision in the case of privatisation of the Suncani Hvar company, by reading only the first part of the sentence in which the court rescinds the blockade on the sale, withholding the other part that says that the case was to be returned to a court of first instance and the company remains burdened by court proceedings, therefore, with smaller chances of being sold on the market.

The result of the lies that caused harm to the state-owned company is that the anchor was promoted into editor after that! The other example of conscious harm-doing was the privatisation of an agricultural and food company, for which is was falsely said in the central news show that the tender had been cancelled without the government’s knowledge and ironically called on potential buyers to pounce upon the property of the negligent owner!

Politisation of the HTV and HTV’s scissors 

It is unknown who at the HTV was promoted after that lie. The politisation of the HT is seen every day in the distortion of facts. They also falsely showed the burial of the remains of Broz’s communist post-war victims near Macelj.

HTV’s scissors cut out government and parliament representatives and failed to mention them as the sponsors and co-financers of the project. After recreating the present, the “Dnevnik” central news anchor also recreated history by saying that victims of the JNA (Yugoslav People’s Army) were buried, although it had nothing to do with that, since the OZNA had killed thousands of civilians, as an organisation that was created especially to kill political adversaries.

Lying about results 

These and similar examples can be enumerated beyond sight. A typical example is the lying about the results of voting on HRT reports in parliament. Last year, when the parliamentary committee refused the reports, the result of voting was not even mentioned on HRT.

This year, when the parliament did not want to influence the started investigation into embezzlements on the HRT and only took notice of the reports, the HRT enumerated parties that voted for the acceptance of the grotesque report, although they were in the minority!

The political interests promoted by the HRT also became prominent in this year’s programme report.

Public – poor television 

As an example, it needs to be stated that in the programme for the whole year they had only three (3) Homeland War shows, situated in unattractive time slots            so that nobody would watch them. The public (better: poor) television is realising political goals of a tight leftist group for a high price that the subscribers (read: the people) pay.

They take from us a billion kuna a year and the financial report looks like in the era of communism. Irresponsible, unprofessional and without a law-binding independent audit! The parliament asked, but did not receive special contracts on the salaries of individuals, nor contracts on the purchase of productions without public tenders. This is how the citizens’ money is managed.

Without explanation of results 

The financial report indicates that 120 million kuna was spent over the planned amount, that expenditure was 412 percent greater and extraordinary expenditure 418 percent larger than planned, etc. The same expenditure in several tables differ by more than a million kuna and bank loans in the indicated year grew from 195 to 535 million kuna.

The results do not include justification of debts to suppliers, in the amount of 148 million kuna, nor advance payments of 2.7 million kuna, etc. Also stated were subsequently determined expenses for the previous accounting period in the amount of six million kuna and subsequently determined expenses for license productions in the amount of 3.5 million kuna, which changes the final account from the previous year from positive to negative balance!

Will this occur again next year? It is clear that this year’s financial result is the result of a positive business functioning falsified by not stating true expenses.

After all, this public TV company should promote national interests because, contrary to other private TV companies, we, Croatian citizens are paying for it.

Increased international production 

The national TV company has decreased national production by 20 percent and increased international production by the same amount. Therefore, in subscriptions, we pay more and more foreign authors. Luckily, at least commissions remain in Croatia.

We make this conclusion by the fact that all millions-worth foreign productions were bought at an unknown price without the process of public procurement. Now that this portal has publicised contracts and salary lists, we remain consoled that our billion paid for the TV programme at least partly ended up in domestic pockets. True, messily and without public control, so let justice organs continue the control.

Millions to domestic authors

Millions of kuna per hour are still paid to domestic authors as well. The filling of domestic pockets without the control of the public is the only expression of patriotism by the HRT.

Finally, this robbery of the people is supported by domestic leftist parties that have benefits from this. Material or political. What will happen after the parliament had not accepted the reports of the director and COuncilof the HRT this year?

The main creator is going abroad, to represent Croatia as a reward. We do not have to fear that we will lose this public production of public immorality, because his associates are bidding for his successor. The most expensive soap opera continues.

Yours,

Andrija Hebrang, Prof. D. Sc.