Bosnia and Herzegovina under the watchful eye of the Russian television station RT, while Brussels warns about compliance with sanctions
Bosnia and Herzegovina must refrain from deepening ties with Russia, and make additional efforts to close the space for external influence and manipulation of information - say the European Union, in response to announcements that the RT television channel, under Russian state control, could start with broadcasting in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The broadcast of the channel in the Serbian language in the Republic of Srpska was announced on December 15 on Russian state television by Margarita Simonyan, editor of RT (formerly Russia Today).
The RT channel has been under European Union sanctions since March 2022, when the Russian media agency "Sputnik" was also sanctioned.
These sanctions include all means of transmission and distribution (including cable, satellite and IPTV programming, as well as websites and applications), and all relevant licenses are suspended.
At the time, it was announced that these media are instruments in encouraging and supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine, which, as they state, "represents a significant and direct threat to public order and security of the EU."
This channel is still available in BiH, through certain cable operators.
In a written response to Radio Free Europe (RSE), the spokesperson of the European Union, Peter Stano, points out that Bosnia and Herzegovina "has fully complied with the EU's foreign policy, including decisions on restrictive measures", and that these measures must be applied throughout the country. including the Republika Srpska entity".
"The EU calls on all relevant political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the state and entity level, to ensure the full implementation of restrictive measures, including those concerning Russia and Belarus," Stano pointed out.
According to Stano, sanctions were imposed on the Russian media for violating the Charter of the United Nations and international law, and that "RT is part of the Russian instruments of propaganda and disinformation, which follow the Kremlin's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine."
He concludes by reminding that in the latest report of the European Commission on BiH's progress on the European path, it was emphasized that BiH must close the space for external influence, and that "allowing a sanctioned propaganda tool to operate on its territory directly opposes this and must be reversed".
Bosnia and Herzegovina officially joined the EU sanctions against Russia, but due to the opposition of members of the Council of Ministers from Republika Srpska, the sanctions were not fully implemented.
Two state ministers from Republika Srpska, one of the two entities in BiH, are members of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, the party of the pro-Russian president of the entity, Milorad Dodik.
Putin's comment - introduction to the announcement of the channel
The editor of RT announced the opening of the channel a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin, answering a question from RS journalist Darinka Petrović, said that it was "a shame" that Russian media does not exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"We need to think about this, I will ask my colleague, Oleg Borisovich, to see what he can do about this," Putin said in his regular annual address to journalists.
Oleg Borisovich Dobrodeyev is the director of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), the largest Russian media company, which is in the hands of the Russian government and which includes a large number of television and radio channels.
During the show on "Russia 1", a channel owned by VGTRK, Simonjan stated that the new TV station will be broadcast on the entire territory of BiH, and that Russian documentaries are already being broadcast in the RS.
In response to RSE's inquiry about the establishment of a channel in Republika Srpska, RT's press service sent an answer that they say comes from Margarita Simonjan.
"We will be happy to answer your questions when you switch from the side of Evil to the side of Good. We do not respond to inquiries from RFE/RL, because it is not a journalistic organization but a branch of the CIA," the answer states.
What do they say in Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions?
The Communications Regulatory Agency (RAK) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, responsible for issuing licenses for broadcasting TV channels, told RSE that they had not been contacted about this channel and that "no request for a license has been submitted to the Agency".
RAK is headed by Draško Milinović, former general director of the Radio Television of Republika Srpska and former advisor to the President and Prime Minister of the RS.
The Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Edin Forto, responded to RSE's inquiry that the ministry "does not have the authority to decide on the entry of anyone into the media market", but he points out that they believe that "in this and other issues, we should have a harmonized policy with the European Union".
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, told RFE/RL that as far as he knows, his ministry has no formal authority over that process, and that he is not aware of the final institution that allows it.
He points out that the founders of that channel, if they want to enter BiH. market, have to follow all legal procedures.
"I am, of course, not happy that a Russian channel is coming, but I don't see that I have any option either to ban it or, if the law allows, to make it problematic at all," Konaković said.
According to the Law on Foreign Investments of the Republika Srpska, media businesses are one of the sectors subject to restrictions in case of foreign capital investment.
In order to obtain a permit for investments in this area, foreign investors must contact the Government of the RS, specifically the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
This Ministry did not respond to RSE's inquiry about whether someone approached them with that reason, nor whether they have a concrete plan in such situations.
RT Balkan - also under sanctions
RT was founded in 2005 by the Autonomous non-profit organization "TV Novosti", and its founder is the Russian state media agency "RIA Novosti".
In 2008, the Russian government, led by the then prime minister, Vladimir Putin, placed the organization "TV Novosti" on the list of organizations of strategic importance.
Since June 2023, RT Balkan, a portal in the Serbian language, which started operating in November 2022, is also under European sanctions.
As stated in the imprint of this portal, its founder is also the organization "TV Novosti".
Serbia has often been the target of criticism from the EU, because it did not shut down the RT and Sputnik programs, which are considered the Kremlin's strongest propaganda weapons, as well as because of the opening of the RT Balkan portal.
On RT Balkan, in addition to disinformation about the Russian invasion, content denying the genocide in Srebrenica and other crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina that were established by court verdicts is not rare.
Why have many EU countries banned RT?
A researcher at the Dutch Clingdeal Institute, Wouter Zwers, who dealt with Russia's influence on Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for RSE, assesses that Russia wants to expand the channels of influence on the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"RT has a bad reputation for broadcasting Russian propaganda and disinformation, so it will not bring balanced and unbiased reporting to the country," Zvers believes.
He adds that many European countries have banned access to RT via the Internet, and that they had reasons for doing so. He points out that there should be a political discussion in the country on the topic - whether to allow such propaganda channels to enter the country.
"The EU has become much stricter with regard to geopolitical alignment in the context of its enlargement, and this should be significant for Bosnia and Herzegovina, a candidate for EU membership, which wants to open accession negotiations," the Dutch researcher emphasized.
According to him, the Russian influence in BiH is visible, among other things, in the close ties of the president of the RS, Milorad Dodik, with the Kremlin.
"But Russian influence is much wider and visible through proxy groups, disinformation, energy and other economic ties. Russian media such as Sputnik and RT are influential in the information sphere in the country, and if RT becomes more active in Bosnia and Herzegovina - it will certainly have negative consequences," concluded Zvers.
Kontić: RT in BiH will not help better information
Media expert and director of the Sarajevo "Mediacenter", Boro Kontić, tells RSE that "everything is clear" if a media outlet is opened "because the president of a country more or less ordered it to be done".
He reminds that "for a long time, the media serve less and less to inform, and more and more to confirm what the audience thinks".
For him, the appearance of RT in BiH will not "help better information", and he states that it will leave the public in a divided world characterized by propaganda.
"It is clear that these are products that are used to transmit propaganda from one center, that is, to present positions that cover one side, from which you will not learn anything new, except that you will only get the attitude of certain people, 'well, I knew that too, these they just confirmed to me,'' said Kontić.
However, he assesses that RT will not be opened in BiH if the regulatory rules are respected.
'The Russian narrative is founded in RS and Serbia'
The editor of the Banja Luka portal "Buka", Aleksandar Trifunović, told RSE that if this TV channel were to be opened, it would be a "logical move by Russia", given that Russia is very popular both in the RS and in neighboring Serbia.
"Russia certainly wants to determine the media material in some way, and to directly communicate to people in our language, or in our languages, what is actually happening there, as a classic propaganda channel," Trifunović believes.
He assesses that the authorities in the RS "can't wait for something like that to open", and that he does not believe that there will be a possible ban on the opening of RT.
He adds that he represents media pluralism, and that he does not want to comment "in the direction that something should be banned, when we might be banned from working in the future", because that could be counterproductive.
"Nothing that this media will overly change, the Russian narrative and Russian versions of the war in Ukraine, of relations with the world, are so established in Republika Srpska and Serbia, that one media will not break them, on the contrary, it will only strengthen those attitudes." pointed out Trifunović.
The editor of "Buka" points out that he does not see the purpose of opening such a media, other than "marking the territory", and that Russia has only political, not financial, interests in Bosnia and Herzegovina.