Government: Ministers Concur That Changes in RTVS Necessary

Bratislava, March 13 (TASR) - Public-broadcaster Radio and Television Slovakia (RTVS) is in a state that behooves urgent changes, government ministers concurred before a session of the Cabinet on Wednesday. Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) stated that there's consensus within the coalition on the need for changes regarding RTVS. Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) joined the coalition's criticism of the content of RTVS programming. "RTVS has failed to carry out its public mission," he said. "For years, RTVS has been nothing but a caricature of objectivity and well-balanced journalism," added Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee). He opined that the current news reports are influenced by political ties to the current opposition. "A narrow clique of people who have ended up on Progressive Slovakia's slates have turned RTVS in a party medium. This has nothing to do with plurality. The stance of the government is clear: Slovak television and radio must belong to all people," he underlined. The bill has received scathing criticism from the opposition, which has called the planned new structuring of RTVS bodies, subordinated to the influence of the Culture Ministry and parliamentary majority, an attempt to do away with RTVS's public character and transform the broadcaster into a propaganda mouthpiece of the incumbent government. mf/df