Democracy NGO Gong joined the chorus of reactions to Monday's announcement by A1 cable television operator that starting on March 29 channels produced by United Media - N1 television and Sport Klub - would be dropped.

The following is Gong’s press release in full.

“On the eve of the local elections, citizens will not be able to watch N1 via the A1 platform. N1 Croatia is a partner of the global television news channel CNN, it offers real-time reporting covering all the important events, and their cameras are always where something important is happening. They have been recognized by the Croatian public for their political programming in which they question current events, talk with relevant guests, offer analyses of societal and politic al issues, and deliver timely and accurate information.

Since N1 has de facto taken over the role of (state television) HRT’s public service in terms of news programming, and the election campaign (for the local elections in May) has already begun, the ‘shutting down’ of N1 on one provider’s platform represents a form of pressure and silencing of the media that ask questions, analyses, and works in the public interest.

There is reason to suspect that something similar could happen with other television operators, in order to silence the critical voices of journalists. According to the European Commission’s 2020 report on the rule of law, Croatia still has more work to do to ensure media freedom and independent journalism. Attacks, threats, and lawsuits against journalists are extremely concerning, but these are not the only pressures on the freedom and independence of the media.

Only yesterday did doc. dr. sc. Dario Cepo warn at a press conference given to present the paper titled Institutional Sources of Corruption in Croatia: Insights of Experts:

‘Examples from Poland or Hungary testify to the subtle pressures on the media, by taking over private-owned media outlets, appointing editors, etc. An even better example is Serbia, where cable providers refuse to carry channels which are critical of the government. For instance, most Serbians subscribe to cable provider XY, which refuses to broadcast N1 television. We now to detect these situations now, in order to prevent them from happening, and to prevent political actors, who know very well where the weak points of the system are, from exploiting them.’

Without freedom of the media, there is no democracy.”

(Operating in Croatia as part of United Group are the telecom operator Telemach Hrvatska, as well as television channels and websites Sport Klub and N1, Nova TV, Doma TV, and Dnevnik.hr.)