Private TV station BN accepted FTC’s offer to start the new season of its TV show “Puls”, which is presented by a journalist Suzana Radjen-Todorovic, and which is broadcasted on Thursdays at 9 p.m., with the actual topic of constitutional changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
TV presenter Radjen-Todorovic proposed that the TV show “What Kind of Constitution Do We Need?” should be announced in the BN Television news broadcasted every day at 7 p.m.
TV show is a live show, but the audience has an opportunity to send text messages comments in the first part of the show, while in the second part of the show they have the possibility to directly take part in the show by asking questions.

The guests of the TV show, the representatives of the opposition political parties, were Mr Jerko Lijanovic, the vice-president of the party Radom za boljitak; Mr Slobodan Nagradic, the vice-president of the Party of Democratic Prosperity (PDP); and Mr Nermin Nikšić, the general secretary of the Social-democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SDP BiH). Mr Vehid Sehic, the president of the Forum of Tuzla Citizens, was also the guest of the TV show as the representative of the civil society.
The TV presenter asked the guests if the Bosnian Constitution is really the obstacle for functioning of the state. Besides some contradictory opinions, the guests of the TV show agreed that the Constitution is not very precise, but that it basically is not the obstacle for the functioning of the state. The blockage is caused by the lack of the political will of the leaders of the ruling political parties, who, in the last year, (ab)used the topic of the constitutional changes in some way to create the political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to avoid dealing with the economic crisis and criminal and corruption that the state is falling into deeper and deeper. They also agreed that there will be no constitutional changes before the October general elections since they believe that the ruling parties will use the topic of the constitutional reforms for grouping of their voters, as it was done before. By saying this, the guests of the TV show, representatives of the opposition political parties showed that they have a bit more moderate attitudes and that they are aware of the fact that constitutional changes should be done in phases. This is exactly what FTC advocates and what Mr Sehic spoke about in the TV show. The guests of the TV show also agreed that, having in mind the decision of the Court in Strasbourg in the case of Finci and Sejdic vs. the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which orders the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement the changes of the legislation, including the Constitution, in the part that violates the rights of the national minorities, should implement that process in the timeframe set by the Court in order that the state keeps its credibility and to show that it respects the decision of the international judiciary institutions. They also believe that within these obligatory changes of the Constitution, the political parties should use that moment and change the Constitution also in the parts where the consensus of the political parties already exists.
The TV presenter asked if the Bosnian Constitution is really the obstacle in the process of the European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina. All the guests of the TV show agreed that it is basically not, but since there is no political will and having in mind the shortage of the constitutional authorities of the state in this process, it does slow it down. Therefore, the defined constitutional regulations about the authorities of the state should be the foundation for the political forces that truly advocate the process of the European integration. Based on these answers, the TV presenter asked what these new changes of the Constitution should contain? They pointed out that deepening of the political crisis in BiH caused by the constitutional changes is basically the consequence of the inability of the leading political parties to deal with the economy and find the solutions for recession and increasing the living standard of the citizens.
Speaking about the citizens, their rights and economic crisis, Mr Sehic emphasised that one should be aware of the fact that there is no state institution that could protect the rights and the interests of the citizens that are guaranteed by the ratified international documents and by the European Convention, which is the consisting part of the Bosnian legislation, since the Constitutional Court, as the highest judiciary institution, has to protect the Constitution. This should be the very important reason for changes of the Constitution if one wants to create the state with the European standards.
Mr Nagradic stressed out that discussions like this one are highly important since, although they as opposition are aware that position is the only one to blame for current situation in the country, it is very important that the representatives of the opposition political parties harmonise their attitudes so they can work better and faster if they win the elections.
If one compares the opinions of the guests, the representatives of the opposition parties, with the attitudes that the expert group and FTC advocate in their activities regarding the constitutional changes, that it could be said that the guests of the TV show basically supported all the attitudes that Mr Sehic, the president of FTC, presented about the possible constitutional changes in this moment (the changes of the discriminating articles of the Constitution; defining of Bosnia and Herzegovina as secular and social state; defining of the body that can dismiss the House of Representatives and enabling of the early elections).
The analysis of the TV show’s rating showed that the change in the project activities and realisation of the TV show in Bijeljina (instead of Sarajevo as it was planned in the project) was a good decision due to achieved results and the rating of the TV show itself. Namely, during 90 minutes of the TV show, the TV station registered about 350 text messages with the comments of the audience. According to the records of the area codes, it can be said that the TV show was watched not only in the neighbouring countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia), but also in many countries around the world (Germany, Austria, Swiss, the Netherlands, Finland, the United States of America).
The analysis of the text messages showed that mostly representatives of the constitutive ethnic groups texted. It is visible from their attitudes that they are still deeply ethnically divided. The same could be said about the attitudes of the viewers from the neighbouring countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The analysis of the reactions of the Bosnian citizens in the country on these text messages showed that the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are less ethnically divided than the Bosnian citizens that live abroad, which is very important information.
In the second part of the show, viewers had the possibility to get directly involved in the TV show and ask questions. The viewers from Prokuplje, Prnjavor, Tuzla, Petrovac, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, etc. asked the questions. But their questions and statements were mostly related to the economic situation in the country, crime and corruption, and deprivation of the illegally obtained property, which definitely shows the citizens’ distrust into the politicians. However, the upcoming elections will show if this distrust is true or not.
At the end of the show, the TV presenter asked for the opinion of the guests regarding the role of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. All the guests of the TV show expressed their support towards the international community and concluded that their role is still needed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, they also added that it is high time that the leading politicians and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina understand that the international community will not solve their problems and that that responsibility has to be taken over by the ruling parties in order to create conditions for withdrawing of the international community.

The general impression after the show is that activities like this one show that there are political forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina whose attitudes and opinions are not so contradictory and that the process of democratisation of our society, which goes a bit slower that in neighbouring countries, could be in progress and that the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina could recognise that at the upcoming elections.