Today, the Government of Kosovo announced that it will offer shelter to five journalists fleeing persecution in Afghanistan. The journalists will receive housing, a monthly stipend, health insurance and a return ticket, for when circumstances on the ground allow them to go back home.

The project will be integrated into ECPMF’s Journalist-in-Residence programme in Kosovo, in collaboration with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). The organisations are teaming up with the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) as implementing partner.

Following the announcement, ECPMF’s senior legal advisor Flutura Kusari said: “We welcome this decision by the Government of Kosovo, who are again offering their support to journalists who are persecuted merely for doing their jobs. From our existing JiR programmes in Leipzig and Kosovo, we know that assisting media workers with relocation at a time of deep crisis is invaluable. We are grateful also to the German government for the substantial support and the opportunity to be able to extend this support offer to Afghan journalists, too.”

“We are very grateful to the Kosovo authorities, who are showing an exceptional sense of solidarity with journalists in distress around the world,” added EFJ general secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez. “I would also like to congratulate the European journalists’ organisations, and in particular our affiliates of the AJK, who are supporting our Ukrainian and Afghan colleagues in exile with exemplary commitment. Solidarity is an effective response to those who want to destroy journalism.”

Chairperson of the AJK board Xhemajl Rexha said: “We are delighted for our Afghan colleagues to be able to call Kosovo their home soon. This will see our already great cooperation with EFJ, ECMPF and the Government of Kosovo expand through the “Journalists in Residence – Kosovo” programme  with journalists whose work was made impossible due to war-like situation in their home country. At AJK, we are ready to do our utmost to help Afghan colleagues work as journalists from Kosovo, in a safe and secure environment.”

The JiR Programme in Kosovo for Ukrainian and Afghan journalists is generously supported by Hannah Arendt Initiative, a programme launched jointly by the Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth. The JiR Kosovo programme is part of the Voices of Ukraine, a project implemented by ECPMF and financed by Hannah Arendt Initiative.

Information on how to apply will be made available shortly on our website and disseminated through social media.

Serbian Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) Council chair Olivera Zekic said that the government is not exerting any pressure on the REM but that a part of the opposition has been “brutalizing” the REM members throughout the process of awarding national broadcasting licenses to television stations.

Regarding the accusations that REM is not awarding the fifth national broadcasting license due to pressure from the authorities, Zekic told Pink TV that the fifth license has not yet been awarded because one of the applicants, Nova S, has sued the REM.

„Nova S sued us for, according to them, extending the deadline for the issuance of a national broadcasting license,” said Zekic, adding that, while in a lawsuit with one of the television stations that have applied for the license, the issuance of the license by the REM is a “no can do.”

The Serbian electronic media watchdog chief said “other television stations never said a word while they were waiting to see who would get the license.”

At its meeting on Monday the REM did not discuss awarding the fifth national broadcasting license for which only four television stations have applied: Nova S, Kurir, Kopernikus and BK.

 

The REM Council on Monday passed a decision on awarding the so-called Belgrade broadcasting frequencies to Studio B TV and Una TV, and 11 licenses to radio stations airing their program in the territory of the city of Belgrade.

“All this time a part of the opposition is brutalizing us. It is trying to impose the narrative that the REM is financed by Serbian taxpayers. The REM is not a budget agency, we pay the difference between income and expenditure into the Serbian budget,” said Zekic.

The REM financial plan, under which this organization’s 2023 budget is a little over 400 million dinars (1 euro – 117 dinars), was recently on the agenda of the Serbian Parliament.

Zekic told Pink TV that the decision on awarding the fifth national broadcasting license could be made at the REM sitting on Monday, or that the license might not be awarded at all.

In consultation and in agreement with Minister of the Interior Bratislav Gasic, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has ordered that the Draft Law on Internal Affairs be withdrawn from the adoption procedure, said the Serbian Government on Monday.

“In accordance with all the discussions that the Prime Minister had with the relevant organizations in the previous days, the Draft Law on Internal Affairs will continue to be worked on through broad consultations,” said the Government press release.

“The goal is to clarify all public doubts and for everyone to understand the intent of the law, which is of particular importance for the safety of all citizens of the Republic of Serbia,” added the Government.

Representatives of the opposition and non-governmental organizations have have been saying that the Draft Law needs to be withdrawn because it is a threat to people’s rights and freedoms.

The politicization of the police and the police officers’ unconstitutional powers were, in short, the key objections to the Draft Law.

The People’s Party announced that they would invite citizens to „large and massive protests“ if the Draft Law on Internal Affairs is not withdrawn from the parliamentary procedure.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo today got notified of another severe attack against the journalists that are reporting from the north of the country.

Masked persons attacked the Klan Kosova team in Zubin Potok.

The team consisting of journalists Qëndresa Bellagoshi, Drin Demiri, the camera operator Agon Bejtullahu and the driver Elsad Sinani, were attacked today in the Zupç village.
The journalist Bellagoshi and the driver Sinani received medical treatment because the broken windows from the stones hit them in their faces. While Demiri and Bejtullahu remained unharmed.

The Kosovo Police were informed about the case.

The ongoing attacks create a serious threat to the safety of the journalists and prevent reporting on the developments in the north. Therefore, AJK asks KFOR and EULEX to play an additional role to guarantee the physical safety of the journalists, that continue to be the target of attacks organized by groups of masked persons.

The Koha Group journalist, Agim Ademi, has informed AJK, of the insulting language and threatening tone that the Mayor of Shtime Municipality, Qemajl Aliu, made against him during a session of the Municipal Assembly.

Aliu is quoted to have called Adem “prontist”, saying that he will “denounce” him to the director of his workplace.

“M.Jakupi you have found a ‘prontist’ journalist as is Agim Ademi, he is as prontist as you are. You have used the ignorance of a technical worker and made stories every week. With these stories, you are beating yourself up, as you will see that you are making a fuss over nothing. As for the journalist that unfortunately has happened to be the correspondent, I will try to meet the owner of KOHA and let her know that the gentleman writes chronicles for his own pleasure, slanders, and even against his colleagues”, said Ali.

AJK considers the language of Mayor Aliu unacceptable and invites him to provide transparency about the work at the municipal level instead of making constant threats and accusations against Adem.

Nova S has filed a lawsuit against the Serbian Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) for its failure to pass a decision on the issuance of the fifth national broadcasting license within the legal deadline.

The lawsuit states that Nova S, as an applicant in the competition for the issuance of a national broadcasting license, addressed the REM with a request that it be awarded the license, filed the competition application and submitted the requested documentation, in line with the relevant provisions on the Law on Electronic Media.

The lawsuit further reads that the decision to call a public tender for the license was made on July 29, 2022. The text of the public competition was posted on the REM website on August 9, 2022 and published in the Official Gazette in August 12, 2022.

Under Article 5 of the Public Competition decision, the REM was to pass its decision on the award of the license within 30 days from the publishing of the list of all applicants whose applications are complete and submitted in a timely manner.

Nova S said that it submitted its application on October 10, 2022, that is, by the deadline. The list of applicants, including Nova S, who submitted complete bids in a timely manner was adopted on October 31, 2022 and published in the Official Gazette on November 4, 2022. It was REM’s obligation to award the license within 30 days but it failed to do so.

Following the expiry of the aforementioned deadline, Nova S sent a request to the REM, via email, on December 7, 2022, asking it to pass its decision on the award of the license, and adding that the same request would also be delivered to it via regular mail. The lawsuit reads that Nova S has submitted proof that the REM received both the request emailed to it, and, on December 12, 2022, that sent to it by regular mail.

More than seven days passed from the receipt of the request, on December 12, 2022, to the filing of the lawsuit, on December 20, 2022, yet the REM failed to pass a decision on the Nova S request even within the new deadline.

Nova S proposed to the Administrative Court to uphold the lawsuit and rule on the Nova S application of October 10, 2022, that is, to order the REM to pass a decision in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law on Electronic Media.

Anastasiia Poia is a newly-arrived Ukrainian journalist in Kosovo.

Poia will join the Ukrainian journalists already sheltered in the country within the “Journalists in Residence – Kosovo” program.

Poia was welcomed at the airport by the Executive Director of AJK, Getoarbë Mulliqi Bojaj, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Kosovo Police.

AJK once again conveys its appreciation to all national and international partners who enabled the program to be more easily operated.