Vetëvendosje’s MP, Dimal Basha, continued this weekend with inciting language towards both AJK and RTK.

In the latest Facebook post, following the intimidation against RTK journalist, Basha openly shows a tendency to control the editorial content of the Public Broadcaster, interfering in what is considered a priority to be addressed and reported. He uses the same tactics towards AJK, trying to dictate what it should do and how it should behave.

AJK’s primary mission is the protection of the rights and freedoms of journalists, and it reacts when these rights and freedoms are violated. Regarding possible violations of the Code of Ethics, any citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, including MPs, can report them to the self-regulatory body Press Council of Kosovo for online media, and to the Independent Media Commission for television and radio. AJK again calls on Mr. Basha to refrain from any further attacks directed towards AJK and the media, including the Public Broadcaster, RTK.

The statement made by Mr. Basha implying that both AJK and RTK serve the interests of the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, is unfounded and unacceptable, but very dangerous as well.

Such language, consistently used by Mr. Basha and other representatives of the ruling party, has contributed to the decline of media freedom in the country, as indicated in the latest report from Reporters without Borders.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo today marked World Press Freedom Day in cooperation with its long-standing partner, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

The conference began with the opening speech of Xhemajl Rexha, Chairperson of the AJK, who cited the Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders.

“As rarely ever, this morning started with a Reporters Without Borders Index report, which showed that in recent years Kosovo has experienced the biggest regression, 19 places lower than last year when it was ranked 56th. This ranking is not a surprise for the community of journalists and media in Kosovo because of what we have experienced in the last year, but it should be an alarm for those who have influenced this decline… and here I am mostly referring to the institutions of Kosovo, specifically the Government of Kosovo,” said Rexha.

The attendees were also addressed by Ambassador Michael Davenport, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, who said that the OSCE will support the journalists in doing their work.

“Today is the day to celebrate the vital role of the media in any democracy, to inform the public, and to hold the authorities accountable… Also, it is not bad to remember today that journalists should feel in good condition and strong. To do their work, they must first feel safe and free and not be afraid of threats and blackmail. As Xhemajl also said, the Reporters Without Borders report has placed Kosovo in 75th place, which marked a drop from 56th place that was last year, and there is no doubt that in the last 12 months we have had an increase in violence against journalists,” he said.

The conference continued with a discussion on the challenges of upholding professional standards and the Code of Ethics while reporting. The panelists consisted of Imer Mushkolaj, Executive Director of the Kosovo Written Media Council; Jeton Mehmeti, Chairman of the Board of the Independent Media Commission; Fatmir Menekshe, Executive Director of Radio Romano Avazo; and Gentiana Hasani, Journalist at IndeksOnline.

This panel discussed some of the challenges that journalists face while reporting from different areas, how the Press Council of Kosovo and the Independent Media Commission (IMC) approach complaints about possible violations during the reporting of journalists and media, as well as ways and best practices to improve journalist and media reporting in the future.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo began the week by launching an exhibition of cartoons in celebration of World Press Freedom Day, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kosovo. The exhibition is currently being held at the Lapidarium of the National Museum of Kosovo.

AJK would like to thank our colleagues from Katror for facilitating the live broadcast of the conference on the AJK website today.

On World Press Freedom Day, the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) clearly states: we have Plenković with dangerous intentions. The latest scandalous outburst of the acting Prime Minister occurred yesterday towards our colleague Dora Kršul, a journalist of the portal Telegram.hr, following the arrest of a close associate of Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Koržinek. Andrej Plenković arrogantly told the journalist that her revelations in the case of the Ministry of Culture and Media and the Geodetic Faculty are politically motivated and not journalism but the result of illegal actions. Discoveries about the affairs of the ministry for the acting Prime Minister “do not represent any investigative journalism” but rather a “deal with someone in the system,” which he accuses of being illegal.

Andrej Plenković’s ambition to be the chief editor of all Croatian media has long metastasized and become dangerous for society. The Prime Minister likes it when the media are captured and controlled with public money distributed under the table or used to buy their obedience. The Prime Minister does not like when difficult questions are asked, and getting more nervous by the year, he insults anyone he can. Recently, he called independent media “the axis of evil,” and when his initials appeared last year in one of the corrupt stories that the media uncovered, he immediately reached for the law of dangerous intentions, “Lex AP,” and Ivan Turudić as the Chief Public Prosecutor. Plenković, as seen from his statements, would criminalize investigative journalism and corrupt the media to avoid them causing him “political damage.”

CJA fully supports colleague Kršul and the editorial team of Telegram, as well as all investigative journalists whose work in the public interest the Prime Minister has intentionally been trying to devalue for months, especially after a column of ministers was forced to leave the Government due to the revelations made by these colleagues of ours. With Ivan Turudić assuming the position of Chief Public Prosecutor, the charges the Prime Minister threatens from the podiums could materialize because Turudić was also caught lying thanks to the “leakage” from Josipa Pleslić’s (formerly Rimac) files. The nominated future Chief Public Prosecutor caught in a lie clearly stated that the publication of messages revealing the nature of his relationship with the accused is not in the public interest. Moreover, they cause him political damage, which is apparently the criterion by which a judge or chief public prosecutor would decide what is illegal and criminal, and what is investigative journalism in the public interest.

This is a loud threat to all whistleblowers so they don’t happen to report anything compromising about the government to our colleagues, as they could end up in prison for up to three years for disclosing information that the public has the right to know if they cause “political damage.”

On World Press Freedom Day, which is increasingly endangered with each passing day, the Croatian Journalists’ Association states that it will never give up resisting the arbitrariness of politicians and all others who think that the public interest is actually their private interest.

For the Executive Board of the CJA

Hrvoje Zovko, President of the CJA

Chiara Bilić, Vice President of the CJA

Dragutin Hedl, Vice President of the CJA

The annual media freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders ranks Kosovo 75th in the world, which is 19 places lower than last year’s ranking of 56th.

The world’s largest organization for media freedom has provided several reasons for the decline of media freedom in our country.

“Even if the media succeed in holding politicians accountable, journalists continue to be the targets of political attacks. The ineffective media regulator, IMC, is trying to reform itself. The biggest TV channel, Klan Kosova, has been subjected to administrative harassment from the government, which had also threatened public broadcaster RTK’s independence with the election of a close ally of the ruling party as its director. Serbian-language media, which are under pressure from Serbian political forces, have complained of discrimination in access to public information, particularly in their language, which is that of the constitutional minority.”, it is said in the report.

The report also mentions physical attacks during tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as an increase in SLAPP lawsuits against journalists.

“Although journalists are trusted by society, independent media, and investigative journalists are often the targets of insults and fake news on social media. They are unfairly accused of “collaborating with the enemy”, the rhetoric used by political and religious groups.”, the report concludes.

You can access the full report by clicking on the following link: https://rsf.org/en/country-kosovo.

During the week commemorating World Press Freedom Day, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kosovo, organized a discussion on promoting media freedom through art.

The discussion began with remarks from the Netherlands Ambassador in Kosovo, Carin Lobbezoo, emphasizing that freedom of expression online and offline is a priority for human rights in Kosovo.

The discussion panel was led by the Chairperson of AJK, Xhemajl Rexha, and included Alban Zeneli from the Department of Journalism at the University of Prishtina, Armend Ajredini, a Cartoonist, Meneta Zekaj Nushi from RTK, and Gazmend Syla from Klan Kosova.

The discussion focused on art as a powerful form of expression to convey messages concerning the continual attempts by governments to restrict media freedom and freedom of expression.

Part of the discussion focused on the physical safety of journalists, following last year’s attacks in the northern region of the country, as well as online attacks by government representatives and members of the ruling party against journalists and media outlets.

Journalists and camera operators from various media outlets participated in training from April 24 to April 30 on reporting from public gatherings, protests, and dangerous situations.

The training was organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the Kosovo Police Special Unit at the request of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo. The training session aimed to educate journalists, camera operators, and photographers on proper behavior and safety measures when reporting from potentially dangerous situations.

The training included interactive sessions and the sharing of experiences and insights with trainers of the Kosovo Police Special Unit, focusing on improving participants’ crisis reporting skills and ensuring accurate, sensitive, and safe reporting.

Part of this training was provided by our colleague, Sylejman Kllokoqi, who shared with participants his decades-long experience in crisis reporting, including how to protect themselves in challenging situations, and offered valuable regional context.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo would like to thank the OSCE Mission and the Kosovo Police for their collaboration in organizing the training, as well as all the colleagues who took part in it.