Difficult year for journalists
(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV)
This year has been considered to be the most difficult year for Kosovo journalists. Many journalists during 2014 faced different threats and few even faced censorship.
This was stated on Tuesday by the leaders of the Association of Kosovo Journalists (AKJ), who held their concluding conference for 2014 and presented their plans for 2015.
As stated in many international reports, Kosovo continues to remain a difficult ground for journalists. During 2014, journalists reported 25 cases of violation of rights, threats, beating and stabbing.
Association of Kosovo Journalists (AKJ) expressed concerned about the increased number of attacks and the aggravated situation of journalists.
Zekirja Shabani, Head of this Association said that the number of attacks, threats and pressure on journalists is continuously increasing. Furthermore Shabani considered that media situation index has generally fallen.
In order to positively change this situation, AKJ board member Shkëlqim Hysenaj announced that during 2015, AKJ will start implementing some key projects with local and international organisations for improving journalists’ conditions.
During this conference, AKJ in cooperation with the OSCE Mission in Kosovo presented a Basic Legal Handbook for Journalists.
Representative of this Mission in Kosovo, Patrick Reilly expressed hopeful that this publication will help journalists and other stakeholders.
“We hope that this publication will help both journalists and courts to increase their understanding of each-others roles and procedures and to further improve their relations. This is important because media play a key role in facilitating people’s right to know and the right to access to information, but they also must comply with the free and fair trail standards and requirements, and the protection of witness’s provisions, for example,” Reilly said.
President Jahjaga hosted a reception for media representatives
(All monitored broadcasters, TV21)
As usually, at the year-end, Kosovo political leaders invite journalists to recap the annual developments and also present the plans for the forthcoming year.
The President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga during the year-end reception for the media representatives announced that harsh reforms await Kosovo in the forthcoming year.
“I guess that 2015 is a year in which a pretty great job is awaiting for us, a very large commitment of all the institutions and our citizens; it is a year of deep reforms that must happen in Kosovo, reforms which should have happened maybe for years but we now have to catch the step, because we have a long way to European and Euro-Atlantic integration. All reforms in every society, even in the most advanced democratic ones, are reforms which in some way met with resistance among the citizens, but they are painful reforms. We all accept them; they are necessary reforms, which are associated with the well-being and improving the lives of all the citizens of the country”, said President Jahjaga at journalists reception.
On the occasion of the New Year, Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa also organized a reception for media representatives. On this occasion, PM Mustafa expressed his commitment to closely cooperate with the media in order to increase transparency.
“We do not ask you to spare us from criticism, but we ask through this to help us, through critical eye of the Government work and institutions of Kosovo, to help to increase the value of institutions, affirmed these institutions and to give them an opportunity to represent Kosovo in best possible way within, and in front of international community,” Mustafa told journalists.
Stojanovic dissatisfied with the new budget
(RTK2, Klan Kosova)
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Branimir Stojanovic of Srpska List considers that the budget approved for 2015 presents a step backwards for Serb community. Stojanovic told RTK2 that with the new approved budget less than 5 % of it will be spend in the Serb majority areas.
He said that the new Kosovo budget for 2015 will absolutely not meet the expectations that the Serb community has from the Ministry of Local Government and from the Ministry for Return and Communities.
Stojanovic threatened the coalition partners, PDK and LDK as saying that Srpska List constructivism in the government is related to how the Serb community will be presented.
Furthermore he said that the decision of Srpska List MPs to abandon Kosovo Assembly session when the budget bill was discussed was a rational decision because through this act the Serb MPs demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the 2015 budget bill.
State Prosecution withdraws indictments from its website
(KTV)
Only few days after State Prosecution published indictments in its website, State Prosecution’s Office decided to remove them.
Hundreds of indictments were made public and accessible for journalists and citizens at the end of November, but they have been removed from the website few days after the publication.
KTV has learned that Prosecution argues that publication of these indictments violates the personal data. However this is being opposed by Kosovo Agency for the Protection of Personal Data.
Mentor Hoxhaj of this Agency said that the Prosecution’s Office should have consulted the Agency before it decided to remove the indictments from their website. Moreover Hoxhaj considers as inacceptable Prosecution’s argument since the indictments are public documents.
Gresa Musliu, activist for access to public documents, considers that by removing these indictments, the State Prosecution has violated the law on access to public documents and other principles related to public information.
She highlighted the fact that in many regional and western countries it is a normal practice to publish indictments online in order for the journalists and citizens to have access to these documents.
Courts and Prosecution never agreed on whose responsibility is to publish the indictments, which are public.
