Kosovo journalists under threat

Journalists in Kosovo are concerned about their safety. According to a survey conducted by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo in December 2001, 78 per cent of the journalists questioned do not feel free to do investigative journalism without fear of threat or reprisal.

Investigative journalism unsafe?

The murder of two Kosovo journalists, Bekim Kastrati in 2001 and Shefki Popova in 2000, and other cases - journalists threatened while investigating corruption, white-collar crime, or drug trafficking - are a constant reminder of the hidden powers at work in Kosovo.

"A free journalist in Kosovo is a dead journalist", says a local reporter. But it is not so much censorship by killing that threatens freedom of the media in Kosovo - even if two Kosovo journalists have indeed been killed in the past - it is the fact that such things can happen.

Intimidation of journalists makes it easy to control newspapers and broadcasters. Passive control, such as ensuring that some stories never get covered, seems to be the preferred method in Kosovo, trade insiders claim.
 

Threats produce self-censorship

"Like every post-communist society, Kosovo has to face a difficult transition period. But it is now, with the international administration acting as a guarantee for democratization and development, that journalism has a special role to play", states Anna Di Lellio, Kosovo Temporary Media Commissioner.

"It is not only the task of the media to inform people correctly and accurately, but also to educate readers, viewers and listeners. In developed countries media holds power. Media is often called the fourth estate of a society, alongside the legislative, the executive and the judicial", she adds.

"Kosovo media could be the fourth dimension of public power, if it was independent, and if journalists did not have to fear to publish balanced truth. But sense of threat easily turns into self-censorship. I think that this has already happened up to a certain degree", she says.
 

Unacceptably high figures

According to the OSCE survey, 35 per cent of Kosovo-Serb and 40 per cent of Kosovo-Albanian journalists say they have been threatened while investigating sensitive stories.

Out of these testimonies, 19 per cent of the journalists experienced an "explicit threat to their safety", 9 per cent said the threat entailed pressure from local authorities, 9 per cent experienced "interference" while doing their job and 7 per cent were victims of direct physical attacks.

The survey also underlines that journalists in Pristina feel more threatened than their colleagues in other regions of the province. A total of 68 per cent in the capital say they have been threatened, and 26 per cent of those working in the regions had similar experiences. But even that figure is unacceptably high.
 

Informing the police

In December 2001, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo hosted a conference on journalists' protection. "The conference was really interesting, not because it did something big, but because for the first time journalists, police and political representatives were sitting around one table, and discussing common problems", said Besim Abazi, a representative from Voice of America.

"Co-operation between police and journalists is still not at an appropriate level", believes Refki Morina, a Kosovo police officer. He added that the police were ready to help as long as they were informed of the problems. "That is the only way the police can address the issue properly."

As Ms. Di Lellio admits, "nobody can protect the journalists totally, they are very exposed. The police may not be perfect, but it is the next best thing."
 

Journalists helping journalists

For the Temporary Media Commissioner, the best way for journalists to protect themselves is to establish a strong professional identity.

"There is a Journalists Association in Kosovo, but it has so few members it can hardly be called that way. There is a dire need to have such an organization working properly so that it may effectively provide support to its members", says Anna Di Lellio.

"Readers and listeners are also a power to count on. If the audience does not allow journalists to be threatened and the truth prevented from being published, life will become harder for anyone trying", she adds.