Protest of Media

Silence Against Violence?!

AIM Pristina, September 25, 2000

After more than 1,100 persons killed in Kosovo in the past year, local media have decided to literally fall silent for 24 hours. This is a protest because of escalation of violence. This decision was caused by the murder of a journalist of daily Rilindja Sefki Popove, correspondent from Vucitrn and a known architect from Kosovo Rexhep Luci. In both cases, international officials have not succeeded in revealing the murderers, but declared that "the investigation continues".

Many journalists and editorial teams, shaken by these latest murders reached the decision to fall silent, and their representatives demanded that all institutional measures be taken in order to stop violence. And then demands started following each other. They demanded that perpetrators of crimes be found and tried, they appealed for more efficient operation of the police, of investigative institutions, courts, strict implementation of decrees and laws that are in force, supplying the citizens with identity papers, guarding and control of borders of Kosovo, prevention of movement of Serbian secret police around Kosovo, arrest and taking to court Serb war criminals, introducing order in transportation (immediate ban of movement for all unregistered vehicles and drivers without driving licence), immediate interruption of construction without permits, ban of hate speech and slander of politicians and media, civilised behavior of the citizens, creation of conditions for free practising of profession, especially the profession of journalist, and correct political competition of the candidates in the elections, and full freedom of movement.

These are in fact questions and demands which are for a long time opened and raised in all the talks of leaders of Kosovo Albanians, and journalists who this time were the ones to make the demands used to convey them in the form of statements or quoted them while reporting about various appearances of political representatives. It seems that everything is in a vicious circle again. Fear in certain circles that journalists have become politicians and that they are forgetting their profession, may be founded. In the past year this can easily be corroborated, and this petition certainly speaks in favour of it.

In a joint statement of 15 electronic and printed media it was claimed that they had decided to fall "silent" in order to attract attention of those who "control the chaotic situation in Kosovo and possibilities to improve it". It was not said who they had in mind, although judging by the demands, the greatest culprit for the current situation in Kosovo was the international community.

Strangely, on that day, on September 14, the attention was attracted by Radio station Kosova e lire (Free Kosovo), once known as Radio OVK, which from the beginning did not obey the agreement on silence. At 18.00 h, Radio 21 which is known as "moderate" started broadcasting news and information, and at 19.00 h this agreement was broken by Radio TV Kosovo, too.

Decisions to break the agreement seem to have been stimulated during the meeting of representatives of Kosovar media with members of the Interim Administrative Council chaired by Bernard Kouchner. The only joint conclusion that resulted from this meeting was that violence had definitely to be stopped, but it was not said in what way. Ibrahim Rugova was not present at the meeting, but went to Spain to receive the award for tolerance, while on the other hand president of Democratic Party of Kosovo Hashim Thaci left the meeting before the others explaining that he had to travel to Prizren because of the election campaign. It is claimed that a sharp dispute took place between president of United Democratic Movement of Kosovo Rexhep Qosja and the representative of daily in Albanian Bota sot which is considered to be fully in favour of DSK. Qosja declared that he was "surprised by the uncritical stand of journalists towards untruth, denunciations and unfounded accusations published by some newspapers in Kosovo, stimulating in this way violence within the ethnic group".

It has become "customary" for Qosja to lecture journalists how they should do their jobs. On the other hand, however, explanations of representatives of Bota sot newspaper were unconvincing in comparison with the articles this newspaper publishes which mostly refer to information on secret organisation of various political assassinations. That is why concern was expressed by temporary commissioner for media Simon Hasselhock who characterised these articles as "dangerous". The meeting of the Interim Administrative Council with representatives of media ended with big controversies. Certain sources claim that certain persons left the meeting after a very sharp dispute on the manner how a country should be managed and how that country should be reported about. President of the Union of Journalists of Kosovo Haqif Muliqi came out quite disappointed. He said that discussions have gone in political direction and that there was much talk about the role of the media during the election campaign in Kosovo which began on September 13. He also said that the head of OUN Mission in Kosovo offered representatives of media to sign a joint declaration against violence, to which Muliqi replied that the journalists had signed the petition with numerous demands and that such declaration would be unnecessary. On the other hand Kouchner declared that the media in Kosovo should participate in reducing of violence, even their mutual violence. “They ought to reduce their mutual accusations and work independently”, the civil administrator said.

Therefore, the meeting which should have been an occasion for the discussion on how to stop violence ended with further straining of relations between Kosovar politicians and journalists.

The decision of the media to be silent for 24 hours was estimated by majority as a good move, but one dares say that it was only because the motive was too powerful for anybody to oppose it. However, it is clear that silence in order to protest against violence cannot have significant influence on the citizens. Kosovar journalists have once before made the same decision on the occasion of the murder of a known Albanian journalist Enver Maloku in the end of 1998. Opinions about the murder of Maloku were identical. Everybody believed that he was murdered just in order to be silenced. That is why it is easy to reach the conclusion that it is absurd to protest against violence and crime just as the murderer would have wished. After all, at the funeral of journalist Shefki Popove, his numerous colleagues declared that they would fight against violence by writing about it. Choosing silence as a weapon against violence therefore does not seem to be the right decision. Veton Surroi who was one of the participants in the talks with members of the administrative council of Kosovo, as a representative of his newspaper Koha Ditore (and as he himself wrote, his editorial team was the initiator of this “protest”) in a review of the meeting wrote that in answer to criticism on the lack of security Kouchner replied that UNMIK and KFOR were not there to change the society, but that it was just as it appeared.

In any case, the very next day the press in Kosovo interviewed numerous citizens of Kosovo asking them how they had felt without information and news. Some stated that they had spent a monotonous and gloomy day, and others that being busy with their work, they had not even noticed the lack of information. About all the developments that had happened that day, they learnt the next day. Downtown Pristina a Kosovo Albanian was killed, and another was wounded

AIM Pristina

Arbnora BERISHA