Media in Kosovo

AIM Pristina, 29 October, 1999

All local and international parties present in Kosovo fear uncertanities that a severe winter might bring to Kosovo. Tempereture has significantly gone down, criticism of the efficiency of the performance so far has increased but with an evident effort not to raise panic. The general impression is that the international civilian administration mostly does not succeed in achieving its intented goals. This is especially obvious when issues critical for raising the level of normalisation are concerned, such as moving the economy from the standstill, financial flows and reducing crime to certain acceptable proportions.

The trends in the sphere of the media are quite the opposite. On the threshold of winter, Kosovar electronic media are flourishing. Indeed, this refers to radio stations which can be opened for a comparatively small sums of money. There are no television transmitters on the ground, due to which opening of ambitious TV channels is for the time being reserved for those who have a lot of money. Those from Kosovo are interested in it probably would not accept financial risks of broadcasting program via satelite, which gives absolute monopoly to international programs. When speaking of technical possibilities, it should be added that there are no middle-wave radio transmitters in Kosovo, nor short-wave ones, for that matter. The range is very limitted. Only a comparatively small area around the place program is broadcast from is covered. The broadcast sound is not of good quality either. All radio programs are broadcast on FM. There is a host of them, and it is really difficult for the audience to find their way around.

Not even those who are in charge of the electronic media will easily determine the number of radio stations. Recently nominated interim commissioner for Kosovar media, American Douglas Davidson, in his practically first public appearance in this capacity, declared to the daily in Albanian Kosova sot (Kosovo Today) that the first thing his institution would do was to establish the exact number of radio and TV stations which were broadcasting their programs at the moment, who their owners were, who they were backed by and similar. However, it will not be easy for Davidson's service to do that because some of them have started to shut down, others are broadcasting experimental program, there are some which are working with interruptions, many projects are still in development, and just a small number seriously intends to create a stable "living environment" on the shaky territory of Kosovo. There are probably a few ten of them.

Until several weeks ago, the situation was mostly held under control. KFOR was issuing permits for using channels and at first the interested parties abided by them. When OSCE became the authority for issuing permits, the process started to drag on. The problem is becoming increasingly unpleasant, among other because in some cases it was necessary to resort to so-called administrative, in the conditions of Kosovo military measures. There are many applications for channels, but there is no decision-making about them. Some have not shown understanding for the delays and started broadcasting programs without permits, which has created the present radio chaos in Kosovo. Even if permits are observed as a separate problem, the situation is quite chaotic when speaking of founders and the status of radio stations. There are quite a few of them which cannot be classified into known categories. The situation is quite clear in all cases when the founders are private owners. In view of their mandate, the status of electronic media founded by UNMIK and OSCE can also be considered to be quite clear. Cases in which the main KFOR command or its parts in their respective zones appear as founders are less clear, though. The status of former local (regional) radio stations which continued operation after entrance of KFOR is completely and utterly vague. Claiming continuity with radio stations shut down by Serbian authorities more than nine years ago, they accept patronage of the local Albanian municipal authorities and this puts their status in the sphere of complex legal and political relations. The international administration in Kosovo does not recognise any form of their independence, in other words it is constantly trying to establish its authority over the ones and the others.

For the time being it is hard to say how these complex media and political problems will be solved. Probably burdened by them, administrator for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner nominated Davidson to the post of the person responsible for the media. In view of certain other circumstances, this nomination is somewhat premature, but the need to prevent further disturbances in this sphere prevailed. In the mentioned statement, Davidson said that his service would mostly deal with the questions of passing regulations on electronic media and the press, and issuing interim permits for broadcasting radio and TV programs. He also mentioned the question of fines, including ban in case of broadcasting or writing calls to murder, ethnic cleansing or spreading hatred, which will be discussed with all interested parties, including journalists. Davidson said that one of the most difficult questions would be determination of the number of permits for broadcasting program that would be issued. In this respect, possibilities were limitted, but this was a technical issue, he said, although he failed to give an explanation what else issuing of permits would depend on.

Davidson also raised the sensitive question of giving advantage and offering assistance to independent media, making it clear that he did not mean financial assistance. How this will be done, remains to be seen. But problems in this field are numerous and impinge on the essence of the processes in Kosovo. This will have a decisive effect on the existence of journalists and others working in the media. Many things are starting from scratch in Kosovo. Therefore the question of financial and other forms of assistance affect other sensitive issues. For several weeks and even months among journalists and perhaps certain other professions moral dilemmas are present about engagement in projects of international organisations in realisation of which there are quite a few elements which are contrary to their professional and other views. Significant parts of the ethnic Albanian public, those dealing with this issue inclusive, are not exactly satisfied with what the international organisations are trying to launch as modern radio and TV programs. This does not refer only to their contents and messages, but also to a purely professional approach to certain things which cannot even be conceived in the countries of the West. There may be discontent, but it is easy to understand that media with high ambitions can be created obly by those who have enough money. Many will shake their heads concerning this principle, at least when the moral side of the problem is concerned because this money is included in the fund of aid for Kosovo.

The significant problem in this context is the fact that everything is starting from the very beginning in Kosovo, including the media. Except for a few exceptions, they are all surviving thanks to the aid of foreign donors or somebody standing behind the scene. It is quite certain that both the ones and the others are doing it in order to influence or orient parts or the entire ethnic Albanian public. In this sense not a single Kosovar media can say it is independent. However, when speaking of independence when editorial policy is concerned, the situation in the media is slightly better, which automatically means that it is more democratic. There are few of those that could be called independent media. The ones that might be mentioned as such are Kosova sot and Koha ditore, and Radio 21. All the others that mean anything belong to the existing Albanian political camps and, however strange it may sound, support the quite diverse international camp. Having in mind the complexity of relations in Kosovo and especially the work of the media, this division should be considered to be conditional and possibly over-simplified.

A sensitive emptiness in this field is that there are no Serb media in Kosovo, either electronic or printed ones. Recently a newspaper in Belgrade wrote that Kouchner and Davidson have destroyed Serb media in Kosovo. Anybody who knows anything about what was happening in Kosovo would readily answer that the regime in Belgrade has left waste land all over the place, and Serb media could not evade this destiny either. The problem is, of course, connected to the general political situation. The conclusion that nobody is banning them is far from the essence of the problem, though. The shows in Serbian which are part of the multilingual programs are far from the desired solution. Insisting on it at any cost, as the agencies of international administration are doing, reduces the whole problem and its essence to a mere formality which satisfies neither the Serbs nor the others. It is true that there is a special program in Serbian on a separate channel along with that in Turkish and the Albanian language. These programs are controlled by international administration and as far as it is known the Albanians are very dissatisfied with their content, the Turks are not satisfied either, and it can easily be assumed, nor are the Serbs.

In the end a few words should be said about radio and TV programs controlled by international organisations here. After having offered certain financial aid for the beginning of work of certain privately owned media they turned towards founding the so-called public electronic media. The first to be opened was Radio Pristina in three languages, then there were KFOR radio stations, and finally there is the recently started two-hour sattelite TV program called Radio Television of Kosovo - RTK, the UNMIK radio station called Blue Sky and preparations are going on for the beginning of brodcasting of a radio program as part of RTK. Due to very striking didacticism, long speeches or interviews mostly of foreign officials, long and formal talk shows, lack of clear conception of the program in general and its parts, obsoleteness, selection of shows and censorship of shows which pretend to be news shows and other weaknesses among which the unsatisfactory level of culture of the language and speech should certainly be mentioned (there are examples which would never be permitted by any European country, radio-television program made by representatives of international community here have not become popular among ethnic Albanian listeners and spectators.

Generally speaking a lot of money is being spent for something which has at least so far been far from the ambitions which are at the same time high and numerous. Someone may say that it is unbelievable or an exaggeration to say that their shows resemble the shows made for holidays during the rule of the communist party or shows made in former socialist countries on the occasion of central committee sessions and the ruling communist parties. Such socialist realism has not succeeded in Bosnia. It is very strange why this is insisted on when it is obvious that with much less money numerous private electronic media can be opened which as time passes may create a healthy competition, not only in the sphere of the media but even politically. With such an approach to the problem, the international administration would be spared a part of criticism and less burdened by people and expenses for the personnel engaged in media.

AIM Pristina

Fehim REXHEPI