Is Freedom of Speech in Kosovo in Jeopardy?
This is a bit of a late newsletter owing to work commitments rather than holidays I’m sorry to say. So this newsletter will be very short and to the point.
But this very interesting article linking the recent smear campaign against the Kurti government’s critics and the recent draft law regulating online media. It shows the one of the most fundamental critiques of the Kurti government:
media literacy and understanding the role of media in a democratic society is being misunderstood as a tool for state and nation building, not as a tool for critical mediation of communication between the authorities and citizens.
The Kurti government is often accused of being more proficient in public relations than accomplishments, particularly on the domestic agenda. One recent interviewee told me that though he appreciated what Kurti did in the north, Kurti’s done nothing about education or healthcare.
And the government’s relationship with the media, including threatening to close down the biggest private TV station in Kosovo and hostile comments from government leaders has been noticed by many.
Media representatives in Kosovo have highlighted as a particular concern the fact that divisive rhetoric and defamation campaigns against journalists by some politicians and public officials, including from the ruling party, is creating an increasingly hostile climate against the media. They said that these verbal attacks and attempts by political figures to divide the journalistic community, or to portray certain media outlets as political actors, can lead to threats, online harassment and physical violence.
Media representatives have expressed their growing concern about the deterioration of transparency and access to information during the current government’s mandate. Journalists in particular highlighted the lack of options for communication with officials and the ability to submit questions to ministers and the prime minister at press conferences.
Serbian language media have also complained about lack of translation and not being invited to government press conferences.
When the BBC asked Kurti about the smear campaign for an upcoming documentary about Kosovo he angrily denied any knowledge of it.