Kosovo media do not stop talking about the war in Ukraine

Is there freedom of speech in Ukraine? How do journalists work in conditions of war? and Can media be objective and obey journalistic standards when the global web is teeming with megabytes of misinformation? were the issues students and teachers of the Department of Journalism of the Faculty of Philology of the Hasan Prishtina university (Kosovo) discussed during a thematic discussion on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

The rector of the university, Professor Qerim Qerimi, welcomed the participants of the event. He recalled when he worked as a journalist in his youth and emphasized that freedom of speech is one of the cornerstones of democracy. His colleague, Professor Remzie Shahini-Hoxhaj, spoke about the information disorder that may arise from new technologies.

Media representatives from Kosovo, Albania, the United States, and other countries usually participate in events of this level. This year, journalists from Ukraine and Afghanistan staying in Pristina within the professional protection program Journalists-in-Residence became the university’s guests of honor. One of them is the author of the following lines: “Last year, I already happened to meet with students of the University of Pristina. Both then and now, the audience was interested in anything related to the full-scale Russian invasion. This is not surprising: after all, 24 years ago, Kosovo experienced a genocide against ethnic Albanians by Serbian soldiers. Probably, that is why, during the year of the full-scale Russian invasion, Kosovo media do not stop talking about the heroic resistance of Ukrainians.”

It is symbolic that Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), addressed the world leaders in New York at the UN headquarters. The leader of the journalistic community mentioned the names of the murdered and tortured colleagues who died at the hands of Russian occupiers. He stressed that Russia sees every independent journalist as an enemy and applies repression against people with the inscription PRESS on their helmets and body armor.

“In my speech, I also talked about the extremely high price Ukraine is paying for its freedom today. The listeners were amazed that during the year that the war was going on, there were no less than 60 media workers in Ukraine, including 14 – during the performance of professional duties. Journalists are killed for exposing Russian war crimes. They are kidnapped and thrown into prison on trumped-up charges to be silenced. This was the case with Crimean Tatar citizen journalists, Kherson colleague Oleh Baturin, founder of Hromadske Radio in Donbas Maksym Butkevych, Vladyslav Yesypenko, Iryna Danylovych and other media workers who are still in Russian captivity.

Unfortunately, such examples are not unique in the world. Thus, in her speech, Afghan journalist Amina Omid talked about the murders of compatriots and the forced departure of people with modern views from the country after the Taliban came to power. Amina studied international relations and journalism at Gawharshad and Jahan E Noor universities. However, her sister, like thousands of other girls and women, can no longer study in their native country due to the new government’s ban. The media in which Amina and her colleagues worked ceased to exist.

“Afghanistan is now a hell for conscious and educated people who want to improve their lives and ensure a good life for their families. My duty is to write about it and make my voice heard,” says Amina Omid.

The Journalists-in-Residence program, which sheltered 12 Ukrainian and five Afghan journalists, gives journalists the opportunity to be heard. This program, implemented by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom with the support of the governments of Germany and Kosovo, is primarily about journalists and human solidarity. But the most important thing is the ability to stay in the profession and inform the world about the war in Ukraine.

At the beginning of the year, a well-known Kosovar journalist, chairperson of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Xhemajl Rexha, visited Ukraine. His visit is also the result of international cooperation and the mutual support of journalists.

“Shortly after the event at the university, I had the honor of representing Ukraine at the international conference called Archives and Conflict Prevention: Lessons of the Past, Visions of the Future, which was held in Pristina. It was attended by representatives of various countries that survived military conflicts after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Journalists, lawyers, and state and public figures from Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Ukraine talked about the experience of investigating and archiving war crimes.”

However, Ukraine’s own experience is unique and not like other examples from the history of modern wars. My colleague Maryna Slobodianiuk, the Truth Hounds investigation department coordinator, and I discussed this during the Digital Evidence and War Crimes panel discussion. Maryna talked about how the crimes of the Russian military are detected and documented in Ukraine and also emphasized that today, more than ever, it is vital to oppose the attempts of Kremlin propaganda to falsify historical facts.

Every year moves the events that took place in Kosovo during the war of 1998-1999 further and further. This makes it increasingly challenging to collect eyewitness accounts. Drita Haidari, a prosecutor for the Special Prosecution Office of Kosovo, spoke about this. According to the head of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, 41 verdicts were handed down during his mandate in Kosovo; 38 were headed by prosecutors of the Mission.

Present at the event, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Kosovo, Carin Lobbezoo, expressed support for the people of Ukraine and confidence that this collective experience will be helpful to Ukrainians after the victory over the Russian aggressor. There is no doubt about Ukraine’s victory.

Liudmyla Makei, Pristina

Photo: Blerim Djinovci and BalkanTransitionalJustice