Whom does Kurt Government fear?

The invaders have not answered over 95% of the questions they have been sent, on issues and topics of a wide range, and this problem is disturbing, as it extends to a large part of the journalistic spectrum in Kosovo

On March 19, 2020, American President Donald Trump, face-to-face, appeared before reporters at the White House to talk about the coronary situation, while the number of affected toʹte exceeded 10,000 cases a day.

For an hour he spoke in numbers, which only he could have, before an American Night Nightsworth journalist known for his unhurried support from Trump asked a question from which the laughter would penetrate the president's lips.

She would ask for the “rate left media”, one of Trump's favorite themes. Behind the president, in line to take the word, were the General surgeon, the Food and Barnas Agency commissioner, along with other experts who would answer questions about the pandemic that were expected to take the lives of millions.

For Trump, however, an enemy more dangerous than viurs were the media. “I think I've used the term "Fake News" first, he said, giving another term: The “Medias are very dishonest”, he underlined, two years after praising a candidate for the congresswoman who had physically crashed with a journalist.

Almost two years after this sad show, the European Centre for Media Freedom, the European Federation of Journalists, and several other journalists' defence organisations, through a letter, had asked Kosovo institutions to ban discrediting and denigrating language to journalists.

That letter cited Facebook posts of the spokespersons and advisers of the Vetevendosje Movement and the Office of Prime Minister Kurti, which “speaking on behalf of the parties they present, said the media tried to undermine the president through their reporting”.

These organisations also singled out the comments of President Osmani's husband,don Sadriu, to reporters.

On February 8th, Sadriu had named journalists in Kosovo as “representatives of joint criminal companies”, criticising the media for their connections to “Parapolica” and other abuses. He also said journalists are trying to tarnish the work of President Osmani.

The media had become such a huge <x0 mic> for the government that the Association of Journalists of Kosovo had been forced that May 3rd, World Press Freedom Day and activities around that day were summed up by the motto “Medias are not the enemy”.

Officially, that's the position of the government. However, the almost comprehensive break-off of the reports between journalists and authorities is the long and characteristic confession of this government, which shows quite the opposite.

The media on which these lines are being published started work two months ago. None of the questions I've started for the government or the ministries, for these two months, have been answered. Of all the questions the editorial has started, in just one case, there has been official response from one of the ministries. On another occasion, when the question was sent to the prime minister's office, about confirming a visit, the spokesman has chosen not to respond, but to write in his Facebook account on the same issue, the way he wanted to convey the message he wanted to deliver.

Neither I, as a journalist nor the PortaliD editorial, have ever received any clarification, in any form, for the reasons for not getting answers, for the questions we've sent. Thus, the reader may feel that the problem lies in the established relationship, for various reasons or factors, between the medium and the institution and even the government as a whole. However, this would be to see the picture completely overturned. The truth is that this government has communication problems with all or more accurately with almost all the media in Kosovo.

Being within the same media home, it was not difficult to have another point of view of how the government led by Albin Kurti has built this relationship with the media.

That the government and ministries, not rarely, refuse to return answers to some of the questions that might be perceived with a more critical approach, the information director on Radio Duguagjini, Debra Istrefi, also confirms.

According to him, “the non-compliance of these institutions is the main point where there is a deadlock”, in the report between the media and power. “Sometimes, ignorance makes you realize more than answer”, he says, underlining that “when you don't answer, you have something to hide”.

Istrefi, however, differentiates between the government and parliament's presidency in the way they built and maintained communication with the media. However, all three do not stand well for the speed and willingness to answer the questions asked.

This is especially true of media that are most critical of the government. Albanian Post is also perceived, but it also views itself as such. The government has decided to be closed to critical media and answers only to pro-government media”, says, with conviction, chief editor of the office in Pristina, Freedom Mehmetaj.

The scope of questions the AP has not received is broad, from delegation meetings in Brussels, laws proposed by the government, and to problems with ambassadors and councils. On none of the media's questions, the government has returned”, Mehmetaj points out.

In his assessment, this attitude of power has been linked to the medium's very kind of question type, which he calls “-suffling” and not typical for the “pro-government media”.

And as a result, it becomes difficult for the research themes to come in full, since without the co-operation of institutions they only come up with resources, with proposals from the opposition or in the worst case not being published at all, in the absence of responses.

Contrary to the presidency and the assembly, the government has never responded to”, Mehmetaj says, wanting the emphasis placed on the second part of the sentence.

In the same register, for the ruling-media reports, the director of Metro newspaper, Valon Syla, speaks. He says the government wants journalists to be served only with information they provide through social networks.

The government's lynx “, continues, is to make monologues with itself and militant structures, avoiding information and dialogue with the public”.

For Syla, much of the attitudes that are served by the public are demagogic, with tragic overtones. For example, he mentions the case of Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislim, who after meeting with European officials, had come up with his version of the course and the fruits of that meeting, which had prompted the Council of Europe's deputy secretary general, Bjorn Berge, to react to the correction.

For these reasons”, says Metro Director “now we are served only by sources within institutions and no longer send questions to them because they do not answer”.

Government Kurt 2 does not answer even the simplest questions. This is confirmed by the Nacional newspaper.

However, to this medium's editor, Mirlind Behluli, even more disturbing is that they have seen answers to their questions and that the government has never received a refusal to answer published in other media.

This is a media selection on the part of the powers”, he is convinced. And the medium you work on, you value as “critical” and “countering power”.

That power is selecting media has no doubts at all, said Periscopi editor-in-chief Dafina Demak. It calls it the fun “ ” the government's restrictive tendency towards critical media, since the media around the world do that.

Demak cites the case of a call with a ruling party MP, the Vetevendosje Movement, about the Civil Code, which had agreed to talk, until he understood which medium he was talking about.

“This is not the only case” at all, explains Periscopi's editor-in-chief “because it has dozens of questions sent to verify resources, about processes in the given ministries and for which we have never received an answer”.

Not rarely unbalanized information on the topics discussed, Demak links it precisely with the inability to get access to information, due to what he values as the government's <x0-blocked media”.

The total buildup to the media is the denigrative and discrediting tendency”, it estimates. /Read the complete text here!