Journalists and civil society: More Applying Signal Law

In Kosovo, the signaling issue is regulated with the Law for Signal Protection. The purpose of this law is to signal violations in the public and private sector, as well as to protect the signals”, Article 1 of the law says. Signals can be internal, external and public. It also enables signaling through the media, which enables fighting illegal phenomena and making journalism.

Reporter Ardiana Thaqi-Mehmeti has positive assessments of the law. It tells of Radio Kosova some of the major research results, in which the source of information has been the beacon.
The majority of major topics dealing with abuses within state institutions have come from exactly the beacons. One case of signalling was from Pristina Airport, where I actually reported to the Air Navigation Service Agency, and for two years I have discovered various circumstances. I've had big signals for irregularities even from within Kosovo Telecom. Another topic I've been working on thanks to the beacons was that of employment within the Central Bank of Kosovo. Now, we've already had it in Kix Kosova, where we've also discovered an air incident that was trying to be kept secret by the very agencies that monitor and manage Kosovo's airspace. After publishing this case the investigation has only begun and it's ending”, she said.

Reporter Thaqi-Mehmeti says the effects of the signal protection law could be even greater if the signaling within institutions were better functioning. And since this form of signaling is not effective enough, she says the signals are choosing the media to signal irregularities every day.

“Initialisation through the media is increasingly more effective than signaling within institutions, because people who are placed in charge of gathering these signals happen to refrain from doing the job properly or to be close to the institution's management or company in which they work. So even when information becomes public through the media is usually resolved to some extent. The fact that it appears in the media gives some pressure to any institution that needs to solve that problem. I'm talking about this, even since we've been reporting in the last two years with “Kosova” many problems or signals that have come into our institutions, which have also been solved”, she said.

Getarbe Mulliq-Bojaj, executive director of the Kosovo Journalists' Association, says that given a research conducted last year passed, journalists say the law on protecting the signals is good enough, but is not implemented enough.

Journalists and members of civil society demand more law enforcement for signalling, since they say it is a good mechanism for publicising irregularities and fighting illegal phenomena.

“According to our research, in Kosovo it can be said that there are many cases of relatives that have been discovered through beacons. Journalists say they don't feel afraid to use the information received by the beacons. However, unfortunately, the beacons continue to feel not sure that publicly in the media report the violations they have”, she said.

The law to protect the beacons is an effective mechanism for combating corruption and other abuses, says Albana Hasani from Movement Fol. But, according to her, there are challenges to law enforcement in practice.

“The challenge continues to lack the knowledge of workers of both the public and the private sector, for signalling, and for benefits that provide signalling and reporting abuses within the institution. Then signal procedures. The law itself has a lot of legal drain after envisioning some issues that are difficult to implement in practice, such as this case of signal privacy”, she said.

Hasan says the Corruption Prevention Agency, which is responsible for signalling, is not doing the job well enough.

“The APK would have to do more in awareness of institutions and workers for the role of signalling and procedures. During the research we've had, about institutions that have put officials responsible for signalling, most of them weren't aware of what signaling is, and in some cases they have confused this with road signals. In many cases, when we asked whether you assigned the official for the signal, they told us how you wanted this confidential matter to be, she says.

The director of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, Yll Buleskaj, at a Fol movement event, said they are taking concrete steps to promote signalisation.

“We have already developed some promotional materials for the law, which were broadcast in RTK. Besides, we've been too lobbied to close the sublegal framework for signalling. There are the last two acts: The guide for the administrative anti-corruption investigation and the Guide for the Protection of Signals, who are in the final phase of development”, he said.

Before passing the signal protection law in 2018, Kosovo had a law to protect informants.