Civil society and activists react together: To resign RTK board, operating independently of LVV

Many nongovernmental organisations and civil society activists have joined together to unanimously request the resignation of the Kosovo Radio Television board for <x0munge of independence and professionalism in exercising their mandate”, following the situation created with the publication of an article in a Bosnian portal labeling some media in Kosovo as Serbia.

FOL Movement, Kosovo Institute for Laws i - IKD, Kosovo Democratic Institute - KDI, Progress Initiative - INPO, Youth Initiative for Human Rights Y IHR KS, Association of Kosovo Journalists AGK, Pristina Institute for Political Studies (PIPS), Democracy P LUS-D+, Centre for Information, Critics and Action - QICA, Institute for Development Policy (INDEP), Epic Institute, Kosovar Institute for Investigative and Development of Politics (KIPRED), Imer Muskolaj, Butter Kusari, Agon Maliqi, Institute for Social Policy Musine Koklari, Sbonker, the Group for Jury and Political Studies ♫ GLPS, Democracy Institute for Development D4D say RTK published the dezinative article to attack the media, according to the goal of the Vetevendosje Movement for the Development of Journalists.

Kosovo's “Radio Television (RTK) has re-published dezinformative information in order to attack online media Nacional and Persiscope under the claim controlled by Serbia. This torment fed over the years by the ruling party Vetevendosje aims at denigrating journalists and pushing citizens against them, which poses a danger to their security”, the response of these organisations and activists says.

Organisations and activists expressed concern with RTK's board statement after a meeting held Tuesday.

“instead of suspending all responsibilities for issuing this disinformation, Board of RTK was content with an expression of “clarging” for the article in question and forming a commission to clarify the “by not distanceing or apologizing. It's extremely disturbing that the disinformative article published by RTK, the board has been named as “contravers” and has declared false that RTK did not mention media names. This is meant to ease the scandal that has happened to the public broadcaster and bypassing the fact that this news contradicts the RTK Law, the RTK Statistics and the Professional Standards. Commission formation is the popular method used to prolong procedures in the hope that the public will forget”, said in response.

Beyond the recent event, civil society and activists say a series of other developments occurred in RTK that give clear indicators that the broadcaster's board no longer functions independently from the ruling party”.

“Here includes forcing former director General Shkumbin Ahmetxekaj to resign and exercise pressure on him, creating a practice of publishing information that violates ethical and legal standards such as information about allegations of assassinations against power leaders, publishing different videos that help government Narratives and the news like the one that is intended not to inform the public but to do government propaganda<1>, it says in response.

Organisations and activists who joined in this response consider that RTK's <x0bord by making successive concessions has allowed the extension of power to the public broadcaster and no longer enjoys the credibility and independence needed to further their mandate and must resign from their positions”.

“At the same time we call on the Vetevendosje Movement to halt the fierce fight against the media and journalists that has resulted from Kosovo's fall of 19 countries in Reporters Without Borders' index”, said at the end of the response.

Kosovo Radio Television broadcast on Monday in the central news release news news news news news news that Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq is getting Kosovo media at his disposal.

The news also appeared on the television website, where two media, Periscope and Nacional, were mentioned. RTK quoted a “article Slobodna Bosna”, writing that Periscop is “under the direct control of the terrorist from Banjska, Milan Radoiciq”, and that recently “has become a millions of dollars transaction at Nacionale”.

After RTK broadcast this false news, the same was quickly distributed by the Vetevendosje Movement exhibits.

The Kosovo Journalists' Association has been alarmed that <x0fuscies like this seriously jeopardise the safety of journalists of these two media, and Vetevendosje and its deputies should be held responsible for inciting hatred and potential attacks against them”.