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Hate Speech in Prishtina
Kosovapress, the Prishtina-based press service of the disbanded UCK, accused two
prominent ethnic Albanians of being spies for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on 5
October. Publisher Veton Surroi, a member of the Kosova transitional council, and Aton
Haxhiu, the chief editor of the Kosovar daily "Koha Ditore," were called
"dregs" for "spying and cooperating with Milosevic's regime." Surroi
said the accusation comes after he recently said that "fascists are in power in
Kosova now and what is being done to the Serbs [in Kosova] is a form of fascism."
Surroi and his newspaper, "Koha Ditore," have consistently spoken out against
the treatment of Serbs in Kosovar since the return of ethnic Albanians after NATO troops
took control of the province. Surroi said the condemnations are "an invitation to
kill both me and Haxhiu." PB
Dans une lettre adressée au haut représentant des Nations unies au Kosovo, Bernard
Kouchner, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) s'est inquiétée des menaces à l'encontre de
deux journalistes kosovars, Veton Surroï et Baton Haxhiu. L'organisation a demandé que
les représentants de la communauté internationale se saisissent au plus vite de cette
affaire. "Les propos, proférés par Kosova-press, une pseudo agence de presse
contrôlée par l'Armée de libération du Kosovo, constituent un véritable danger pour
la sécurité des deux journalistes et sont l'illustration même de ce qu'on appelle un
"discours de la haine"", a déclaré Robert Ménard, secrétaire général
de l'organisation.
Selon les informations obtenues par Reporters sans frontières, le 2 octobre, Veton
Surroï et Baton Haxhiu, respectivement directeur et rédacteur en chef du quotidien Koha
Ditore, ont été accusés d'être des "espions à la solde du régime de
Milosevic" dans un article paru sur Kosova-press, agence de presse officieuse de
l'Armée de libération du Kosovo (UCK). L'article, signé par un certain Merxhan Avdyli,
affirme également que "des personnes comme Veton Surroï et Baton Haxhiu n'ont pas
leur place dans un Kosovo libre. Nous ne serions pas surpris qu'ils deviennent les
victimes d'actes - tout à fait compréhensibles - de vengeance. Ces deux mafieux ne
doivent pas rester impunis pour leur actions criminelles d'autant plus que leur
comportement idiot ne profite qu'à Slobodan Milosevic", conclut l'article.
Koha Ditore, connu depuis plusieurs années pour ses positions modérées et
respectueuses des droits de l'homme au Kosovo, est le principal quotidien de langue
albanaise de la province. A ce titre, le journal a connu à plusieurs reprises la
répression des autorités serbes : peines d'amendes astronomiques, difficultés
d'impression et de diffusion. Les locaux du journal ont été saccagés peu après le
déclenchement des frappes aériennes de l'Otan contre la Yougoslavie et son imprimerie
brûlée. Menacés de mort, les journalistes de Koha Ditore se sont enfuis en Macédoine
d'où ils ont relancé le journal à l'intention des réfugiés kosovars. Seul Veton
Surroï est resté à Pristina, au risque de sa vie, changeant plusieurs fois de domicile
de peur d'être découvert par les autorités serbes. Depuis l'entrée des troupes de la
KFOR dans la province, début juin, Koha Ditore a été le seul média de langue albanaise
à se soucier du sort de la communauté serbe de la province, menacée à son tour de
représailles.
Veton Surroï a notamment signé un article, paru fin août dans Koha Ditore et
largement repris par la presse internationale, intitulé "Fascisme au Kosovo : la
honte des Albanais", dénonçant les récents crimes commis par des Albanais contre
des Serbes. "Après avoir été les victimes des pires persécutions de cette fin de
siècle en Europe, nous sommes en train de devenir nous-mêmes des persécuteurs et nous
avons permis au spectre du fascisme de réapparaître", écrivait-il. Et de conclure
: "Ceux qui pensent que la violence prendra fin dès que le dernier Serbe aura été
chassé se font des illusions. La violence sera simplement dirigée contre d'autres
Albanais."
(RSF/IFEX) - In a letter to
the United Nations mission chief in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, RSF has expressed its
concern about the threats against two Kosovar journalists, Veton Surroi and Baton Haxhiu.
The organisation demanded that the international community's representatives pay close
attention to this matter.
"The statements of Kosova-press, a pseudo press agency controlled by the Kosovo
Liberation Army, constitute a real danger for these two journalists' safety and go so far
as to be described as 'hate speech'," stated Robert Ménard, the organisation's
secretary-general.
According to the information obtained by RSF, on 2 October 1999, Surroi and Haxhiu,
director and editor-in-chief, respectively, of the daily "Koha Ditore", were
accused of being "paid spies of the Milosevic regime" in an article distributed
by Kosova-press, official press agency of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK). The article,
signed by Merxhan Avdyli, also stated that "persons such as Veton Surroi and Baton
Haxhiu do not belong in a free Kosovo. We would not be surprised if they were to become
victims of reprisal attacks. It would be perfectly understandable. The criminal acts of
these two mafioso must not remain unpunished, especially considering that their idiotic
behaviour only benefits Slobodan Milosevic," concluded the article.
"Koha Ditore", reknown over recent years for its moderate stance and respect
for human rights in Kosovo, is the main Albanian-language daily in the province. As such,
the newspaper has been the target of attacks by Serbian authorities on a number of
occasions: astronomical fines, printing and distribution difficulties. The newspaper's
offices were attacked and its printing press was burned down after the launch of NATO air
raids against Yugoslavia. Having been the target of death threats, "Koha Ditore"
journalists fled to Macedonia, where they relaunched their newspaper for Kosovo refugees.
Only Surroi stayed in Pristina, risking his life, changing residences on a number of
occasions for fear of being discovered by Serbian authorities.
Since the arrival of the United Nations Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops in the province in
early June, "Koha Ditore" has been the only Albanian-language media to express
concern about the province's Serbian community, which has also been threatened with
reprisal attacks. Surroi notably wrote an article which was published in late August in
"Koha Ditore", and was widely republished in the international press, titled "Fascism in Kosovo: the shame of
Albanians". The article denounced the recent crimes committed by
Albanians against Serbs. "After having been the victims of the worst persecution of
the end of the century in Europe, we are ourselves becoming persecutors and we have
allowed the spectre of fascism to reappear," he wrote. He concluded that: "Those
who believe that violence will end when the last Serb has been chased out are mistaken.
The violence will simply be directed against other Albanians."
For further information, contact Alexandre Lévy or Ludovic Brun at RSF, 5, rue
Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 84, fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51,
e-mail: europe@rsf.fr, Internet: http://www.rsf.fr
The information contained in this alert update is the sole responsibility of RSF. In
citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit RSF.
HATE SPEECH IN PRISTINA
- THE KOSOVO MEDIA WARS COULD START HERE
A KLA-linked news agency created a firestorm when it launched a vicious attack on a
leading independent publisher and political personality. The media wars inside Kosovo may
be only just beginning.
By Anthony Borden in Pristina
Political debate in Kosovo took a potentially dangerous turn this week with a ferocious
denunciation of a leading independent publisher by the press agency linked to the
unofficial Kosovo Albanian interim government and the Kosovo Liberation Army. In an
extended article, transmitted October 2, Kosovapress assails Veton Surroi, a leading
Kosovo Albanian public figure and independent newspaper publisher, as a traitor to the
Kosovo Albanian cause and warns that he is at risk of "eventual and very
understandable revenge". The article concludes ominously, "Such criminals and
enslaved minds should not have a place in the free Kosovo." The publication has
provoked a firestorm in Pristina, with counter editorials by Koha Ditore, a public
criticism of the "abuse of the freedom of speech . . . through threats and incitement
of violence" by the United Nations, and a distancing of the interim government from
the press agency which during the war was the direct voice of the KLA general staff.
"The language [in the article] is completely shocking," said William Houwen,
coordinator of media development for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe. "Goebbels couldn't have done it better." In the wake of extensive
revenge attacks against minorities, public beatings of people speaking Serbian, and
various forms of intimidation against foreigners and Albanians expressing alternative
views, many journalists and others in Pristina have seen the attack as a further setback
for open and responsible debate within Kosovo. The broadside comes in response to a
notable editorial by Surroi first published in August in his newspaper, Koha Ditore, in
which he accuses Kosovo Albanian elements of descending into "fascism".
Criticising both the widespread revenge attacks against Serbs in Kosovo and the failure of
the Kosovo Albanian leadership to condemn them, he argues that such "systematic
intimidation of all Serbs" because of their ethnicity is fundamentally the same as
the racist policies of the regime in Belgrade. He says the next victims will be dissident
Albanians. In a plaintive warning, he asks, "Is this really what we fought for?"
The article was widely published within the region and internationally [see "Kosovo
Fascism, Albanians' Shame," Balkan Crisis Reports No.69, August 25 1999 or the IWPR
website at http://www.iwpr.net/balkans/news/bcr210599_1_ser.htm
Within Kosovo, it sparked a swirl of controversy. But in a manner not uncommon to
Albanian debate, it remained under the surface. Some observers suggested that Surroi's
comments, however outspoken, reflect a widespread view among Kosovo Albanians, who wish to
move away from the political radicalism of wartime and get on with rebuilding normal
lives. Others reacted with anger. One Kosovo Albanian man appeared at the newspaper's
office and, explaining that his entire family had been killed during the war, asked how
Surroi could criticise Albanians now. Editors received threatening telephone calls and
other warnings from unknown sources. But the dispute broke into the open following an
interview in late September by the Koha Ditore editor, Baton Haxhiu, in the German weekly
Der Spiegel. Titled 'Lauter Gorillas' ("Loud Gorillas"), the article quotes
Haxhiu referring to the KLA as a "mafia". Now, he said, "we have loud
gorillas on the top."
The thrust of the article is to highlight Koha Ditore as a unique voice for
"social freedom" - against Serb oppression previously and what Haxhiu calls a
"lack of Albanian morals" now. It emphasises that this struggle was not merely
an intellectual one, but ultimately about real power - and plays up confrontation between
the KLA and the publisher and editor of Koha Ditore. Considering the possible political
future of Surroi, it quotes German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer as saying, "Watch
out for this man". And it neatly flips a quote by Haxhiu into a direct challenge:
"`We have a newspaper but we don't have a political place. That's why we cannot win.'
Not yet." Haxhui's comments in Der Spiegel were the tripwire. Surroi's
"fascism" editorial is notably measured, not making direct mention of any
political party or politicians. But Haxhui's comments as published appear to lay general
accusations against a movement for which many Albanians have strong emotional feelings,
especially so soon after the war.
Kosovapress' reaction was virulent - and unruly. Calling Surroi and Haxhiu
"bastard ragtag", "ordinary mobsters" and the "garbage of
history", its article, by contributor Marxhan Avdyli, claims evidence that they had
been supported by Serb paramilitaries during the war, and are now spies on behalf of the
international community. It condemns the revenge attacks, "if they exist," but
suggests that some of them may have been carried out by friends of the Koha Ditore
publisher and editor in order to compromise the new political class in Kosovo and the
national wing of the Kosovo Albanians. It refers to Haxhiu's "idiotic delirium"
and Surroi's "Seseljian idiotism". It says they belong in The Hague, with
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, whom they support. The article constantly taunts
the pair about their ethnicity, pointedly referring to them as "gospodin" (the
Serbian honorific for "Mr."), saying they have a "Slav stink" even if
they "unfortunately were made of Albanian blood, or at least were declared as such,
because you never know the origin of the pro-Serbs."
Koha Ditore's response was also sharp, if more considered. Republishing the text in
full within its own pages, it argues in an accompanying editorial, "The commentary by
the Kosovo Interim Government news agency will enter the history of Kosovar journalism,
not just because of its mental limitations, but also as the first commentary calling for
murder." Because of the close link between Kosovopress and the interim Kosovo
Albanian administration - the agency has been funded by the KLA - the editorial argues
that such statements go beyond hate speech. Its vocabulary [and] way of thinking reflect
that of the [interim government] and can only be considered as "a call to
action." Reiterating Surroi's earlier editorial, it argues that "the systematic
persecution of a human being because of his ethnic or racial group is fascism, and the
Albanian nation, as a victim of fascism, should not tolerate the attempt of the commentary
to persecute those who don't think the same, which falls into the same category." It
calls for an explanation from the Kosovo interim administration.
The gathering firestorm broke when the Kosovapress/Koha Ditore exchange was excerpted
by the UN's media monitoring service, from which the translations in this article are
taken. Concerns have focused on the implications for open debate and democracy within
Kosovo, with the UN issuing a short statement the same day. "Someone is taking Veton
[Surroi] as a very dangerous political rival, and his views as deeply distressing,"
says Dukadjin Gorani, editor of KD Times, the English-language edition of Koha Ditore.
"This is one of the ways to start his political elimination-and it was done in a very
primitive manner." By implication, as Kosovo begins to prepare for elections, the
level of debate will thus only deteriorate. Compounding the difficulty, there is no legal
remedy in Kosovo. The international administration is unlikely to take measures against
the agency, and there are no libel or defamation laws, much less a judicial system,
through which individuals could seek redress against irresponsible media.
"The OSCE is putting in place regulations and perhaps sanctions for the electronic
media, but it is likely to leave the press alone," says the OSCE's Houwen. "In
normal circumstances, this would be something for the criminal court. But there is nothing
in place, so the only thing journalists can do is write about it and say it is
unacceptable." Indeed, while Reporters sans Frontieres has called for an official
investigation, the combatants in the dispute seemed, at least for the moment, to step
back. The representatives of the interim government said they had no responsibility for
the offending text, and some official voices criticised its harshness. While confirming
its feeling that Surroi and Haxhiu are "enemies" of the Albanian cause,
Kosovapress has claimed that it is an open agency - even re-publishing articles from
Surroi and Haxhiu - and that all texts are the individual responsibility of the authors,
including Avdyli. Koha Ditore issued a clarification: it seems that in the Der Speigel
interview, Haxhiu had been misunderstood when he referred to loud Albanian leaders - the
word was guerrillas, not gorillas. Koha editor Gorani stresses that the details are
important, and that Kosovapress and Koha Ditore will both take lessons from articles and
interviews they have made.
At a recent meeting on the media in Pristina, which was marked by sharp exchanges
between Koha Ditore and Kosovapress representatives, a consensus emerged among most
representatives of the Kosovo media to put aside their rivalries and develop a code of
ethics and professional standards, as well as to increase training and other efforts to
raise the quality and responsibility of the media. The uproar thus marks a new stage for
the post-war media in Kosovo. In breaking open debate - "touching the most sensitive
national point," in the words of Kosovapress - the affair could begin to exorcise the
extraordinary trauma and moral quandaries the entire society has passed through. Yet the
process of describing someone as "the Other", as achieved in such detail in the
Kosovapress article, has been a classic pre-conflict media strategy throughout the crises
in the Balkans. Whether the episode represents a new low or could in fact offer a possible
turning point remains to be seen. "This is not Kosovo's first encounter with harsh
debate," says Gorani, "Nor will it be the last."
Anthony Borden is executive director of IWPR.
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