Author: birnEU

BIRN Offices Hold Joint Meeting On Regional Investigations

BIRN HUB and BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina held a joint meeting in Sarajevo on Wednesday to discuss a series of upcoming regional investigations.  

The two offices of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network discussed topics for regional investigations related to transitional justice.

“Our future investigations need to tackle issues of transitional justice that will prompt debate in our societies,” said Gordana Igric, regional director of BIRN.

Igric added that a regional approach to these issues is crucial, as almost every story related to the conflict in the 1990s affects at least two countries in the former Yugoslavia.

The meeting was attended by: Marija Ristic, BTJ Serbian correspondent, Elvira Jukic, journalist, Erna Mackic, Editor in Chief BIRN BiH, Marija Tausan, BIRN Justice Report journalist and Editor, Albina Sorguc, Journalist, Amer Jahic, Journalist, Mirna Buljugic, BIRN Justice Report journalist, Dragana Erjavec, TV Justice journalist and Editor, Selma Ucanbarlic, Journalist/Court reporter, Melisa Bilalovic, Radio Justice Editor and Boris Pavelic, Balkan Transitional Justice Croatia Correspondent.

The investigations are part of BIRN’s Regional Reporting on Transitional Justice Issues programme. Over the next two years, the organisation’s network of journalists will produce four investigations on transitional justice issues in the region.

The topics for investigations will be finalised in January in Belgrade at a joint editorial meeting.

Spotlight on Mladic: Villian or Celebrity?

The publication brings an overview of the coverage of the arrest and the beginning of the trial of Ratko Mladic, who is charged with genocide and other crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Balkan media.

The monitoring and analysis encompassed the highest-circulation dailies and weeklies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia.

Languages: Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS) and English

BIRN teaches voters how to fight electoral violations

High school students competed with one another to see who could identify more electoral procedure violations during imaginary cases presented by a BIRN team of lawyers and experts. 

It was one part of 10 BIRN presentations on electoral procedures in the municipalities of Obiliq, Mitrovica, Drenas, Fushe Kosove, Suhareka, Kamenica, Prizren, Ferizaj, Hani i Elezit and in Gjilan that were held during October and November 2012.

These presentations gathered 200 first-time voters. They were trained on the electoral process focusing on election frauds, complaint procedures, available penalties, and competent institutions to deal with complaints.

The presentations focused on electoral complaint procedures and institutions. First, the BIRN team offered a comprehensive presentation on these procedures, followed with concrete examples of how BIRN has monitored elections.

The presentations lasted about an hour and were followed with an exercise, in which high school students were presented with an imaginary case.

The BIRN team worked closely with students in order to explain to them how to fill the complaint, what evidence is acceptable for ECAP, how to present evidence in ECAP and other legal elements of the complaints.

After students competed in finding electorial violations, trainers engaged them in discussion.

Questions included: How a witness of a violation during the election should report the case to the relevant institutions? How should a person react, in cases when he or she has been present at the time and place where the violation has occurred? Will there be ask risk to them for reporting the violations?

BIRN Reporters Awarded for Anti-Corruption Journalism

BIRN journalists Parim Olluri, Kreshnik Gashi and Alban Selimi have been awarded in Kosovo for their anti-corruption journalism.

The United Nations Development Program, in collaboration with Kosovo’s Anti-Corruption Agency and the Association of Professional Journalists in Kosovo, awarded the prizes for the seventh year.

Parim Olluri, a journalist for BIRN’s Gazeta Jeta ne Kosovo, received the award for the best article on issues of corruption in online media.

He was recognized for a series of articles about Kosovo’s prime minister and several well-known businessmen who are close to him.

The jury said Olluri was honoured for the quality of his articles, the impact they had, and his persistence in following up on the stories.  

Kreshnik Gashi and Alban Selimi received the award for best anti-corruption TV investigation. The two BIRN journalists produced a story on bribery within the ranks of the police, which was part of BIRN’s “Justice in Kosovo” program.

The jury commended Gashi and Selimi for the content of their story as well as the manner in which they carried out their investigation

The award for print media went to journalists Vehbi Kajtazi and Besnik Krasniqi from Koha Ditore daily. Jeton Llapashtica of Zeri newspaper was also recognized.

Imer Mushkolaj, executive director of the Association of Professional Journalists of Kosovo, told the journalists that their work is crucial to Kosovo’s development.

“The media cannot win the war against corruption, yet without the media, the war against corruption is impossible,” he told those gathered.

BIRN Investigative Journalists meet in Belgrade

BIRN investigative reporters met for the first time this year to discuss story ideas and possible regional cooperation in the Serbian capital on October 29, 2012.

Balkan Insight’s Besar Likmeta of Albania, Elvira Jukic of Bosnia and Bojana Barlovac of Serbia, along with Belgrade Insight’s Gordana Andric, BIRN Serbia’s Aleksandar Djordjevic, and Semir Mujkic, an investigative journalist for the Bosnian Zurnal magazine, gathered in Belgrade and brainstormed ideas for regional cooperation on investigative pieces.

BIRN Regional Director Gordana Igric and Balkan Insight Managing Editor Ana Petruseva guided the journalists through different topic possibilities.

Investigations are an important part of BIRN’s publishing activities and the BIRN team is always preparing new stories.

Over the next year, BIRN journalists will work on several regional investigative projects that are relevant to the Balkans and beyond.

BIRN Bosnia Holds Training for Journalists

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina, supported by the OSCE, is organizing a five-day training for journalists from various parts of the country, aimed to improve court reporting on war crimes trials.

The training takes place in Sarajevo from December 10 to 14 and journalists will have an opportunity to listen about the work of judicial institutions from judges and prosecutors, legal experts and other assistants directly involved in war crime trials.

Ten journalists from Doboj, Livno, Mostar, Travnik, Bijeljina, Sarajevo, Brčko, Trebinje, Tuzla and Gorazda will attend the training. The journalists will attend war crime trials and report about what they witnessed in court. They will also have the opportunity to work closely with BIRN editors and journalists, in order to learn about the court reporting process, how to avoid mistakes and how to recognise ethical and professional traps in their work.

In addition, the journalists will get to learn about the importance of reporting on facts and the dangers of irresponsible reporting, which can lead to lawsuits and contempt of court charges.

BIRN and OSCE recognised the need to organise such a training as many war crimes cases have been transferred to the Cantonal, District and Brcko district Court from the Bosnian State Court. The goal of the training is to improve reporting on war crime trials at the local courts.

The aim of the raining is to develop journalists’ court reporting skills in line with International and domestic standards and become certified court reporters in their media.

BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the key actors in brining justice processes to citizens of the country and the region since 2004. In the past seven years, BIRN BiH has informed the public daily about war crimes prosecutions and transitional justice issues which affect their lives.

Media on Mladic: Parallel Universes

Balkan Investigating Reporting Network (BIRN) has presented on Tuesday its publication “Spotlight on Mladic: Villian or Celebrity?”, which analyses how the media in the region reported on the arrest and trial of Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army commander.

The book, published with the support from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, concluded that the media in the former Yugoslav countries presented these events from different angles.

It was pointed out at the promotion that media reports from Bosnia and Herzegovina reflected the entity division of the country, while in Serbia, Mladic, charged with genocide and other crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was painted as a celebrity.

The media in Croatia focused on the disappointment that the Hague Tribunal did not charge Mladic with crimes committed in that country.

“It is sad we don’t share the same views and I think we are trapped in parallel universes which are completely different,” said Gordana Igric, the publication’s editor.

Marija Ristic, the journalist who analysed the media reports in Serbia, described them as trivial and that more attention was dedicated to what Mladic was doing at the time of his arrest or the treatment he had in the Hague Tribunal than the crimes he is accused of.

“That kind of reporting is actually the testament to the unwillingness of Serbia and its citizens to face their past,” said Ristic.  

Erna Mackic, who analysed the texts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that the journalist reports in the entity media reflected comments made by politicians during the arrest and Mladic’s trial.

“In the Federation, people were delighted, while in Republika Srpska it was said that the court should be left alone to establish whether Mladic was guilty of committing crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina or not, also neglecting statements from victims,” said Mackic.

Speaking at the presentation of the book, Boris Pavelic, journalist from Croatia, said that the Hague Tribunal was condemned as the worst court possible up until November 16, 2012, when it acquitted the Croatian generals, Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac,  becoming the best court ever.

Christian Axboe Nielsen, a historian, talked about the issues that media failed to deal with, as well as the Hague Tribunal itself, emphasising that the court’s achievements would not matter historically if the national courts did not resume its work.

According to Nerma Jelacic, the spokesperson of the Hague Tribunal, the results of the work and efficiency of this court would be best perceived from the distance of around ten years.

BIRN journalist recognised by UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina

Eldin Hadzovic, an alumnus of BIRN’s Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence, was honoured by UNICEF for his outstanding contribution to journalism in Bosnia. 

UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina marked Human Rights Day on December 10 with the presentation of the results of its ‘Justice for Every Child’ campaign. Officials also awarded several journalists and recognised the ambassador of the campaign- Bosnian singer Dino Merlin.

The organisation honoured journalistic achievements in the fields of child protection, violence prevention and juvenile justice in 2012.

Eldin Hadzovic won award for his BIRN’s Fellowship article ‘Abandoned Twice: Bosnia’s Orphans Left in the Lurch’ in which he explains how Bosnia is unable to monitor its orphanages properly, nor can provide any decent alternatives to the institutions.  

UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina presented awards to local journalists for the best online work, best radio work, the best TV news and the best in print media.

In addition to BIRN’s Eldin Hadzovic, four other journalists from various media outlets in the country were also honoured with special tributes for outstanding contributions to journalism.

UNICEF’s partner organisations were present for the awards ceremony, as well as representatives of state institutions, the media and several non-profit groups.

The ‘Justice for Every Child’ campaign is part of UNICEF’s project for protection of children at risk, and is supported by relevant ministries and organisations in Bosnia. The campaign is also supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, SDC.

Together towards a better budget

BIRN Serbia and muncipal officials discuss the budgets of Raška and Kuršumlija with local residents.

As part of its “Participatory Budgeting” project, BIRN Serbia and local municipal officials held budget forums last week in Raška and Kuršumlija, where they presented the 2013 budget for each municipality and received input from residents.

Prior to the Forums, those municipalities conducted citizens’ survey on priorities to be funded out from 2013 Budget.  Among proposed, citizens could pick 3 projects of highest priority, by their opinion.

The forums allowed local residents to comment on the draft 2013 budgets and get answers from top local government officials about administration’s plans for the coming year.

More than 20 local residents took part in the debate in Raška, and Mayor Jovan Čorbić stressed the importance of their participation. He told those gathered that it is important for all citizens to show initiative when it comes to examining the budget because it affects the life of the community.

“Let’s determine together what is the most important and find out how to achieve it. It is useless to promise that it is possible to do everything in one year. Therefore, it is necessary to set priorities,” said Čorbić.

Zagorka Šumarac, who heads the budget department in Raška, presented the draft 2013 budget in a “citizen budget” format, which gives residents a comprehensive look at the projects and plans that have been funded.

Zorica Nišavić from the NGO Women Raška said she was pleased that for the first time residents  had an opportunity to be informed about the budget.

“I hope that in the coming years we will again have a chance to talk about the budget and give our suggestions,” she said. Nišavić’s thoughts on the process were echoed by several other participants.

Meanwhile in Kuršumlija, more than 40 residents and local community representatives participated in the budget debate. Mayor Radoljub Vidić expressed his satisfaction with the large turnout for the debate and the questionnaire “Your money, our responsibility”.

Local participation is crucial, Vidic said, because municipal officials can use the feedback from residents as an instrument to ensure the allocation of resources in accordance with local needs.

“The suggestions and complaints of residents push the local authorities to work on creating quality living conditions for all residents of our municipality,” said Vidić.

The draft budget for 2013 was presented by Deputy Mayor Nebojša Jović, who stressed that this budget put forward 100 million dinars more than was planned in 2012.

“In 2013 we focused on priorities related to agricultural development and entrepreneurship, and some resources will be allocated for scholarships for high school and university students. The plan is to improve the living conditions of the citizens by reducing public spending and putting more funds into investments,” said Jović.

Milivoje Perović, a local beekeeper, told the forum participants that Kuršumlija has the potential to be a substantial producer of organic honey, which would create new jobs, and suggested that this be considered in the next budget cycle.

The conclusions reached during the local budget forums will be presented to members of the Raška and Kuršumlija municipal councils, and BIRN signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the mayors that confirms further cooperation in this field in the future.

The project of implementing the practice of participatory budgeting at the local level through the European Partnership Programme with EU PROGRES municipalities in 25 municipalities in the south and southwest Serbia is supported by the European Union, the Swiss and the Serbian government.

Serbia’s Far Right Wants NGOs Labelled as ‘Foreign Agents’

A Belgrade based far right group has requested that all the country’s NGOs and media funded from abroad, including BIRN, be labelled as “foreign agents”, based on a Russian model.

On Friday, the Serbian far-right movement “SNP Nasi” called on the authorities to pass a law that would label all NGOs and media outlets that addressed politics and were financed from abroad as ‘foreign agents.’

“After submitting its evidence, SNP Nasi will demand that non-governmental organizations and the media blacklisted for committing criminal and unconstitutional acts be legally banned and prosecuted,” the movement said in a statement.

The black list includes BIRN, B92, The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, ANEM, E-novine, Pescanik, the Association of Independent Journalists of Vojvodina, The European Movement in Serbia, the Legal Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) and  the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR).

According to the statement, these organisations are funded by the US government and the “infamous National Endowment for Democracy Foundation”, which operates as an organization for conducting special operations on behalf of the CIA.

The statement also said that NED had been blamed in Latin America for “creating structures aimed at interfering in the internal affairs and undermining the constitutional order [of nation states]”. In Russia, the foundation is treated by law as a foreign agent.

Earlier this month, the group called on the authorities to outlaw 17 NGOs, which it said had violated Serbia’s constitution.

SNP Nasi is known in Serbia for promoting the idea of a Greater Serbia and inciting violence ahead of Gay Pride parades. Prior to the cancellation of the Belgrade Pride Parade in October, SNP Nasi demanded that such events should be banned for 100 years.