Author: birnEU

Life in Kosovo analyses the situation in Northern Kosovo

On Thursday, Life in Kosovo broadcasts an exclusive programme from northern Kosovo.

Questions covered will include: What hides behind the barricades in the north of the country? How do Albanians feel about it, and what account do Serbs give about the blocked streets? What message was brought to Serbs by Russians in military uniforms? How relaxed are KFOR peacekeepers in Mitrovica near the barricades?
 

Journalist Muhamet Hajrullahu stayed for a week in different parts of the north of the country, and will give an exclusive story about the Albanians and Serbs living in the north.
 

After the show, BIRN will broadcast a report from journalist Alban Selimi, who describes how experts from the United States’ prestigious Harvard University came to Kosovo to confirm that its people are living beneath the most damaging chimneys in Europe.
 

BIRN will also broadcast another report by Alban, showing how doctors forged documents for the sake of a colleague.
 

Afterwards, journalist Edona Musa will present a report revealing more forgery, this time for grades and job contracts in schools.
 

Finally, the ‘Youth in Kosovo’ section will feature a report about the ATOMI project and its selection process for finding young people with exceptional intelligence.

Fifth training session on the control of public finances: Interpreting financial statements

Last weekend saw BIRN Serbia organise its fifth successive training session for journalists, covering monitoring and control of public finances, at Arandjelovac’s Hotel Izvor. This training is part of the multi-year “Eye on public finance” programme, which BIRN Serbia is implementing in conjunction with expert organisation Pro Concept and the support of the British Embassy in Belgrade.

The first day saw journalists who participated in the training given the opportunity to gain insight into a case study covering the financial statements of Milo Djuraskovic, which were presented to participants during a four-hour presentation by Miroslava Milenovic, a court expert in forensic accounting.

Miroslava informed journalists about the way to examine financial statements that are public documents, in order to efficiently and quickly draw conclusions and access information that they need to uncover the numerous irregularities of the financial implementation of projects and irregularities in the operations of certain companies, in this case the Nibens group.

“In Serbia at present financial crime and tax evasion are dominant, but also corruption within financial crime. The recent “Nibens” scandal is one of the best indicators of how money is pumped through rigged tenders and irregular procurement,” said Milenovic.

She explained to journalists how to interpret the structure of financial statements and how to spot key indicators of money laundering, as well as how they should seek the causes of such corruption in the period prior to the privatisation of public enterprises in Serbia before the year 2000.

BIRN Serbia representative Slobodan Georgiev spoke to the gathered journalists about what can be learnt from the financial statements of the Nibens Group and public company ’Putevi Srbije’ (Roads of Serbia) and how that information can be used to research an article.

“Data that serves journalists to investigate something like, for instance, the ’road – asphalt’ mafia, is publicly available, but it must not only be read carefully, but also read in the right way. These are things that one learns and everyone who deals with investigative journalism must know how to identify this date and the ways that such data can be used.”

Ruzica Stojmenovic, an expert of the Business Registers Agency, presented the agency’s database and explained the models used to control the quality of revisions and to read the notes for revision reports that explain how a report was made and what information it is possible to use when writing a news item.

She explained how to interpret inflows and outflows of business activity, investment and financial activities and actions that serve to show the inflow and outflow of funds from a company, but also how to recognise the importance of “cash-flow”.

“Cash flow is the sum of net results, calculated depreciation and long-term reserves. This means that the net is the result of new value created after all expenses have been covered. These are costs that do not include cash outflows and that is the company’s cash. This money ensures the security of a company. “

Stojmenovic explained to training participants the types of financial statements, the deadlines for their submission, who compiles them and who are the individuals responsible for maintaining these documents.

Explaining to journalists how they can access data on entrepreneurs and companies that are not required to submit reports to the Business Registers Agency, she said that one useful address could be the Tax Office and the Statistical Office.

“At the agency we talk about those whose reports we have, while the Statistical Office combines the data from the Tax Administration and the Agency for Business Registers, so they have a more-or-less clearer picture than us and if you cannot find some of the reports at our agency you can search for them at these addresses,” said Stojmenovic, who utilised part of the training session to clarify the financial terms used in reports.

Following discussions with agencies’ representatives, training participants were able to pose questions to representatives of the Public Procurement Office, including director Predrag Jovanovic and his assistants Danijela Bokan and Daliborka Sreckov.

Danijela Bokan presented the new portal of the Public Procurement Office, explaining the model used to create it and search methods for concluded public procurement contracts and annual reports on public procurement.

“Every client shall submit a report for the previous quarter and the deadline is the tenth day of the next month. Everything that has been implemented and all contracts that have been concluded must be submitted. This is important in order to know when you can get what information,” said Bokan, introducing the system for the submission of public procurement reports.

She noted that around 3,500 clients regularly submit their reports, while 12,000 clients do not do so, despite being legally obliged to deliver their reports. According to her estimate, there are 120,000 clients in Serbia.

As she hgihlighted, reports are published on the portal of the Public Procurement Office with a delay of one annual quarter, as the Office is unable to more quickly process all data.

President of the Public Procurement Office, Predrag Jovanovic, spoke about the agency’s plans for the coming period and explained that an initiative had been submitted calling for the Office to submit reports on implemented activities and procurement plans for the year ahead, as well as clearly defining what are public procurements and what are not during the preparation of the annual procurement plan.

He noted that interest exists to abolish the Public Procurement Office and that the ultimate result of this would be the centralisation of public procurement, which he believes would not be the best solution.

Following presentations, representatives of the Public Procurement Office answered questions posed by journalists, who expressed their own satisfaction with the training when summarising their impressions of the knowledge gained.

 

Culture Watch Journalism Team Met in Belgrade

Serbian journalistic team – Pedja Popovic, Branislava Lopar, Jovan Ristic and Nemanja Cabric, from the first and second year of BICCED Project (The Balkan Initiative for Cultural Cooperation, Exchange and Development ), gathered in Belgrade together with Executive Director of BITEF Festival, Jelena Knezevic and Director of SeeCult.org Vesna Milosavljevic to discuss the end of the first cycle of investigations on cultural issues in Serbia.

Journalists gathered the facts and multimedia material from the cities of Leskovac, Vranje and Nis in southern Serbia, and Novi Sad, Subotica and Indjiija in the northern province of Vojvodina. The investigation will be focusing on cultural decline in towns in Serbia due to the country’s centralized system and analysis on how the culture in Serbia suffers because of a failure to pass laws and legislation in the field of culture and due to lack of money invested in that specific field of society.

When completed, the investigation will be presented at a round table in Belgrade, where it is goverenment officials, representatives of cultural institutions and organisations are expected to be present. Participants at the round table will have the unique opportunity to discuss the main issues on cultural decline in the country.

The investigative report containing multimedia material will be published on Balkan Insight’s spicialised page Culture Watch.

The Status of Press Freedom in Kosovo

On September 21, 2011, Kosovo’s leading investigative journalist and host of “Life in Kosovo” current affairs debate programme on public television RTK, Jeta Xharra, addressed the status of the media and freedom of the press in Kosovo at the United States Institute of Peace, USIP, in Washington.

Xharra discussed issues such as the ramifications when a journalist broadcasts and discloses information about powerful individuals including leading politicians and businessmen.

She further addressed the concern on whether Kosovo’s justice system can protect journalists from death threats and intimidation, problems that have marred journalism in Kosovo since after the war. In addition, the importance of international actors to preserving media freedoms and the role that EULEX played in protecting freedom of the press was also debated during the lecture in Washington.

The lecture attracted attention from an audience of Balkan experts and representatives of different institutions based in Washington DC, who participated in discussion by raising questions and sharing experiences from their countries related to the freedom of press.

“The United States Institute of Peace is a good forum for journalists from all over the world. It enables them to share their experiences of freedom of press in their countries,” noted Xharra.

The lecture was followed by Xharra’s 10 min interview in the Albanain section of the Voice of America.

 

Life in Kosovo discusses the EU Progress Report

Tonight, Life in Kosovo will broadcast a debate on the findings of the EU progress report for 2011.

Questions to be covered include: What do representatives of Kosovo’s political parties think about this report? According to the report, has the country progressed or regressed? Which sectors are most criticised by the report? How well are corruption and organised crime being fought?  What are the findings of EU Progress Report on the freedom of speech in Kosovo?

 

To discuss these and related issues, Jeta Xharra has invited the following guests to the studio:

 

Hajredin Kuqi, deputy prime minister of Kosovo;
Vjosa Osmani, a deputy from the LDK;
Ardian Gjini, a deputy from the AAK; and
Visar Ymeri, a deputy from Vetëvendosje.

 

Before the debate, BIRN will re-broadcast a report  from September 2010 about an incident in the Municipal Court of Klina, in which former judge Kole Puka, along with lawyer Lon Palushaj and in cooperation with Dr Mit’hat Jakupi declared a citizen from this municipality to be disabled, and benefited from 16,800 euros on his behalf.

 

In 2010, the Association of Professional Journalists of Kosova awarded BIRN’s investigative report as the best TV report on the fight against corruption. This week, all three people involved were arrested. The police managed to find some other similar cases, resulting in the arrest of 13 more people. 

 

During the debate, BIRN will also broadcast a report by journalist Muhamet Hajrullahu, which considers the opinions of key decision makers about the EU Progress Report, including the political parties in the Assembly, Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi and the Assembly President, Jakup Krasniqi. 

 

Belgrade Insight Centennial

The 100th issue of BIRN’s Belgrade Insight newspaper hits the streets

tomorrow, almost three and a half years after its inception.

The first special pilot edition of Belgrade Insight was published to

coincide with the staging of the Eurovision Song Contest in the Serbian

capital in May 2008 and the newspaper has continued to evolve ever since.

 

Though the economic crisis forced BIRN to downgrade the publication from a

weekly to a fortnightly newspaper, Belgrade Insight has managed to survive

and position itself as a ‘must-read’ for all foreigners living in

Belgrade.

 

Speaking about the anniversary, Belgrade Insight staff journalist Gordana

Andric said: “We strive to ensure that our readers are both

informed and entertained with every issue and we hope that Belgrade

Insight will continue to grow and evolve for many years to come.”

World Bank Annual Meetings

2011 Annual World Bank meetings, Civil Society Organizations from Kosovo were represented by BRIN’s CEO Jeta Xharra and Nezir Sinani from KIPRED.

At the first meeting with the Vice-President for Europe and Central Asia, Mr. Philippe Le Houerou and South Eastern Europe Director Ms. Jane Armitage, Jeta Xharra raised the issue of New Kosovo lignite power plant plans and pointed out the WB’s lack of transparency in their country web-site and technicalities that arise from the Bank’s published ToR for the work of the Expert Panel evaluating the Kosovar project.

During the meeting with US Congress and State Department Jeta Xharra presented to the USIP audience issues related to the freedom of press, touching also political matters and the ongoing developments related to the energy projects.

 

The meeting was held with the Helsinki Committee staff and Eliot Engel’s office on political, freedom of information and energy matters.

 

A technical presentation was given to European Executive Directors of the World Bank; SEE Director Jane Armitage, Kosovo Director of WB Jan-Peter Olters and New Kosovo Power Plant technical team; Lagarde and Zoellick, on the problems related to the project and their reflection on WB’s mandate as well as how the ESKOM project reflects the problems raised about Kosovo.

Whereas, Mr. Robert Zoellick World Bank’s President addressed the CSOs together with Lagarde that Kosovo is a win-win project, which according to him will allow the country to address the energy problems and close down the most polluting plant in Europe. Xharra asked him if he was ready to carry the burden of another ESKOM in Kosovo, when no proper alternative energy studies were carried out and not much was done in solving energy accountability issues.

 

Zoellick expressed his optimism on this project even though they were put in a position where they had to decide whether they wanted to help or raise their hands altogether off this project ; both options remain open at this stage.

Other meetings with NGOs from around the world were held, Xharra had a TV interview with Voice of America and Daniel Serwer, and other World Bank Departments were visited and meetings with different heads of the WB were held. Overall, the week served well to raise the issues related to the Kosovar projects at the highest levels of the Bank.

 

Symposium for Prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina

17 October 2011 Participants of a symposium for prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was held from October 11 to 13 this year, discussed the “transparency of judiciary and responsibility of the media” and concluded that both parties had to cooperate with each other more in order for the public to get timely information.

Representatives of the media, prosecutions and human rights organizations discussed the “transparency of judiciary and responsibility of the media” during a panel discussion.

“When dealing with prosecutors’ offices, Bosnian journalists often cannot obtain the information they need, because those institutions do not have spokespersons or expert associates with whom they could interact,” said Erna Mackic, journalist with BIRN – Justice Report.

Tihomir Jurko, Deputy Chief Prosecutor with the Prosecution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, FBiH, said that, recruiting spokespersons had proved to be a good thing in the past, adding that prosecutors’ offices should appoint staff members, whose task would be to interact with the media.

“The media should get timely information that will not have detrimental effect on investigations conducted by prosecutors’ offices,” Jurko said.

Zekerijah Smajic, longtime journalist, expert in the European Union issues and representative of SENS Agency, discussed the responsibility of journalists and their activities related to reporting from judicial institutions.

“It is not a journalist’s role to misuse information. We must take the ethics into account,” Smajic said.

Earlier this year BIRN Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with support from USAID, established cooperation with the Association of Prosecutors of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the aim of putting focus on transparency of judiciary and responsible reporting by the media. These activities are aimed at improving the cooperation between the media and judicial institutions by sharing knowledge and experience at a series of lectures, workshops and discussions and having judicial institutions open themselves towards the public and journalists realize what their responsibilities are.

“What we can see in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the media spreading the language of hatred and investing exceptional efforts into causing negative impact on and destructing war crimes trials before domestic judicial bodies by publishing distorted articles based on their comments. Also, the Hague Tribunal issue is exclusively related to a negative sensationalism,” said Anisa Suceska-Vekic, Director of BIRN BiH.

Suceska-Vekic maintained that journalists had the power to destroy or create, adding that this had been proved by verdicts passed down before international courts.

At this year’s symposium Sasa Madacki, Director of the Center for Human Rights of the Sarajevo University, spoke about the verdicts passed down by the European Court for Human Rights.

“It is true that the media have contributed to the degradation of the importance of war crimes processing in the common citizens’ perception, but we still believe that objective reporting on war crimes trials can help overcome the collective responsibility stigma and help the future generations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region avoid being victims of a factual and imposed ignorance,” said Suceska-Vekic.

During the symposium BIRN BiH screened a ten-minute documentary about the significance of transparency of judiciary and responsibility of the media.

Other topics that were discussed at this symposium for prosecutors included: detection and processing of human trafficking, criminal aspects of proving bribery, taking over of verdicts passed down by foreign courts, extraditions with particular emphasis on temporary extradition and cooperation with the Prosecutor’s Office of the Hague Tribunal.

The symposium was organized by the Association of Prosecutors of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in collaboration with centers for education of judges and prosecutors of FBiH and Republika Srpska with support from OSCE in Bosnia and Herzegovina, USAID in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Government of FBiH.

 

Training of Journalists Needed

17 October 2011 Representatives of BIRN and the Association of State Court Reporters, AIS held a joint meeting with judicial institutions from the Una-Sana Canton and the media stations, reporting on war crimes trials, on October 13.

The meeting participants concluded that journalists, who follow war crimes trials, as well as other trials, should be trained, while judicial institutions should try to open themselves to public as much as possible, giving the public an opportunity to understand what they were doing.

Besides by responding to journalists’ questions, the judicial institutions can open themselves to general public by issuing announcement when there is a need for that, regularly updating their web pages and holding press briefings.

The Cantonal Court of Una-Sana Canton, USC, pointed out that it did not have a spokesperson, but an expert associate, who was trying to respond to journalists’ questions, adding that they had not issued media announcements in the past.

“The electronic media often have a possibility to record the beginning of trials held before the Cantonal Court in Bihac and obtain audio recordings made during the trials. However, the lack of space is a big problems for us, because everybody has to go through the same corridor. We do not have space for journalists. The security conditions are questionable as well,” said Edina Arnautovic, President of the Cantonal Court in Bihac.

Jasmin Mesic, Chief Prosecutor of USC Prosecution, said that they had recognize the importance of opening towards the media and establishing cooperation between the media and judicial institutions, considering the high number of injured parties in war crimes trials.

The media representatives said that they were trying to “cover all war crimes trials held before the Bihac Court”, but, due to insufficient training, they often made mistakes without even being aware of them.

Defence attorneys, who represent indictees at war crimes trials held in Bihac, pointed out that their communication with the media was unsatisfactory, because, in many cases journalists had not been sufficiently trained, so, most often they did not convey their words properly.

“Journalists are rather objective when they make reports about the beginning of trials, but they make huge mistakes when reporting about arrests. Our clients suffer big damage from that,” said Defence attorney Hasan Veladzic.

On the other hand, the journalists say that they cannot be blamed for everything, adding that they were often deprived of information from defence attorneys, particularly the ex-officio attorneys coming from other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mirela Hukovic-Hodzic, journalist with BH Radio 1, who represented AIS at this meeting, explained to the journalists what they should bear in mind when reporting on court processes. 

The participants concluded that an educational workshop should be held within the next six months with the aim of achieving better transparency of judicial institutions and responsibility of the media.

Following the meeting, BIRN and AIS representatives were featured on RTV Bihac, where they discussed the reporting by the media and the extent to which USC judicial institutions were open for collaboration.

 

Live from six cities!

BIRN Serbia staged unprecedented simultaneous “Five cents for media” street actions in six Serbian towns on Saturday October 8, which was broadcast live on the internet via www.facebook.com/5parazamedije

The event took place in Novi Pazar, Uzice, Kragujevac, Novi Sad, Nis and Vranje and included the participation of hundreds of citizens who discussed their views on local media and the topics they believe to be important for the communities they live in.

In terms of coordination and production, this is the biggest event organised by BIRN Serbia’s office in collaboration with colleagues from the Belgrade office, local coordinators and local NGOs, and with the technical support of Telekom Serbia.

The action’s implementation included the direct participation of some 60 people – BIRN coordinators, local coordinators, technicians and volunteers. The event was also broadcast live over the Internet and watched by thousands of people, while the campaign’s Facebook group has grown to include nearly 1,500 members in just two weeks.

During the course of preparing the event, BIRN Serbia covered thousands of miles travelling across Serbia, spoke to dozens of people at the local level, made several thousand phone calls and sent hundreds of emails.

Video material collected during this campaign will be distributed to local media, while part of it will be included on the campaign’s Facebook page.

The citizens who participated in the “Five cents for media” event agreed on one thing: local media is important for local communities, but should deal more with citizen’s daily problems and spend less energy reporting on the activities of local leaders and national politicians.

BIRN Serbia is implementing this campaign with the assistance of IREX Serbia.