Author: birnEU

BIRN Albania Documentary Screened at Kosovo’s Dokufest

The BIRN Albania documentary ‘Free Flow’, which follows local resistance to the construction of hydropower plants in Albania, was screened on August 5 and 6 at Dokufest, the international documentary and short film festival in Prizren, Kosovo.

‘Free Flow,’ which was directed by award-winning film-maker Elton Baxhaku, is competing in the national documentary competition at Dokufest.

The film draws attention to the decades-long struggle of Albanian villagers, activists and civil society against hydropower projects which pose a threat to the environment and the local tourism industry.

In cooperation with Balkan Green Foundation and Kosovo Civil Society Consortium for Sustainable Development, BIRN Albania helped organise a panel discussion at Dokufest, called ‘Reflect the Green in You’, which focused on the harmful development of hydropower plant projects in national parks and downstream areas.

As well as the ‘Free Flow’ director Elton Baxhaku, among the panellists at the Dokutalks event held on August 6 at Prizren’s old hamam were BIRN Albania editor-in-chief Besar Likmeta,  Aleksandra Bujaroska from the organisation Front in Macedonia, Ena Bavcic from Civil Rights Defenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Fabian Techene from WWF Adria. The panel was moderated by Visar Azemi from the Balkan Green Foundation.

The next screening of the documentary will be held in Sarajevo on August 12.

BIRN Albania Documentary Screened in Valbona

The BIRN Albania documentary ‘Free Flow’, which follows local resistance to the construction of hydropower plants in Albania, was screened on Saturday in the village of Valbona, part of the Valbona Valley National Park where two of a planned 14 power plants are being built.

Directed by filmmaker Elton Baxhaku, the documentary follows villagers, activists, scientists and artists as they try to draw attention – in court and on the streets – to the threat posed to the environment and the local ecotourism industry.

Villagers from nearby Dragobia attended the screening, fresh from a sit-down demonstration last month on a road that traverses the valley, in protest at quarry explosions conducted by energy companies.

The next screening of ‘Free Flow’ will be on August 5-6 at Dokufest – the annual international film and documentary festival held in Prizren, Kosovo. It will then be shown in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on August 12.

BIRN Romania Launches Reporting Project on Moldova

The Black Sea Trust For Regional Cooperation (BST), a project of the U.S. German Marshall Fund, has awarded BIRN Romania a journalism grant aimed at fostering mutual understanding between the peoples of Moldova and Romania via a series of human-interest stories (print and audio) on what it means to be citizens of these countries, separate states but yet so close in terms of history, culture and language.

Between September 2018 and May 2019, a total of at least ten journalists from Moldova and Romania will produce around 20 long-form, in-depth stories to be published locally and internationally. A selection of the stories will be published as an e-book for stakeholders and the general public.

“Despite many historical, cultural, linguistic and economic ties linking Moldova and Romania, most people from both countries still have little knowledge of one another. Media interest in daily issues is relatively high, but often characterised by unethical and unprofessional reporting”, says Marian Chiriac, director of BIRN Romania.

“In such a context, there is a clear need for human stories behind the official narratives, for fair, balanced, sensitive and educational long-form coverage to encourage greater understanding of one another.”

Media Investigations: Stop to READ (Regional Environmental Acts of Devastation)

BIRN Hub

The project aims to strengthen investigative reporting in Montenegro, which is being implemented by BIRN, CIN Montenegro and Monitor magazine. The project was funded by the EU Delegation in Podgorica.

Summary

Through intensive training, international mentoring and an investigative approach, the project has a goal to increase the capacities of CIN Montenegro, Monitor, and other media outlets whose journalists are taking part.

Within the project, the call for investigative stories with an environmental angle was launched in March 2018.

BIRN, CIN Montenegro and Monitor magazine held a training course in Podgorica in April  2018 for journalists, teaching the investigative skills needed to produce stories covering environmental issues. Topics covered by the course included investigative journalism techniques, online storytelling, multimedia training, video and photo editing, as well as information on domestic and EU politics in the sphere of environmental protection.

Three journalists have been awarded grants to cover their expenses while carrying out investigations and writing stories on the environment and related to Chapter 27 within the EU accession process.

BIRN Recognised for Investigative Reporting in Montenegro

A prominent Montenegrin anti-corruption watchdog has named a BIRN investigation into financial abuses by local chiefs in the Montenegrin town of Ulcinj the best story using freedom of information requests in 2018.

The winner was announced on July 24 in Podgorica by The Network for Affirmation of the NGO Sector, MANS.

The award aims to highlight the achievements of investigative journalists and support and promote quality investigative journalism in Montenegro.

The article – Local Chiefs’ Financial Abuses Blight Montenegrin Costal Town – written by Sanja Rasovic and published in November 2017 on BIRN’s regional publication Balkan Insight, was part of the ‘Investigate for ME and EU’ project, which is being implemented by the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) and BIRN.

Strengthening investigative reporting and the capacities of investigative journalists in Montenegro, as well as the quality of media coverage of EU negotiation chapters, are the focus of this EU-supported project that began in February 2017.

Film about Wives of Syrian Fighters to Screen at DokuFest

The film ‘Voices from Within’, produced under the Resonant Voices granting scheme, which aims to challenge polarising, inflammatory and radicalising narratives in the Balkans, will be screened at the upcoming DokuFest film festival, which is being held from August 3-11 in Prizren, Kosovo.

The short film presents the stories of two Kosovo women whose husbands went to fight in Syria, and who are now the sole providers for their families.

The film-maker is Lum Çitaku, a creative director, editor and producer in Pristina, Kosovo.

‘Voices from Within’ was made as part of the Pristina-based project Women of Resilience – an initiative aiming to change the balance in public discourse and policy discussions about foreign fighters, which is currently dominated by male voices and experiences.

It will be screened within DokuFest’s ‘Radical Reflections’ strand, which offers a selection of films looking at some of the most pressing issues of today, from the rise of right-wing populism to religious extremism.

Resonant Voices Initiative is a joint programme run by CIJA US, BIRN and the Propulsion Fund to challenge extremist narratives in public discourse throughout the Western Balkans – in particular those disseminated online.

BIRN Bosnia Wins Award for Corruption Investigation

BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday won the 2018 ACCOUNT award for the best multimedia investigation into corruption for a report on the purchasing of safe goalposts for Bosnian schools.

The investigation, entitled ‘Children Wait for Safe Goalposts Due to Typo’, was written by BIRN Bosnia’s journalist Semir Mujkic, and was awarded by the USAID-funded Anticorruption Network – ACCOUNT as the best article in the multimedia section.

Mujkic wrote a series of articles about problems in the purchasing of safe goalposts in the country, after a child died after being hit by an unsafe goalpost in a playground, which can be read here.

After a decade focusing on transitional justice and war crimes issues, BIRN Bosnia has for the past two years expanded into covering wider rule-of-law topics.

Mirna Buljugic, BIRN Bosnia’s director, said that she was honoured to receive the award for the best investigation as there were dozens of contenders.

“At the same time, this award is a huge motivation to continue writing stories on corruption and informing the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad about the problems in our country,” Buljugic said.

Former Decan judge accused of abuse of office is released, her son is found guilty

An earmarked case for visa liberalization, the abuse of office and bribery case against a Decani judge, her son, and a police officer, ends with a single guilty verdict.

The Court in Ferizaj freed former judge Safete Tolaj from all charges of abuse of office on Friday.

According to the verdict the court announced on Friday, the State Prosecutor failed to prove the allegation that former Judge Tolaj, who resigned her post in November, had abused her office.

Judge Tolaj was indicted of abuse of office last year,  after BIRN’s Drejtesia ne Kosove programme aired footage of her son, Fisnik Tolaj, receiving a bribe in exchange of influencing judicial proceedings.

Fisnik, who faced charges of fraud, exertion of influence, forgery and illegal possession, and use of weapons, was found guilty on all charges and has been sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison.

The third defendant on the case, the police officer Granit Shehaj was also found not guilty on allegations of abuse of office, since according to the verdict, the prosecution also failed to prove that Shehaj exercised influence by abusing his position as a police officer.

The Ferizaj Court has refused the prosecution’s request to permanently confiscate an apartment valued at 40,000 euros, which is owned by the spouse of Fisnik Tolaj, Blerina Vishaj. The court has assessed that this property is not connected to the criminal offense, since the amount of this property exceeds the amount that Tolaj was being accused off.

The case is one of the 40 something earmarked cases for the track record of fighting corruption, the last criterion for Kosovo to get a visa-free regime to Schengen countries.

Originally published on BIRN’s Prishtina Insight.

BIRN Albania Film Screened in Hydropower Protest Village

BIRN Albania’s documentary ‘Free Flow’, about resistance to hydropower plant developers, was screened on Thursday in the village of Polis, the first place in the country to protest against the construction of a hydropower plant, which locals say has dried up a vital water supply for the irrigation of their lands.

Their protest in 2014 against the Gurshpat hydropower plant was quashed by local police, a dozen villagers were detained and seven protesters were later convicted and given sentences that varied from fines to six months’ imprisonment.

Gurshpat is only one of the hundreds of small hydropower plant concession awarded by the Albanian government over the past decade, which have sparked an increasing number of conflicts between developers and the state on one side and activists and local communities on the other – over water rights, property rights, lack of consultation and environmental damage.

Data obtained by BIRN Albania as part of a recent investigation shows that dozens of similar conflicts have erupted across the country in recent years.

‘Free Flow’ was directed by film-maker Elton Baxhaku focuses on three areas, the Shebenik Jabllanica National Park, the Vjosa River and the Valbona National Park, and follows villagers, community rights activists, scientists and artists as they struggle to voice their concerns over hydropower plant projects, challenge concession contracts in court and protest in the streets to encourage support for their cause.

Elton Baxhaku is an acclaimed Albanian film-maker, best known for his 2014 documentary ‘Skandal’ and the 2016 documentary ‘Selita’, which was co-directed by Eriona Cami.

During the summer of 2018, BIRN Albania will hold also other screenings in affected communities near the Vjosa River and the Valbona National Park.

The documentary will be also screened in August at Dokufest, the international film and documentary festival held in Prizren, Kosovo.

BIRN Coverage of Srebrenica Anniversary Widely Quoted

The coverage of this year’s 23rd anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica by BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina and BIRN’s regional programme Balkan Transitional Justice was widely republished and quoted by other media.

The coverage included text and video stories such as Females Were ‘Youngest and Oldest Victims’ of Srebrenica,  Srebrenica: How Bosnians Reported Their Most Traumatic Story, Srebrenica Suspects Find Safe Haven in Serbia and a comment article by Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Why We Must Not Forget Srebrenica.

BIRN’s stories were quoted or republished more than 100 times in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. Publications from Slovenia, Austria, Romania, Germany, Algeria, Australia, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Italy also quoted Balkan Insight articles on the topic.

BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina editor Denis Dzidic said that for more than a decade, BIRN Bosnia has been monitoring all the war crime trials in the country, “and as such is recognised by experts, media and the general public as the best source of information regarding genocide and war crimes”.

“Our Srebrenica coverage every year looks to implement several aspects – primarily we educate and remind readers about the various verdicts handed down by international and domestic courts. This is vital, because of the campaign of denial which exists in parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region regarding the events in Srebrenica,” Dzidic said.

“Secondly, we look to have personal stories which describe the horrific events of July 1995 and its importance for Bosnian society today, which has still not faced up to the horrific crimes of the early 1990s conflict,” he added.