Study Tour on Commemorative Cultures in Germany

Germany has not let the Holocaust, as the biggest crime committed against Jews in the history of mankind, be forgotten. Representatives of NGOs and the media from the former Yugoslavia, particularly the countries caught by the war in the near past, had a chance to see how that country deals with its past.

A representative of BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina was among the participants in “Study Tour on Commemorative Cultures in Germany”, which was organized by Robert Bosh Stiftung.

The study visit began in Berlin, where the participants visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe that was built six years ago. In addition to huge grey slabs, the Memorial contains an exhibition of big photographs of the murdered people and a room of the murdered people where visitors can hear personal stories. At the very entrance to the Museum underground area there is a sign saying: “It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say”.

During their stay in Berlin the participants visited several monuments, as well as the places reminding of the Germany’s struggle to face the past and pay respect to victims. Besides that, they had an opportunity to see how audio and video recordings of the testimonies of victims, who survived detention camps, are archived.

The NGO and media representatives from the former Yugoslavia visited the “Buchenwald” detention camp, near Weimar, where 56,000 people died.

Daniel Gaede, who guided the group and explained individual parts of the detention camp, himself is a victim. Daniel and his brother went to Palestine and Israel in order to take part in reconciliation of the two peoples. However, a Palestinian threw a bomb inside their bus. Daniel’s brother got killed, while Daniel lost one eye.

A memorial board on which names of all nations, whose members were the victims, are carved can be found in Buchenwald. Among those nations are Bosniaks, Serbs, Croats and others. The board is specific because of its warmth, as its temperature is kept at the temperature of the human body.

The participants in “Study Tour on Commemorative Cultures in Germany” also visited Munich, where they had a chance to speak to the Chief Prosecutor and court representatives, who processed crimes, as well as journalists, who reported from those court processes.

Besides that, the participants watched a movie titled “And Along Come Tourists” directed by Robert Thalheim in 2007. The movie demonstrates how a person can deal with crime consequences.

The study visit to commemorative cultures in Germany took place from June 19 to 25 this year.

 

Study Tour to the Hague by BiH Journalists

The Balkans Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN organized a seven-day study tour to the Hague for thirteen journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who had an opportunity to get an insight into the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY.

BIRN organized the tour with support from the Governments of Norway and Switzerland and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Norwegian and Swiss Ministries of Foreign Affairs provided financial resources for 11 journalists, while the OSCE financed two more.

Representatives of the Tribunal and Prosecution, as well as all other services within that institution, presented the work of the Tribunal from all angles to the journalists, members of the Association of Court Reporters, AIS.

BIRN Director Anisa Suceska-Vekic says that, thanks to the understanding of and support from the Governments of Norway and Switzerland and OSCE, the journalists, who monitor war crimes trials held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, have gained new knowledge about the international practices in war-crimes cases.

“Through the study tour, BIRN wanted to enable court reporters from Bosnia and Herzegovina to gain a new experience and improve their skills by familiarizing themselves with the work of the international court,” Suceska-Vekic said.

During their stay at the Hague the journalists attended three lectures, covering a set of diverse topics, like work on investigations and proceedings in courtroom, issues related to proving guilt, defence of indictees and contempt of court, protection of witnesses and organization of the Detention Unit.

Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor, John Hocking, Registrar, Rob Reid, Chief of Investigations with the Prosecution, David Kennedy, Chief of the Detention Unit, defence counsels and representatives of other services spoke about the mentioned topics.

One segment of the tour concerned the openness of the Tribunal towards public and accessibility of thousands of court decisions and pieces of evidence though its website. Representatives of the Outreach Programme provided the journalists with details about this subject.

Bosnian journalists had a chance to hear interesting experiences from their colleagues from SENSE and Beta news agencies, who have reported from trials held before the Tribunal for many years already.

In addition, they attended a plea hearing in the case of Ratko Mladic, former Commander of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, as well as the trials of Radovan Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska, and other indictees, who are charged with crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The journalists prepared trial reports for their media outlets with assistance of and support from BIRN BiH. Besides that, they conducted interviews with Hague Tribunal representatives and took statements from victims, who attended indictee Mladic’s plea hearing.

The journalists from Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Zenica, Bihac, Doboj and Brcko gave high marks to the study tour and experiences gained through their visit to the Hague Tribunal, pointing out that they had a chance to exchange opinions with their colleagues and familiarize themselves with the work of the institution dealing with processing of the most-responsible war crimes perpetrators.

At the same time a study tour to the Hague was organized for journalists and editors from Serbia, who attended joint lectures with journalists and editors from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was done with the aim of establishing as good regional cooperation as possible.

 

BIRN BiH and Norwegian government continue cooperation

BIRN BIH is honored to announce that Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to continue its support to our Justice Programme by the end of 2013.

BIRN BiH’s Justice Programme has had support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the early days of the project in 2005

Launched in early 2005, BIRN-BiH’s justice programme aims to bridge the gap between judicial institutions, security organisations, local government and the citizens of BiH through timely, objective and reliable reporting on past crimes and the institutions and mechanisms for dealing with them.

Having identified the launch of a local War Crimes Chamber (WCC) as an historical opportunity to tackle what we see as the main stumbling-block for all major political, social and economic issues affecting the country, we have sought to rally media and civil society to engage in and support the delivery of information about war crimes related justice.

In the first two years of the programme, we trained ‘beat reporters’ from all the main print and electronic media outlets to monitor domestic prosecution of war crimes as well as educated and motivated civil society groups around the country to get involved and support war crimes related justice.

We facilitated a dialogue and cooperation between state and court officials, civil society and the BiH media and created specialised news portal Justice Report dedicated to war crimes trials in BiH. Moreover, in 2007 the online production of Justice Report was supplemented by an audio programme Radio Justice in order to increase the audience of the project.

Most recently, in 2010, we successfully launched a TV programme TV Justice that has been also shown on some main national TV stations.

In depths analysis, news and investigations done by BIRN BIH, made a huge impact in the whole society, but influence the process it self acting critical in some moments and offering insight to the public about what is going on behind closed doors of the court room or offices of local and international officials in the country.

Learning from this experience, BIRN recently has established a broader editorial team to cover so called ‘lower’ courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but is also looking to ensure visibility for the regional war crimes justice. New team will not only cover issues related to trails, but to the whole spectrum of transitional justice.

 

Radio Justice Marks One Year Anniversary

Over the past year BIRN BiH has produced and broadcast 50 weekly episodes of the Radio Justice magazine show.

The programme began on August 14, 2009 with the aim of presenting Justice Report articles to a broader group of people interested in trials conducted before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The show is distributed to about 100 radio stations around Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Diaspora. It is also available on the web page www.bim.ba every Friday.

 

“The public has to be sensitised about justice and war crimes issues. BIRN is the only media outlet systematically working towards achieving this goal. For as long as these issues are open, the weekly Radio Justice magazine will be a valuable media product. The shows are comprehensive, articulated and well designed,” said Emir Habul, editor-in-chief of informative programmes at BH Radio 1.

 

The 10-minute programme features an overview of the most important trials before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as topics and analyses related to war crimes processing in the country. It broadcasts audio recordings from the courtrooms as well as comments from experts in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.

 

Over the past year, Radio Justice featured interviews with Meddzida Kreso, President of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Patrick Robinson, President of the Hague Tribunal; Milorad Barasin, Chief State Prosecutor; James Rodehaver, Chief of the OSCE’s Human Rights Department; Sonja Biserko, President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia; Vesna Terselic, Director of “Documenta” from Zagreb; and Mirsad Tokaca, President of the Research and Documentation Center in Sarajevo.  

 

Local media stations are important partners for the Radio Justice project. Mirsada Cosic, Editor of Informative Programmes at Konjic Radio, says the work of Justice Report journalists is important for the general public in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

 

Dragana Sivonjic, Editor-in-Chief of the Vitez radio station, agrees Radio Justice is important.

 

“BIRN Radio Justice and the daily reports enable us to follow the trials, which we would otherwise not be able to follow due to the lack of journalists and the distance between Vitez and Sarajevo,” said Sivonjic.

 

 The Radio Justice Report team intends to continue implementing its projects in the next year with the aim of collaborating with radio stations and reaching to an even broader audience.

BIRN BiH visits Der Erste Stiftung

BIRN – Justice Report journalist Denis Dzidic visited the offices of the foundation Der Erste Stiftung in Vienna as part of a journalist exchange program which the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network is implementing with Austrian newspaper Der Standard.

Dzidic visited Vienna between from July 26-29 where he met representatives of the Der Erste organization who introduced him to their educational projects in central and south-eastern Europe.

The exchange program started in April of this year, organized by Der Erste
Stiftung, and will include journalists from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia. One will travel to Vienna each month.

Dzidic also held meetings with representatives of associations of Bosnian citizens in Austria including the Center for Contemporary Initiatives in Linz, and the Association of Bosnian Authors of Upper Austria.

He also met with the BiH ambassador to Austria, Haris Hrle, and representatives of the Austrian  ministry of internal affairs, with whom he talked about migration processes from BiH to Austria.

Certificates Presented to Local Community Reporters

On completion of the final training session for local community court reporters, USAID Head of Mission Alan Reed has presented certificates to reporters who have successfully completed the training course.

The Balkans Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, with the support of USAID’s Programme on Judicial Sector Development, has completed a four-month training course for 30 journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina reporting on war-crimes trials conducted before cantonal and district courts.

On completion of the training course, the journalists were awarded certificates. In the coming period some of the journalists will be given an opportunity to become BIRN correspondents reporting on war-crimes trials in
their towns.

“It is a great pleasure to see journalists coming from various towns in our country gathered in one place. They have shown courage in becoming involved in coming to terms with the past and in war-crimes reporting. The goal of the training course we have organized has been to convey expertise on professional, objective and responsible reporting and, by doing so, to ensure the transparency of trials conducted before local judicial institutions,” BIRN Director Anisa Suceska Vekic said.

Alan Reed said he hoped the reporting on war-crimes trials conducted before local courts would be improved with the help of this training course and other USAID and BIRN initiatives.

“Independent and objective reporting can help improve relations between the public and the media and the transparency of courts, and can contribute to better understanding of the process among the general public. The media and judiciary are natural allies in building a democratic Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Reed said.

The education programme began at the end of March 2010 with the aim of educating journalists on covering war-crimes trials conducted in local courts, as the process of referring “less sensitive cases” to cantonal and
district courts and the Brcko District Court has begun.

New Obstacles

The Association of Court Reporters, AIS, held a meeting on June 16 at which journalists discussed the removal of indictments from the official web pages of the State Court and its Prosecution.

Erna Mackic informed participants about her conversation with Manuela Hodzic of the Public Relations Section with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ms Hodzic explained that all indictments were removed from the Court’s web page following an objection from the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data.

Hodzic said the Agency had ordered the removal of indictments, as their publication violated the right of indictes to protection of their personal data, including their first and last names.

Mackic said that, in addition to indictments, the Court would have to remove first and second instance verdicts from its web page, following a request from the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data.

The AIS representatives agreed to lobby publicly for the Agency to change its decision, because depriving journalists of information contained in indictments makes it impossible for them to report comprehensively on the work of judicial institutions, while the general public, which is displaying an interest in following war-crimes trials, is also deprived of information.

The BIRN journalists agreed to contact all relevant actors, including the international community and the Hague Tribunal, and raise the issue of removal of indictments, which should be considered as public documents.

Once it has received necessary information, AIS will prepare an announcement and organize the signing of a petition to have indictments uploaded on the web pages again.

At the AIS meeting Mackic informed participants that she had given a lecture at a conference on “Judiciary and the Media”, organized by the Press Council in late May. Conference participants included journalists, judges and prosecutors from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Brcko District. There was consensus at the conference that stakeholders have not received sufficient guidance on how to establish successful cooperation with the media.

Mackic cited concrete examples of problems facing journalists in their cooperation with local community judges, prosecutors and spokespersons, and the AIS representatives concluded that in light of this the local community educational model that was initiated a year ago should be continued.

Building on past experience, AIS representatives intend to organize training sessions for judges, prosecutors and journalists, followed by a joint meeting in order to try to solve problems that have been identified.

The AIS meeting was attended by Erna Mackic, Anisa Suceska-Vekic, Jasmina Djikoli, Merima Husejnovic, Dragana Erjavec, Dalio Sijah, Marija Tausan, Albina Sorguc and Velma Saric.

Education of Local Community Journalists Completed

The Balkans Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, with the support of USAID’s Programme on Judicial Sector Development, has completed a four-month training course for about 30 journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina reporting on war-crimes trials conducted before cantonal and district courts.

On completion of the final training session, course participants will be awarded certificates on war-crimes trial reporting. The certificates will be presented by Alan Reed, Director of the USAID Mission.

The certificates will be awarded in the “Evropa” Hotel premises on Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 7 p.m.

At the end of March 2010 BIRN BiH, in collaboration with USAID, began the training course with the aim of educating journalists on covering war-crimes trials conducted in local courts, as the process of referring “less
sensitive cases” to cantonal and district courts and the Brcko District Court has begun.

Over the course of the four-month training course the journalists have had a chance to familiarize themselves with the work of the State Court and its Prosecution and learn the importance of respecting basic journalistic principles when writing trial reports.

BIRN Regional Director Gordana Igric provided training on writing analyses and investigative reports, while Justice Report journalists focused on practical issues related to writing trial reports.

Among the trainers and lecturers who took part in the training course were Meddzida Kreso, President of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vesna Budimir, Chief of the War Crimes Section with the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zlatko Knezevic, a member of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, Nerma Jelacic, Spokesperson of the Hague Tribunal, and Ljiljana Zurovac, Director of the Press Council.

During the four-month programme journalists have had a chance to develop court reporting skills aligned with international and local codices and become certified court reporters in their media outlets.

BIRN BiH Marks the Fifth Anniversary

The Balkans Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) in Bosnia and Herzegovina marked the fifth anniversary, and promoted a publication on complete work of the War Crimes Chamber with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On Thursday, May 27 at 6 p.m. in “Mak” Gallery in Sarajevo, in the presence of representatives of The State Court and Prosecution, international and domestic partners, and collegues journalists, BIRN marked the fifth anniversary of its work in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

 

“We started working in 2005. as a small group of enthusiasts who believed that the truth is the only way towards reconciliation and progress in our country. The beginning of the War-crimes Chamber of the Court of BiH was an invitation for us, to join those who are fighting for truth every day”, Anisa Suceska-Vekic, the director of BIRN BiH said.

 

From March 2006 to the present date BIRN journalists have followed, from the beginning to en end, each trial conducted before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They have written more than 8,000 daily trial reports, analysis and research articles.

Reports made by BIRN’s Justice Report Agency publicly raised numerous issues on war-crimes processing, judicial reform and coming to terms with the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.

“I would like to thank all our readers, listeners, and those who are watching our program, for their letters of support. I would also like to thank our colleuges journalists, for enabling our work to reach as many citizens, as it can. I owe a special grateness to the victims associations for their support, cooperation and eternal patience”, Suceska-Vekic added.

<!** Image 3 align=”right” >Beside that, the director of BIRN BiH thanked the donors: the governments of Norway, Switzerland, Canada, United Kingdom, and United States, SOROS fondation, organization NED, OSCE mission in BiH, and Konrad Adenauer fondation.

BIRN also promoted its publication titled “The Age of Truth”, which contains an overview of the work performed by the War Crimes Chamber with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period from 2005 to 2010.

For each case presented in it, the publication brings basic data on the person or the past and present proceedings against the person. It also gives a brief overview of crimes described in indictments or verdicts.

“We paid special attention to explanations of second instance verdicts, because they contain historically significant court facts determined by trial chambers in relation to certain crimes, victims and perpetrators”, Aida Alic, BIRN journalist, and the author of publication, said.

The electronic version of the publication can be downloaded from www.bim.ba web page

Fifth Anniversary of BIRN BiH

The Balkans Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN)in Bosnia and Herzegovina marks the fifth anniversary. On that occasion it promotes a publication on complete work of the War Crimes Chamber with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On Thursday, May 27 at 6 p.m. in “Mak” Gallery (address: 7 Sime Milutinovica Sarajlije) BIRN will mark the fifth anniversary of its work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

From March 2006 to the present date BIRN journalists have followed, from the beginning to en end, each trial conducted before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They have written more than 8,000 daily trial reports, analysis and research articles. Reports made by BIRN’s Justice Report Agency publicly raised numerous issues on war-crimes processing, judicial reform and coming to terms with the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.  

Its publication titled “The Age of Truth” contains an overview of the work performed by the War Crimes Chamber with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period from 2005 to 2010.  

For the first time ever the publication brings a complete overview of all cases conducted up to the present date, including both the ongoing ones and the ones that have been completed by pronouncement of first or second instance verdicts. It also contains information about the indictees who are on the run.

From 2005, when the first verdict was pronounced before the State Court, to March 31, 2010 60 war-crimes verdicts have been pronounced, sentencing the indictees to more than 1,000 years in prison.

For each case presented in it, the publication brings basic data on the person or the past and present proceedings against the person. It also gives a brief overview of crimes described in indictments or verdicts.

We paid special attention to explanations of second instance verdicts, because they contain historically significant court facts determined by trial chambers in relation to certain crimes, victims and perpetrators.

A copy of the publication can be obtained at the presentation, while the electronic version can be downloaded, as of tomorrow, from www.bim.ba web page