Stankovic: The Law on the Independent Commission will extinguish freedom of speech and media in Kosovo

The Law on the Independent Media Commission will affect the independence of media in Kosovo, journalist Zoran Stankovic told Kosovo Online, adding that the goal is for all media to be controlled by the authorities and for freedom of speech to be extinguished.

Stankovic assessed that the adoption of the Law on the Independent Media Commission impacts all media in Kosovo.

"It affects almost all media, given that very few media outlets are in good condition, both financially and in terms of independence from other factors. So, it affects every media outlet, not to mention our Serbian media, which I assume will certainly be affected," Stankovic said.

He emphasized that the rules of the Independent Media Commission have already been demanding.

"What is being announced now may literally lead to some media outlets shutting down, and on the other hand, I think it also affects media freedom. I believe it impacts the independence that perhaps doesn't really exist, but in any case, if there is even a little bit of it, now it will cease to exist altogether. Not to mention the drastic fines, which, if any media outlet receives, and there is a very high likelihood of that, mean that with just one such fine, any media outlet could close its doors and lock them," Stankovic said.

The goal of adopting the Law on the Independent Media Commission, Stankovic emphasized, is media control.

"The goal is to have all media under control and for the media to literally work for the authorities and a certain group. So, anything that would not align with their goals would immediately be punishable in some way. Because, as our people say, 'every word has a tail,' and every news piece, every piece of information, especially for us who are in a situation where we receive information from central Serbia and Kosovo, can very often be misused. It could be presented as if we were working, for example, against the Kosovo regime or for some other reason. Naturally, this would automatically extinguish freedom of speech if we want to survive. We would survive, but without freedom of speech," concluded Stankovic.