Vanovac on the denial of accreditation to Kosovo Online: Institutions must set the standard in their relations with the media

The President of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo and Metohija (DNKiM), Ivana Vanovac, stated that denying accreditation to Kosovo Online and RTS for coverage of the constitutive session of the Assembly of Kosovo is unacceptable, assessing that the institutions display a dismissive attitude toward media outlets reporting in the Serbian language.

"I wish this were the first time we had encountered this problem. In a democratic society, it is precisely the Assembly and the Government that should set the standard for democratic principles. The way they treat citizens, the media, and minority communities is the example that all other institutions—especially those lower in the institutional hierarchy—will follow," Vanovac told Kosovo Online.

She added that the Assembly of Kosovo had shown a completely dismissive attitude toward certain media outlets.

"We are constantly faced with the claim that one of our media outlets failed to do something properly or did not submit documentation on time. As far as we know, the media outlets that encountered problems today submitted all the necessary documents for accreditation in due time. Kosovo Online, for example, submitted its application back in January—that was seven months ago. Even if they had analyzed every single word of the application, by now they could at least have determined whether the outlet met the requirements. Sometimes the problem is not even that accreditation is denied, but rather this dismissive attitude, as though the media outlet does not exist, as though it never submitted a request in accordance with the law and all the required documentation, in line with the rules established by the Secretariat," Vanovac said.

She appealed to the institutions, particularly the Assembly, the Government, and the Central Election Commission, to set an example in their relations with the media and to maintain proper communication with journalists.

"This is absolutely unacceptable. Whatever the circumstances, even if a media outlet has made a mistake, the response should not be one of ignoring or belittling it. If necessary, it should simply be contacted, just as happens with all other media outlets. I would also like to recall that we recently had a similar situation involving the Kosovo Government, where some media outlets were granted access while others were denied it for reasons that were never clearly explained. We also experienced serious problems with the Central Election Commission during the elections. It is by no means insignificant to allow a media outlet to report to its own community and audience in the way they are accustomed to and in the manner that best serves them," Vanovac noted.

She added that the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo and Metohija regularly inform international institutions about such cases and call on them to react and condemn the actions of the institutions in Pristina.

"Our appeals will not stop, although I sincerely hope we will no longer have to react to situations like this. We always address the international organizations that promote democratic standards and values, asking them at the very least to examine what happened. Even if they do not condemn such incidents, they should at least ask what the specific problem was with the media outlet concerned and why, as a rule, it always seems to be the same group of media outlets experiencing these problems," Vanovac concluded.

The Assembly of Kosovo denied several Serbian-language media outlets the opportunity to cover its constitutive session despite the fact that they had submitted complete accreditation documentation in a timely and proper manner. Among the media outlets denied access to the Assembly building were Kosovo Online and RTS.