Nearly two years without Serbian press in Kosovo: The right of Serbs to information is seriously endangered

Serbs in Kosovo have been without access to daily and periodic press in the Serbian language for nearly two years, following the implementation of a ban on the entry of goods from central Serbia in June 2023. Representatives of journalistic associations and media workers warn that this practice is unprecedented in peacetime conditions in Europe and represents a serious violation of basic human and media rights, guaranteed both by domestic and international laws.

Despite appeals from international organizations, there have been no concrete reactions that would guarantee Serbs the right to information in their mother tongue.

The press has not been available since June 2023, and the president of the Kosovo and Metohija Journalists Society, Ivana Vanovac, emphasizes that the Serbian community has been deprived of the right to inform themselves in their mother tongue for almost two years.

"This is something that is not recorded anywhere, except in areas affected by war, where it is simply impossible for the press to arrive. In a crisis period, but not one of disrupted peace, we had a decision on the ban of the entry of press in the mother tongue which is absolutely guaranteed to the Serbian community in Kosovo. Even if there were no local provisions about it, there are international conventions on civil rights that include the right to information in one's mother tongue. This is a precedent that occurred in Europe in the 21st century," Vanovac points out.

She notes that there were reactions from the international community, like the statement from the former spokesperson of the European Union, Peter Stano, who, she says, spoke out without "intervention" from the Association.

However, that has not yielded results.

"We have always been the ones who informed representatives of international organizations about the situation, but there has been no progress. They absolutely did not intervene anywhere and in any way to at least enable the right to information for the Serbian community, if not the right to supply goods from central Serbia," Vanovac said.

She adds that the Association tried to react and involve international representatives in the process, but even that was fruitless, due to changes in leadership positions in diplomatic missions in Kosovo.

"One becomes interested, but then his mandate expires. The next one comes, and it all starts over... But, essentially there is no sincere interest in it. As far as we are concerned, we have never let this fact, which is just one in a series of those that testify to how the Serbian community lives in Kosovo, become insignificant and irrelevant," emphasized Vanovac.

Despite insisting on solving the problem, the reality on the ground reflects a high degree of disinterest from international organizations.

"That's what's terrible. We will, as much as we can from our position, insist that this changes in the foreseeable future," Vanovac stated.

The lack of press is confirmed by "Jedinstvo" journalist Zoran Vlaskovic, who points out that it's a decades-old habit, which included press from Belgrade.

Suddenly, by Kurti's decision, and not a written one but by his own volition, Serbs were left without press, adds Vlaskovic.

"The press is really missing, especially for older people, who are not connected to the internet and cannot read news online. Younger people are directed to follow all events via the internet, both in Kosovo and Serbia. This is an inappropriate decision by Pristina," Vlaskovic messages.

He adds that this is a major problem for informing the Serbian community across the whole of Kosovo.

"If we don't have a live newspaper to flip through, it's all somehow different. We've been used to that for so many years," says Vlaskovic, who today, like all Serbs in Kosovo, only remembers the last time he flipped through a newspaper in Serbian.

Thus, being a journalist for a printed media in Kosovo becomes challenging. Vlaskovic says that doing this job is harder, but he manages.

"We follow the internet, all newspapers have their review online. But, without a printed newspaper in hand, it's not like we're used to. We hope that Pristina will understand, that they will revoke this decision and that we will finally get the Belgrade press and see all the events properly through the written word," Vlaskovic concludes.

Kosovo journalist and political scientist Biljana Radomirovic notes that this is not the first time that Serbs have been without newspapers or that their supply has been hindered and reminds of the 2018 case when Kosovo authorities imposed a 100% tariff on Serbian goods.

"We well know that freedom of expression and the free flow of the press, or information, is one of the fundamental human rights, which is emphasized not only by our Constitution, the Constitution of Serbia, but also defined by European legal acts. In all of this, regarding the non-arrival of newspapers, the written word, to the consumer-reader, it is astonishing that none of the international representatives have spoken up. Now, for them, this topic is sidelined," says Radomirovic.

She points out that it's incredible that ambassadors in Pristina have not at any moment wondered where democracy is when one of its basic tenets is abolished.

"By the fact that people are used to reading the newspaper, in that printed edition, whether it's Politika or any other daily newspaper or monthly, they saw a connection with the state of Serbia. That has been denied to them. They have been denied their right to their mother tongue, their right to their script, to Cyrillic," our interlocutor believes.

Radomirovic emphasizes that because of such circumstances, her job is made difficult, and she feels like a miner, who blindfolded, digs ores for hours on end, ultimately unable to see the result of her work.

"I can't get to the newspaper. My first trip to central Serbia is to buy a newspaper. I want to see if I did my job well, because every professional journalist questions themselves daily, listening to readers, citizens," she adds.

Radomirovic emphasizes that life is made difficult for people due to the lack of press, even for those living in the most remote areas, where newspapers used to reach.

"Just as it was basic for people here to go out in the morning to buy bread and milk and to pick up a newspaper. Newspapers, or the press, should not face any economic or political barriers. In this case, I think this is exclusively a political act by the central government, which presents itself as democratic. In all of this, the representatives of the international community play the biggest role, who at no point, even I'm sure in their agenda, have the issue of the arrival of Belgrade's press in Kosovo and Metohija," said Radomirovic.

She reminds that while the Merdare crossing is open for goods, it is questionable whether it is cost-effective for the distributor and when the newspapers will reach every corner of Kosovo.

She also questions the German Embassy - is a scanner necessary at the crossing for newspapers?

"A question for the German embassy, which acquired the first scanner at Merdare, and others will only arrive there by 2026: Is a scanner needed for a single newspaper? Does a newspaper need to be scanned? If other goods from central Serbia need to be scanned, does Belgrade's press also need to be subjected to scanning? And why is it subjected," asked Radomirovic.