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Serbian journalists' union protests discrimination in Kosovo parliament
🇷🇸 Serbia /Culture & Society

Serbian journalists' union protests discrimination in Kosovo parliament

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Under investigation
  • The Journalists' Union of Serbia (SINOS) reported that the Kosovo Assembly denied media outlets reporting in Serbian access to the constitutive session.
  • SINOS has appealed to the EU Office in Serbia, OSCE Mission, and international journalist federations to intervene and prevent this alleged discrimination.
  • The union criticized the OSCE Mission in Kosovo for tolerating the lack of media freedom and stated that denying journalists their work is unacceptable under international law.

The Journalists' Union of Serbia (SINOS) has lodged a complaint, stating that the Kosovo Assembly has denied media outlets that report in the Serbian language the opportunity to cover the constitutive session, despite timely and proper accreditation submissions.

The prohibition of journalists and media workers from doing their job is unacceptable according to all international acts.

— SINOSStatement from the Journalists' Union of Serbia regarding access to the Kosovo Assembly session.

In response to this situation, SINOS has formally addressed the EU Office in Serbia, the OSCE Mission in Serbia, the International Federation of Journalists, and the European Federation of Journalists. The union is urging these bodies to exert influence on the authorities in Pristina to halt what it describes as discrimination against media organizations.

"The prohibition of journalists and media workers from doing their job is unacceptable according to all international acts," SINOS stated in its release. The union questioned how authorities in Pristina can "discriminate against journalists reporting in Serbian for years, deny citizens of Serbian nationality information of public interest, and do all this in the presence of representatives of numerous international communities and organizations, European and world institutions, non-governmental organizations, and journalistic and media associations."

How is it possible that the authorities in Pristina have been discriminating against journalists reporting in Serbian for years, denying citizens of Serbian nationality information of public interest, and doing all this in the presence of representatives of numerous international communities and organizations, European and world institutions, non-governmental organizations, and journalistic and media associations?

— SINOSSINOS questioning the ongoing discrimination against Serbian-language media in Kosovo.

SINOS specifically criticized the OSCE Mission in Kosovo for "tolerating the absence of media freedom." The union asserts that barring journalists from performing their professional duties violates fundamental principles and international standards for press freedom and access to information.

tolerates the absence of media freedom

— SINOSSINOS's criticism of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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