Kosovo government denies interference with public broadcaster

28/10/2009

PRISTINA, Kosovo -- The government will prove that it is not interfering with the public broadcaster's work, Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci said on Tuesday (October 27th), in response to criticism from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). On Monday, the union accused the government of turning Kosovo's Public Broadcaster, the RTK, into a "media arm of the ruling party". Kuci invited EBU representatives to come to Kosovo or to otherwise monitor campaign coverage, ahead of the November 15th municipal elections. As for the RTK's financial sustainability, Kuci said it has been discussed repeatedly with international representatives in Pristina. The challenge, he added, is finding a solution that would not come directly from the government and would maintain editorial independence.

Reacting to the EBU's criticism, government coalition partner Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said it was concerned about a lack of freedom of speech. It called on all political parties to distance themselves from media censorship. (Kosova Sot, Zeri, Koha Ditore - 28/10/09; RTK, Kohavision, Telegrafi - 27/10/09)