Commission could investigate Kosovo murders of journalists

Acknowledgment for UNS

- I would like to thank Journalist' Association of Serbia for persistent and dedicated investigative journalism. I think this is the best kind of investigative journalism. It is difficult, complex and it can even be a bit frightening to dig up things that somebody would not want to be investigated. I would like to praise UNS and you Ms. Petkovi, for your persistent efforts. The OSCE Mission is dedicated to work on improving the safety of journalists and to end impunity for attacks against journalists. These are not issues of ethics, but they are issues of fundamental human rights, freedom of information and access to information - said Jan Braathu, Head of OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

"The Specialist Chambers (Kosovo War Crimes Court) has a specific mandate and I am not sure to what extent it will look at cases of kidnapped and murdered journalists. These cases were supposed to be investigated by international prosecutors and judges who led the rule of law in Kosovo for years, and I don't have an answer to the question why this was not done. Our mission takes seriously the matter of safety of journalists and therefore we are considering the possibility of setting up the commission that would investigate these cases. This is all in the initial phase, but it is of vital importance that we have the political support of Kosovo authorities for this work, primarily the President" says Jan Braathu, the Head of OSCE Mission in Kosovo in an interview for the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) at the same time thanking this organization on its persistent and dedicated investigative work on this topic.

The international mission in Kosovo has been here for 19 years. How do you explain that in so many...