Koha Group, publisher of one of the most popular Kosovo dailies, Koha Ditore, announced it will stop covering President Hashim Thaci after he stated that the paper is working for Serbia’s leader Aleksandar Vucic.
Koha Ditore announced on its front page on Thursday that the daily will “terminate any official communication with the president and his office” until Thaci publicly apologises for accusing the newspaper of working in the interests of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
“Koha Group media will cover the president’s agenda and will publish reports from those events, whenever they consider that it is in the interest of the public and of the truth; however, they will not publish interviews, comments, statements to other media and social networks, until he takes back his words against Koha Group media,” the Koha Group said in a statement.
The statement came after Thaci responded to a Koha Ditore reporter’s question about border changes with Serbia by saying that “I don’t speak on behalf of Vucic like you and your media do”.
Thaci apologised on Thursday afternoon to both the journalist and Koha Ditore, saying itwas never his intention to offend anyone.
“In my two-decade journey in politics, I have always maintained respect for journalists, as one of most important pillars of democracy,” Thaci wrote on his Facebook page.
“I encourage all journalists not to stop making a noise, asking and raising dilemmas about all topics of national interest,” he added.
Koha Group made no immediate response to Thaci’s apology.
The Kosovo Association of Journalists, AJK, also issued a statement saying that it considers Thaci’s comment to be unacceptable, adding that it “constitutes a threat to the professional integrity of the work of reporters and the media”.
“The AJK calls on President Thaci to distance himself from the language of accusations and to show maturity and respect for the work of reporters,” the association said.
Thaci has already faced criticism over his relations with media, with journalists complaining about his availability, as he does not have a spokesperson and prefers to make announcements on Facebook and Twitter posts, where his comments go unquestioned.
Koha Group, a corporation that includes the daily Koha Ditore, Kohavision and the publishing house Koha, is owned by Veton Surroi, a writer and former Kosovo politician.
Surroi, who was part of Pristina’s delegation to the Rambouillet peace talks in 1999 which were aimed at ending the Kosovo war, together with Thaci, has been a vocal critic of the president and the ruling Kosovo Democratic Party, PDK, which Thaci formed and led until he took the presidency in 2016.
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