KOHA clarifies the format of the interview with Ambassador Orav

This is a clarification to the audience for KTV's involvement in an unusual interview format broadcast on March 21, as well as a reaction to the equally unusual approach of the European Union Office in Kosovo.

Ambassador Aivo Orav, before leaving Kosovo, spoke to the media. KOHA was involved in the realization of this address, relying on the excellent relations between the media and the EU Office built over the years. KOHA was contacted with the opportunity to be one of the five media outlets that would interview the ambassador simultaneously, since there was no time to give separate interviews.

Although it does not support this format, KOHA accepted it based on the circumstances of the ambassador’s premature departure, the correctness of the cooperation so far, and the agreement that the interview would be broadcast in five media outlets at the same time. At this stage, KOHA was not informed that in addition to this press conference format, the EU Office was also organizing one for Serbian-language media outlets and a one-on-one interview for another Albanian-language media outlet. The agreement was that the publication would take place on March 21, at 20:00 PM. What happened was that Serbian-language media outlets were not part of the embargo agreement and the information was published in online media outlets, regardless of language, as early as noon. Moreover, at 20:00 PM when the five media outlets’ press conference was broadcast, a separate interview was also broadcast in another medium.

KOHA, as a media outlet with over 30 years of experience, fully understands and respects the decision of each institution, organization or individual to choose where to give an interview. However, it considers the manipulation that occurred in the organization of Ambassador Orav's recent address to be harmful and unacceptable.

Neither the EU Office nor its media service responded to the e-mail of the author of the interview from KOHA nor to that of the editorial office, requesting clarification of the situation. For the sake of accuracy, below you will find the letter that the editorial office sent to the EU Office in Pristina.

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Mrs. Eva Palatova

Acting Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo

Dear Ms. Palatova,

Following the concerns already raised by our colleague at the media service of the EU Office in Pristina, I am addressing you on behalf of KOHA to raise officially the issue of how the last interview with Ambassador Orav was organized.

KOHA agreed to participate in the proposed joint interview format in good faith and as a sign of respect, despite our clear preference for individual interviews. In practice, the proposed format resembled more of a press conference than an interview, as it involved several media outlets from the same country and the same media environment.

However, we accepted this arrangement based on the explanation given to us and with the understanding that such an agreement would be respected and implemented as the words were and in a transparent manner.

What followed was a serious breach of trust on the part of the EU Office. We were misled into believing that previously agreed agreements would be respected.

We were not informed and were not informed in any way that, in addition to the agreed format of a joint interview with five media outlets, a separate individual interview would be conducted and broadcast by another medium. This directly contradicts the reasoning given to us for the reasons for rejecting requests for individual interviews and raises serious concerns, while damaging the mutual trust built over the years.

Furthermore, the agreed broadcast and publication embargo was not respected. Content from a third interview began to be published earlier in the day, thus violating the principle of coordinated publication. As a result, KOHA has paid the price for its professional approach, respect for ethics and the agreements reached. To KOHA’s detriment, our delayed publications offered little additional informative value. It is worth noting that the first early publications were not made by the media participating in the joint interview, of which KOHA was also a part.

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This leads to a third concern, which reflects the EU’s approach to Kosovo. The idea of ​​organizing a separate group interview for Serbian-language media is problematic. It leans more towards ethnic division than cooperation within the same country, especially considering that the ambassador’s responses were given in English and addressed issues of interest to all citizens of Kosovo. In contrast to this approach, we see the citizens of Kosovo as a single audience. From a professional perspective, the fact that we were not even given the opportunity to coordinate the timing of the embargo with colleagues from Serbian-language media has led to a situation where many media outlets, regardless of language, have published the content before us.

Also problematic was the sudden shortening of the joint interview, from 90 to 51 minutes. As a result, key topics that had been planned in advance were left out, including the dialogue with Serbia — an issue of great importance to the public.

Taken together, these actions go beyond poor coordination and appear to be deliberate obfuscation. They indicate a pattern of selective communication, lack of transparency, and failure to respect agreed terms. In practice, this amounts to deliberate misdirection of partners who acted in good faith.

For an institution like the European Union — which consistently promotes the principles of fairness, transparency, and mutual trust in its relations with the media — such behavior is particularly concerning.

In these circumstances, we consider that the trust on which our cooperation with the press service of the EU Office in Pristina was built has been seriously damaged.

Therefore, we request from you an explanation and an internal investigation into how and why this situation occurred, and how and where the responsibility lies. This is of particular importance to restore trust and avoid similar situations in the future. We as KOHA, on the other hand, have an obligation to explain to our readers and viewers the participation in an interview process managed in an unprofessional manner.

Consequently, we will make this explanation and determine the manner of future cooperation with the media service of the EU Office in Kosovo.

With respect

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Brickenda Rexhepi

Editor-in-Chief KOHA