SEE Coalition on whistleblower Protection Annual Meeting held in Sarajevo

The Annual Meeting of the Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection (Coalition), co-hosted by the Centre for the Development of Youth Activism CROA, a member of the Coalition from Bosnia and Herzegovina, was held in Sarajevo on Friday, February 3, 2023 with the support of RAI Secretariat.

The Annual Meeting was opened with remarks delivered by Minister of Justice and Administration and Acting Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton Darja Softic Kadenic, Head of RAI Secretariat Desislava Gotskova and Legal Advisor and Project Cooridinator at the co-host CROA Alma Fejzic.

The Annual Meeting serves as a platform for discussion of common challenges, strategies and solutions for improving the protection of whistleblowers, as well as on how to best utilize the Coalition resources.

This was also an opportunity to celebrate success through among other things the granting of the Free Speech Awards and sharing lessons learned. Winners that were granted the Free Speech Award for this year are: Amila Tatarević (Baby Steps), Rubina Čengić (journalist) Maida Bilal (Fondacija Krug života, Kruščica), The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN), Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). The awards are given for activist efforts, engagement in the public interest and contribution to transparency within their community in 2022.

The Coalition Annual Meeting was organized under the auspices of the regional project ‘Breaking the Silence: Enhancing the whistleblowing policies and culture in Western Balkans and Moldova’, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the RAI Secretariat. The Annual Meeting gathered representatives of civil society organizations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia.

The International Whistleblower Day is an annual event of the Coalition to celebrate whistleblowers but also our achievements in the region and discuss about challenges ahead. The Coalition celebrated together with member organizations, and Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative and Youth Education Forum on May 12, 2022, in a two-day event hosted by Coalition member Center for Investigative Journalism – SCOOP.

The meeting was opened with welcoming remarks on the side of the organizers. Coalition co-coordinator Mr. Arjan Dyrmishi talked about whistleblower cases in the region that ultimately led to the formation of a regional organization such as the SEE Coalition on Whistleblower Protection. He mentioned in particular “whistleblowers Gjorgji Lazarevski and Zvonko Kostovski who, with their heroism have become the most well-known whistleblowers in the Balkan by exposing the government’s corruption affairs in controlling part of the media, hiring people based on party loyally, negotiating election fraud, retaliation of political opponents, and money laundering. Mr. Dyrmishi talked about the achievements so far and the event serving as a celebration of these achievements but also as a forum in which members and partners discuss future steps toward promoting whistleblowing as an anti-corruption tool and strengthening whistleblower protection laws and mechanisms.

Additionally, head of Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative Secretariat, Ms. Desislava Gotsova talked about RAI’s continuous support to the work of CSOs and other stakeholders to enhance whistleblower protection in the region and also presented some of RAI’s projects in this regard.

Gjorgji lazarevski, prominent whistleblower in the region that changed the perspective of whistleblowing in Southeast Europe talked about his experience and how he tries to help potential whistleblowers as best as he can, while addressing the problems with the implementation of law. “I can’t tell people to just keep quiet. This is a struggle inside all of them. But it is already a signal of movement that we are able to speak openly and loudly about whistleblowing”, - he said.

As it is become part of the celebration, our hosts give out certificates of appreciation for their work with whistleblowers. This year they went to Desislava Gotskova, Kristina Atovska, Gjorgji Lazarevski, Arjan Dyrmishi, Mark Worth and Goran Lefkov.

The second day of the event was dedicated to youth. It brought together around 50 participants from the fields of law, political and social sciences, defense and peace studies from universities in Skopje and Tetovo. The Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of North Macedonia Julian Vassallo, Youth Education Forum’s Risto Saveski and Head of RAI Secretariat Desislava Gotskova welcomed the participants. Part of this event was a Ted-like talk by international expert Gerard Ryle, as well as the Macedonian journalist Tomislav Kezharovski and whistleblower Gjorgji Lazarevski, as well as the screening of RAI’s social experiment video Whistle – For the Brave Ones.

The International Whistleblower Day in Skopje was thus an event that created different settings, each with a particular take on the topic of whistleblowing, engaging with a diverse audience, from experts, to whistleblowers, and young professionals.

NGO 35mm, on the occasion of Whistleblower Month, and in cooperation with the Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection, European Center for Whistleblower Rights and Whistleblowing International, launched the campaign “Speak up”. The campaign aims to encourage individuals, organizations, and groups of citizens to expose cases of corruption, corporate fraud, and other cases of institutional abuse or violation of rights.

Ganija Jasavic - the former Head of the Regional Unit of the Forest Administration in Municipality of Plav, was announced winner of the Whistleblower of the Year category. Mr. Jasavic publicly stated that the former director of the Forest Administration Nusret Kalač, without the consent of the forest administration in Plav, approved the concessionaire “Pelengić Trade” from Bijelo Polje to cut the highest quality forest in the municipality of Plav, at three times lower price. The Government relieved Nusret Kalač of his duties as Director of the Forest Administration in February 2021. The other nominees in this category were: Elvis Berisa, Vasilije Milickovic, Boris Raickovic, Nenad Pizurica, and Kristijan Dukaj.

The institution that had shown the most transparent work was the Ministry of the Interior. According to those who nominated this institution, this particular Ministry duly answers journalists' questions and requests for information. They also pointed out that the officials of this state body provide accurate statements to the media and do not hide facts. Also, they are open to suggestions from the NGO sector - which was not the case before.

According to the commission members, the organization that has contributed the most to the freedom of speech is KOD Organization from Podgorica. Other non-governmental organizations nominated in the same category are Network for Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS), Center for Affirmation of the RE Population (CAREP), KANA/ Who if not architect, NGO Educational Community of Montenegro, and Center for Democracy and Human Rights - CEDEM. According to the nominations, The “Golden Patch” was awarded to the Real Estate Administration, as the institution that had shown the least transparent work. Apart from the Real Estate Administration, other nominees in this category were the Ministry of Public Administration and the Ministry of Education.

The award ceremony took place on April 29 in Podgorica, followed by three thematic panel discussions on institutions and transparency, whistleblower stories, and freedom of speech.

The discussions were led by members of the NGO 35mm with the presence of experts in the fields. The Minister of Interior and Ombudsman discussed the institutional challenges towards whistleblower protection. Ganija Jasavic and former whistleblower Patricija Pobric shared their experience and gave details about how their case was received both by the public and the institutions. They also admitted that they did not regret their decisions to report, regardless of the consequences that they had to face and they would choose to do the right thing over and over again. Representatives from organizations KOD and MANS discussed in the third panel their approach to freedom of speech and especially emphasized the right to access to information. They also discussed grass-roots organization, arguing that such an organization should be driven by a concrete solution to the problem or issue at stake. They also pointed at the creative role of the media as an essential feature to use information and the amount of information effectively by drawing public attention to certain issues by providing accurate and detailed information but by creating easily digestible content.

Reference:

https://nvo35mm.me/news/events/239

In 2020, the International Whistleblower Day was organized in Sarajevo by Coalition member Infohouse Foundation. This day is celebrated annually on March 24, but this time it was organized in June due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Free Speech Award was given to Sabina Ćudić, member of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, for revealing a scandal at a care facility for children with special needs, specifically the Institute for the Care of Mentally Disabled Children and Youth. The images were shocking in that they showed these children tied to their beds.

Mark Worth, executive director of the European Center for Whistleblower Rights and Dženana Alađuz, head of Infohouse Foundation considered Ćudić’s act heroic and inspiring towards a positive change in the future.

When she received the award, Ćudić referred to the people who reached out to her and reported the situation within the institute, and said: “I am honored and grateful for the award, but the moment the investigation is over and these people can speak publicly, I will pass this award on to them because if we talk about freedom of speech and whistleblowing today, this is not thanks to Sabina Ćudić but to those brave people who continue to take action to protect these children, despite the incredible pressure on them.” During the event Ćudić announced plans to introduce a national whistleblower law.

Information:

Sarajevo Lawmaker who Exposed Child Abuse Wins ‘Free Speech Award’

The Center for the Study of Democracy and Governance and Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection organized in Tirana on 21 March 2019 the International Whistleblower Day. The event was attended by Coalition members from the region, representatives form government institutions and private companies as well as journalist, who discussed issues that concern whistleblowing and protection of whistleblowers.

In the third year of this event the “Free Speech Award” was given to the investigative journalist Klodiana Lala, who has reported on a number of cases of corruption and misuse of power.

The role of journalists and the media in general is considered essential not only in terms of information and awareness on whistleblowing, but also in reporting corruption through initiating, investigating or reporting various corruptive cases in the country, especially considering that disclosure and denunciation of corruption still remain a real challenge.
The event was organized with the support of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Albania and the National Endowment for Democracy.

References:

https://archive.rai-see.org/third-international-whistleblowers-day-21-march-2019-tirana-albania/

International Whistleblower Day organized in Tirana

The Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection and the European Center for Whistleblower Rights in cooperation with local activists, journalists and universities organized from 19-24 March, 2018 the International Whistleblower Day and Kosovo Free Speech Week. International Whistleblower Day serves to honor citizens who report wrongdoings and acts of corruption, by playing in this way an important role for the protection of public interest and financial resources. The Freedom of Speech was handed this year from Kosovo whistleblower of the fiscal evasion scheme at the Tax Administration of Kosovo, Mr. Murat Mehmeti to the two Macedonian whistleblowers Mr. Gjorgji Lazarevski and Mr. Zvonko Kostovski for their courage in exposing covertly recorded wiretaps of over 20 thousand political opponents that were allegedly recorded by the government of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

The Free Speech Award is an annual prize from the Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection, SECWP, and the European Center for Whistleblower Rights, ECWR. Gjorgi Lazarevski spent 11 months in prison, mostly in isolation, after exposing illegal wiretaps. While working together at the Macedonian Office for Security and Illegality, Lazarevski and Kostovski cooperated for three years to document the illegal wiretapping of 20 thousand public officials, entrepreneurs, activists, journalists and other individuals. The shocking public reveal of the mass wiretapping in 2015 led to Gruevski’s resignation, elections in 2016, the formation of a new government in 2017, and the indictment of 94 individuals and seven companies.

Mark Worth, founder of the ECWR and co-founder of SECWP, spoke about the situation in Kosovo. “Today we are launching a new movement, a civil movement, not a political one, not one of specific interests, it is not a movement of people who govern the country but of the people who really lead the country, they are the citizens”, - Worth said.

Lazarevski, who accepted Kostovski’s reward on his behalf, said that all the suffering that they and their families endured did not go to waste. “I am happy that people now speak up, and I do not think that anybody can stop them. The actions taken after we came out was beyond our expectations,” - he said.

References:

https://prishtinainsight.com/macedonian-whistleblowers-receive-free-speech-award/

http://csdgalbania.org/the-international-whistleblower-day/