Baton Haxhiu

Last updated
Baton Haxhiu
Born (1966-02-24) 24 February 1966 (age 58)
Drenas, SFR Yugoslavia
NationalityKosovan
Albanian
Occupation(s)Columnist and journalist
Years active1991–present
Television Klan Kosova (2009–2020)
ABC News Albania (2020–2021)
Euronews Albania (2021–)
Awards CPJ International Press Freedom Awards (1999)

Baton Haxhiu (born February 24, 1966 , Drenas, Kosovo) [1] is a Kosovo Albanian columnist and journalist who has worked for media such as Koha Ditore, Gazeta Express, Klan Kosova and ABC News Albania. He now works for Euronews Albania and is the general director of Albanian Post. [2]

Contents

Background

He majored in sociology at University of Pristina, but his studies were interrupted when the government closed the university in 1991; he then continued studying with the city's underground academic movement. He worked as a section editor for Koha, a weekly Albanian-language magazine. [1] He later became editor-in-chief of Koha Ditore , a Prishtina daily newspaper. [3] According to the UK newspaper The Independent , under Haxhiu's management, Koha Ditore became "the leading Albanian-language source of information and of critical comment in Kosovo". [1]

1999 threats

In March 1999, shortly before the NATO bombing of Serbia began, Haxhiu and Koha Ditore were fined under Yugoslav Information Law for their reporting. [4] On March 23, the front page of Koha Ditore carried the headline "Nato, Just Do It", quoting the slogan of Nike shoes along with the Nike Swoosh. [2]

In retaliation, government forces burnt down the paper's office that night, killing a guard. The paper's lawyer was murdered, and NATO incorrectly reported that Haxhiu had also been killed. [3] Haxhiu escaped attack by hiding in a basement, where he spent more than a week with only apples and water. At one point, he heard reports of his own death on CNN, and he later described the experience as being "as close to death as skin to the bone." [2]

On 2 April, soldiers ordered the entire neighborhood from their homes, and Haxhiu joined the line of refugees. He approached a woman with a child and persuaded her to pretend he was her husband and the child's father. Four days later, while Haxhiu was still trying to reach the Republic of Macedonia, word spread of his escape, and Albanian politician Arben Xhaferi dispatched a team to retrieve Haxhiu and bring him to safety. [5] When Haxhiu reached the country, he resumed publishing Koha Ditore. [3]

By October 1999, Haxhiu returned to Kosovo. In that month, the government of Kosovo Liberation Army leader Hashim Thaçi accused Haxhiu and publisher Veton Surroi were accused of being "pro-Serb vampires" coordinating with Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević, stating: "people like them . . . should themselves realize that, one day, they too may be the targets of some personal vendetta, which is quite understandable. Therefore, both Veton Surroi and Baton Haxhiu, these ordinary Mafiosi, should not be left unpunished for their criminal acts." [6] Despite the threat, the paper continued to publish. [3]

That year, Haxhiu won the CPJ International Press Freedom Awards, which recognises journalists who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment. [7]

Later journalism

Haxhiu later became the editor of the Gazeta Express . [8] In July 2008, during the war crimes trial of Ramush Haradinaj, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found Haxhiu guilty of contempt of court for revealing the name of a protected witness in a newspaper article, and fined him US$10,000. [9] [10] Haxhiu appealed the verdict in September, but judges ruled that he had appealed outside the permitted window. [8]

Upon the founding of Klan Kosova, he was appointed as General Director and hosted the debate programs Zona B and Zona e Debatit. He left the network in 2020. [11] He is currently the head of Albanian Post, and makes appearances on Albanian-speaking television as a columnist. [12]

Personal life

Haxhiu has a wife and two sons. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosovo War</span> 1998–1999 armed conflict in Kosovo

The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It was fought between the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which controlled Kosovo before the war, and the Kosovo Albanian separatist militia known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The conflict ended when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened by beginning air strikes in March 1999 which resulted in Yugoslav forces withdrawing from Kosovo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rambouillet Agreement</span> Proposed peace agreement for Kosovo

The Rambouillet Agreement, formally the Interim Agreement for Peace and Self-Government in Kosovo, was a proposed peace agreement between the delegation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia on the one hand and the delegation of political representatives of the ethnic Albanian majority population of Kosovo on the other. It was drafted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and named for the Château de Rambouillet, where it was initially proposed in early 1999. Among other things, the accords called for 30,000 NATO peacekeeping troops in Kosovo; an unhindered right of passage for NATO troops on Yugoslav territory; and immunity for NATO and its agents to Yugoslav law. The Kosovo Albanian side signed the agreement on 18 March 1999, however the refusal of the Yugoslav and Serbian side to sign the accords led to the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veton Surroi</span> Kosovo-Albanian journalist, politician and founder of the ORA political party

Veton Surroi is a Kosovar Albanian publicist, politician and former journalist. Surroi is the founder and former leader of the ORA political party, and was a member of Kosovo assembly from 2004 to 2008.

<i>Koha Ditore</i> Daily newspaper in Kosovo

Koha Ditore is the leading daily newspaper in Kosovo. It is published by Koha Group and was founded and owned by politician Veton Surroi. His sister Flaka Surroi is now the publisher, following Veton Surroi's launch of his political career within the ORA reformist party. The newspaper initially published as a weekly magazine Koha, that ran from 1992 to 1994, becoming a leading weekly magazine in Kosovo. The initial team included new generation of opinion-makers such as Ylber Hysa, Baton Haxhiu, Dukagjin Gorani, Eqrem Basha, Shkelzen Maliqi, etc. The newspaper with the same name was published for the first time in 1997. Its current editor in chief is Agron Bajrami.

Rexhai Surroi was a Yugoslav Albanian journalist, diplomat and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fadil Hoxha</span> Kosovar politician (1916–2001)

Fadil Hoxha was a Yugoslavian ethnic-Albanian communist revolutionary and politician from Kosovo. He was a member of the Communist Party and fought in the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II. After the war, he was the first President of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija (1945–1963) and later member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1974–1984).

Kohavision is a Kosovan free-to-air television channel launched on September 21, 2000. It was founded by politician and journalist Veton Surroi as part of KOHA Group, a media house currently led by Flaka Surroi. Its programming is centered towards news, with Koha e Lajmeve being the most watched news edition in the country. The broadcaster shares its press staff with the Koha Ditore, a daily newspaper. Kohavision also runs Arta News, a 24-hour news and documentary channel. In October 2, 2024 the official YouTube channel of this television got terminated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija</span> Territory disputed by Serbia and Kosovo

The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, commonly known as Kosovo and abbreviated to Kosmet or KiM, is an autonomous province that occupies the southernmost corner of Serbia, as defined by the country's constitution. The territory is the subject of an ongoing political and territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the partially recognised Republic of Kosovo, with the APKM being viewed as the de jure interpretation of the territory under Serbian law; however, the Serbian government currently does not control the territories because they are de facto administered by the Republic of Kosovo. Its claimed administrative capital and largest city is Pristina.

Television in Kosovo was first introduced in 1974. The Radio Television of Pristina was the first Albanian-speaking broadcaster in Kosovo, founded in 1974 following Radio Pristina's founding in 1945. It was forcefully shut down in 1990 by the Yugoslavian government, forbidding the flow of information through Kosovan airwaves during the Kosovo War. In wartime, the information blackout was covered by Radio 21 and Koha Ditore, while television was under the sole ownership of the Radio Television of Serbia.

Albanian comics, though not well known internationally, were produced mainly by comic-authors from Kosovo. Until recently there was no comic tradition in Albania where comics were seen as junk literature known as fumeti supposedly because pop art was prohibited by the dictatorial communist regime. Today there is one comic magazine published in Kosovo called Leon, and there is Tafë Kusuri comic-strip together with Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes published by Koha Ditore newspaper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gani Bobi</span> Kosovar philosopher and sociologist (1943–1995)

Gani Bobi was an Albanian philosopher and sociologist from Kosovo.

Flaka Surroi is a notable Kosovo-Albanian publisher. She comes from the family of Kosovo politician and diplomat Rexhai Surroi, and is a sibling of Veton Surroi, a Kosovan politician. She finished her high school in Mexico, where her father was serving as an ambassador, and graduated at University of Pristina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agron Bajrami</span> Journalist

Agron Bajrami is the editor of and a writer for Koha Ditore newspaper, the largest daily newspaper in Kosovo. He filled various journalistic and editing positions at the newspaper since its establishment in 1997, and took over as editor in chief in September 2004 after its former editor and publisher, Veton Surroi, departed for politics. Bajrami is also a member of the board of South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), head of the Kosovo Media Institute, and a regular columnist for Montenegrin daily newspaper Vijesti. Agron Bajrami has a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Pristina. He speaks several languages, including: Albanian, English, Serbian and German.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass media in Kosovo</span>

The mass media in Kosovo consists of different kinds of communicative media such as radio, television, newspapers, and internet web sites. Most of the media survive from advertising and subscriptions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media in Pristina</span>

The media in Pristina includes some of the most important newspapers, largest publishing houses and most prolific television studio. Pristina is the largest communications center of media in Kosova. Almost all of the major media organizations in Kosova are based in Pristina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arbana Xharra</span> Kosovo Albanian investigative journalist

Arbana Xharra is a Kosovar Albanian investigative journalist. She has won numerous awards for her reporting and was a 2015 recipient of the International Women of Courage Award from the US State Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klan Kosova</span> Kosovo national television network

Klan Kosova is a Kosovan private cable television channel based in Pristina, Kosovo. It was founded on 2 December 2008 and launched on 17 February 2009 as a Kosovan affiliate to TV Klan under the supervision of media mogul Aleksandër Frangaj. It is currently one of the most popular private broadcasters in the country.

Veli Deva was a senior communist leader in Kosovo under the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Teuta Sahatqija is a politician and diplomat in Kosovo. She has served three terms in the Assembly of Kosovo, initially with the Reformist Party ORA, which she led from 2008 to 2010, and later with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). She was Consul General for the Republic of Kosovo in New York City from 2016 to 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Martyn Rady (1 April 1999). "Obituary: Baton Haxhiu". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Baton Haxhiu". NewsHour. PBS. 22 November 1999. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "1999 Awards - Announcement". Committee to Protect Journalists. 23 November 1999. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "CPJ Condemns Media Crackdown in Yugoslavia". Committee to Protect Journalists. March 25, 1999. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  5. ↑ R. Jeffrey Smith (19 April 1999). "Trying to Stay Alive While Dead to the World; Editor Dodges Police After His 'Demise'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  6. ↑ Peter Finn (13 October 1999). "Forces of Intolerance Threaten to Consume Kosovo". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "International Press Freedom Awards 1999". Committee to Protect Journalists. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Journalist's contempt appeal too late". Associated Press. September 4, 2008. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "Haxhiu, Baton". The Hague Justice Portal. Archived from the original on 7 December 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  10. ↑ "Netherlands: War Crimes Editor Charged". Associated Press. 21 May 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  11. ↑ "Baton Haxhiu jep dorëheqje nga Klan Kosova". Bota Sot. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  12. ↑ "Rreth nesh | Albanian Post". Albanian Post. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.