Gaza and the AJK Cartel: Journalism for Sale

This isn’t solidarity. It’s a grotesque attempt to borrow moral capital from Gaza to whitewash decades of complicity in Kosovo.

This is a commendable reaction¹.

The recent declaration by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK) in support of Gaza’s journalists and civilians, and its call for the Kosovar leadership to publicly denounce the humanitarian catastrophe orchestrated by the Israeli government, is, on its surface, a morally justifiable act. The Association’s alignment with European counterparts in urging international attention to the systematic starvation and targeted killings of journalists in Gaza is, in principle, commendable. The demand for a public stance from President Osmani and Acting Prime Minister Kurti may resonate with many across Kosovo who feel a deep solidarity with the Palestinian plight.

But that is precisely what makes this reaction so insidious.

Commendable reaction of Kosovo Journalist Association, but what makes it insidious?

Because it is not born of integrity. It is not rooted in a consistent commitment to human dignity, truth, or justice. It is not the act of an organisation that has proven itself to be a defender of journalistic ethics. Rather, it is the latest manoeuvre in a long, cynical campaign of reputational laundering by an institution that has spent the last two decades colluding with power, selectively enforcing outrage, and abandoning the very journalists it claims to represent.

For twenty consecutive years, under the shadow of post-war criminality and the dominance of warlord-era political entities, journalists in Kosovo have been systematically threatened, silenced, coerced, and even killed. And for twenty years, the AGK has said nothing. No calls for justice. No demands for investigations. No accountability sought for the murders of reporters who dared challenge the violent, corrupt networks born from war.

The warlord era ended in 2020. The silence did not.

Instead of launching truth-finding missions, the AGK aligned itself with the political factions most hostile to transparency. It remained mute as evidence of systemic intimidation piled up. It turned away as journalists were bought off, blacklisted, surveilled, driven into exile. It has never once demanded a thorough investigation into the fate of its own, those reporters whose blood stains the post-war soil of Kosovo.

And now, suddenly, AGK speaks with apparent moral clarity, with principled fire, with righteous conviction. But not for Kosovo. Not for the murdered reporters here². It speaks for Gaza, thousands of miles away.

One must ask: why now?

Why this?

The answer is chillingly simple. Because AGK has no credibility left. And it is desperate to borrow some.

This is not solidarity. It is opportunism. A gambit to harvest social capital from a compassionate public that cares deeply and rightly about Gaza. The AGK, having spent years shielding domestic media oligarchs and defending Kremlin-aligned Serbian narratives, sees in Gaza a moral currency it cannot earn at home. So it seizes the moment, not to speak truth, but to polish its image.

In September 2024, I wrote of the AGK’s protection of Berat Buzhala, a former politician-turned-press baron whose outlet, Nacionale, published unfounded accusations implicating President Osmani and her husband in a murder cover-up³. These were claims lacking in evidence, buoyed only by anonymous sources and devoid of journalistic rigour. Buzhala, rather than providing the public with verifiable facts, announced on Facebook⁴ his intention to submit this so-called "evidence" to state prosecutors, a bizarre and unethical fusion of media and law enforcement.

This act disqualified him, by any standard, from the protections typically afforded to journalists. Yet the AGK leapt to his defence⁵, condemning Osmani’s criticism and declaring the President’s concerns a threat to press freedom. The irony is suffocating. When journalists were murdered under the watch of warlords in Kosovo, the AGK was and remains silent. When a propagandist parades misinformation for political gain and is challenged by the public or politicians, the AGK sounds the alarm as if it's a violation of press freedom.

Their defence of Buzhala was not an isolated incident. It was symptomatic of a deeper rot. The AGK has routinely opposed efforts to regulate media entities acting in bad faith. In August 2024, the Association submitted secretive comments to the Constitutional Court⁶, challenging the draft Law on the Independent Media Commission (IMC). This law, designed to align Kosovo with EU standards, mandates transparency and aims to curb the impunity of online propaganda platforms. The AGK claimed the law threatened media freedom. In truth, it threatened their patrons.

Even more damning was the AGK’s reaction to the government’s scrutiny of Klan Kosova, a media outlet that registered using Kosovo’s cities as defined in Serbia’s constitution. Instead of defending Kosovo’s sovereignty, the AGK decried the government’s request for clarification as a threat to press freedom. The absurdity of this position is self-evident. But it reveals the real game: AGK has become the public relations arm of a media class aligned with criminal, oligarchic, and Belgrade-friendly interests.

This pattern continued in July 2024, when I became the target of a smear campaign orchestrated by S Bunker, an NGO funded by foreign embassies and masquerading as a media outlet. Their executive director, Bardhi Bakija, collaborated with individuals who openly called for my execution online. I reported these threats to the AGK. I received no reply. I filed a criminal complaint. The police blamed me. The prosecutor dropped the case. The AGK remained silent.

Why?

Because to defend me would mean defending a journalist not aligned with their political agenda. Because I have exposed the incestuous relationship between media, politics, and foreign influence that props them up. Because my journalism rooted in fact, not faction, threatens the system they work to preserve.

Let us be unequivocal. The AGK is not a journalist’s association. It is an instrument of power. It has hijacked the discourse of press freedom to protect those who undermine it. It has blurred the line between journalism and mercenary propaganda. It has abandoned its mission. Its complicity has eroded trust, endangered reporters, and enabled a culture in which truth is traded for influence.

Their invocation of Gaza is a fraud. Their statements are not expressions of conscience, but calculations of political utility. They do not speak for journalists. They speak for a cartel.

It is time for international federations to act. The European and International Federations of Journalists must reassess AGK’s status. Continued recognition of this compromised body does not merely reward hypocrisy, it endangers the very ideals these federations exist to protect.

The people of Kosovo deserve a journalism rooted in courage, ethics, and truth. They do not deserve to be lied to by men and women in suits masquerading as defenders of the press. The true enemies of journalism are not always those who burn books. Sometimes, they are those who sit in press conferences, waving empty declarations, pretending they have read them.

Let this be the last time they speak in our name.

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1. AJK writes an open letter to Acting Prime Minister Kurti and President Osmani regarding the situation in Gaza — AJK Website.

2. Kosovo’s Press Freedom Crisis: Nineteen Years of Impunity

Nineteen years after Bardhyl Ajeti's murder, Kosovo's press remains stifled by political interference, highlighting a dire need for justice and genuine press freedom. — The GPC Media Watch.

3. Mercenary Journalism: Berat Buzhala’s Role in Destabilising Kosovo’s Democracy

Berat Buzhala’s mercenary tactics, hidden affiliations, and misuse of media to undermine Kosovo’s democracy demand urgent action to protect national sovereignty. — The GPC Media Watch.

4. Berat Buzhala’s — Facebook Post.

5. AGK/AJK — Association of Journalist of Kosovo reacted ‘X’.

6. AGK Defends Status Quo, Threatens Kosovo’s Press Freedom

AGK's secretive opposition to Kosovo's media law exposes a disturbing agenda: protecting corrupt interests over press freedom, undermining democracy, and evading transparency and accountability. — The GPC Media Watch.