Journalist Ilinka Iljoska was threatened by employees of a state enterprise for public cleaning, after she photographed some of the garbage in a park near her home.
This article was originally published by Meta.mk. An edited version was republished on globalvoices.org on 2 September 2022 under a content-sharing agreement between Global Voices and Metamorphosis Foundation
Written by Metamorphosis Foundation
City-owned sanitation company caves to public pressure and apologizes
The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) condemned the threats and the insults that employees of Skopje’s public enterprise for communal hygiene, Komunalna higiena – Skopje (KHS), hurled at Meta news agency’s journalist Ilinka Iljoska in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. The incident occurred on Monday, August 15, 2022.
Iljoska reported that on Monday when she went to work, she photographed the scattered garbage in the park in front of the building where she lives and the brooms by the garbage container in the Skopje municipality of Kisela Voda. Employees of KHS, who were in the park at some distance, then noticed her taking photographs and approached her.
“When I arrived at the bus stop, one man in civilian clothes and one street cleaner crossed the street and came to me. The man in civilian clothes introduced himself as the foreman, after which I also identified myself by name and surname and I told him that I work with Meta news agency and said: ‘How can I help you?’” Iljoska explained.
The man who identified himself as an employee of KHS demanded that the journalist delete the photos and argued loudly with her, telling her she must not take photographs ever again. Iljoska replied that she photographed in a public space and that there was no notice that photography was forbidden. Then she received direct threats:
Due to concern for her personal safety and the safety of her family, Ilinka Iljoska sought legal counsel from AJM and with their help later lodged a complaint at the police station. She explained:
“AJM urges Komunalna higiena – Skopje to start a disciplinary procedure against the offenders for the verbal attack against journalist Ilinka Iljoska. We also urge the enterprise to produce an action plan for the education of the employees on public interest and their interaction with the citizens, since this is not the first time that Komunalna higiena – Skopje reacted in this or a similar manner towards citizens,” AJM’s reaction reads.
KHS condemns the incident, announcing disciplinary action for perpetrators
On August 18, the public communal enterprise KHS issued a public announcement condemning the incident:
“We most strongly condemn the verbal attack against the journalist of Meta.mk while performing her work duties. The employees of public enterprise Komunalna higiena – Skopje will be subject to a disciplinary procedure,” states the response received by Meta.mk from this public enterprise.
The response also included a statement of encouragement for all media and the public to vigilantly monitor the work of the their employees and an invitation to direct all questions to the public enterprise, which remains “open and transparent.”
The verbal attack was reported to the police and its Violent Crimes Department is expected to forward the case to the competent State Prosecutor’s office.
Meanwhile the August issue of the monthly bulletin of the Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) “Journalism as Public Good” covered the incident with Ilinka Iljoska, as part of their coverage of the topic “Position of women in media and the challenges they face.”
The monthly bulletin also covered the wider context of women in media, including a story on investigative journalism related to women journalists and their contribution to the profession, research by Reuters Institute on gender equality in the media, reports of an increase of harassment against female investigative journalists, and the situation for women in the media in Montenegro facing pressure.
