(RSF/IFEX) – In a 14 September 2000 letter to Bernard Kouchner, head of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo, RSF expressed its “strong concern over the disappearance of Marian Melonasi, a Kosovan journalist who worked in the Serbian language for Kosovo Radio-Television.” “Occurring only a few days after the assassination of Albanian-Kosovan journalist Shefki […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a 14 September 2000 letter to Bernard Kouchner, head of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo, RSF expressed its “strong concern over the disappearance of Marian Melonasi, a Kosovan journalist who worked in the Serbian language for Kosovo Radio-Television.”
“Occurring only a few days after the assassination of Albanian-Kosovan journalist Shefki Popova, this disappearance must, in all evidence, be taken extremely seriously. We call on you to undertake all necessary measures to ensure that Melonasi is found safe and sound,” stated Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. He added, “The events of the last few days are alarming. The threat that weighs on the lives of journalists working in Kosovo demands a considered response on the part of the international organisation.”
According to information obtained by RSF, Melonasi, a former journalist for multi-ethnic radio station Kontakt in Pristina, who currently works for Kosovo Radio-Television (Radio Télévision du Kosovo, RTK), disappeared in the afternoon on Saturday 9 September. Melonasi, who has an Albanian father and a Serbian mother, is one of the few journalists today who work in the Serbian language in Pristina, which her colleagues believe engendered hostility on the part of “Albanian extremists.” Melonasi complained of being followed for several days prior to the disappearance. Her relatives were allegedly insulted over the phone shortly after her disappearance. Apparently, the United Nations’s police force is searching for her.
