The World's Best Profession

The World's Best Profession

Journalism must go back to the trenches, rediscover the basics

GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ

A Colombian university was asked what aptitude and vocational tests are administered to persons wishing to study journalism. The response was categorical: "Journalists are not artists." These views are, however, fuelled precisely by the conviction that print journalism is a literary genre.
Fifty years ago, journalism schools were not fashionable. This craft was learned in newsrooms, print shops, run-down corner cafes, and at Friday night parties. Newspapers were produced in a factory-like setting, where the right training and information were provided, and views were generated in a collaborative atmosphere in which integrity was preserved. Journalists formed a tight-knit group. We shared a common life and were so fanatical about the profession that we talked of nothing else.

The work itself fostered a group friendship that left little time for one’s private life. Although there were no editorial boards in a formal sense, at five o’clock in the afternoon, the entire staff gathered spontaneously to take a break from the tension of the day and to have coffee in any place where there was editorial activity. It was a kind of loose gathering at which there was heated discussion of the topics of each section and where the finishing touches were added to the next morning’s edition. Persons who did not learn in these 24-hour roving academies of fervent debate or those who became bored with all the talking that took place there were those who wanted or believed themselves to be journalists, but in reality were not.

At that time, journalism fell into three broad categories: news, feature stories and editorials. The section requiring the greatest finesse and carrying the greatest prestige was the editorial section. The reporter’s job was the one that was the most undervalued, since it implied that the person doing it was a novice who had been relegated to menial tasks. Both time and the profession have demonstrated that the nervous system of journalism operates in a counterclockwise fashion; to wit: at age 19, I was the worst student in law school and began my career as a member of the editorial staff. Gradually, by dint of hard work, I made my way up, working in different sections, until I became a plain old reporter.

The practice of this profession required a broad cultural background, which was provided by the work environment itself. Reading was a supplementary job requirement. Persons who are self-taught are usually avid and quick learners. This is particularly true of persons of my era, inasmuch as we wanted to continue to pave the way for the advancement of the best profession in the world, as we ourselves called it. Alberto Lleras Camargo, a perennial journalist who was, on two occasions, president of Colombia, was not even a high school graduate.

The establishment of schools of journalism later on was the result of a reaction in academic circles to the fact that the profession lacked scholastic backing. At the moment, this does not apply to the print media only, but to all areas of the media that have been or will be invented. However, in a bid to expand, even the humble name assigned to the profession since its beginnings in the 15th century has been abandoned. It is no longer called journalism, but rather communication sciences or mass communications. Generally speaking, the results have not been encouraging. Students who graduate from academic institutions with unrealistically high expectations, with their lives ahead of them, seem to be out of touch with reality and the main problems of life in the real world, and attach greater importance to self-promotion than to the profession and innate ability. This is particularly true with respect to two key attributes: creativity and experience.

The majority of students enter the profession with obvious deficiencies: they have serious problems with grammar and spelling and do not have an instinctive grasp of the material they read. Some take pride in the fact that they can read a secret document upside down on the desk of a minister, that they can tape casual conversations without informing the speaker, or that they can publicise a conversation that they agreed beforehand to treat as confidential. What is most disturbing is that these ethical breaches are based on a risque view of the profession, one that has been consciously adopted and is proudly rooted in the sacrosanct importance attached to being the first to know something, at any price and above all else. The notion that the best news is not always the news that is obtained first, but very often is the news that is best presented, means nothing to them. Some of these persons, aware of their deficiencies, feel that they have been cheated by their universities and do not mince words when blaming their teachers for failing to instil in them the virtues that are now demanded of them, particularly curiosity regarding life itself.

Clearly, this is a criticism that can be levelled at education in general, which has been corrupted by the plethora of schools that persist in the perverted practice of providing information rather than training. However, in the specific case of journalism, this seems to be compounded by the inability of the profession to evolve at the same pace as the tools of the trade, and by the fact that journalists are getting mired in the labyrinth created by technology as it hurtles forward. In other words, there is fierce competition among companies to acquire modern tools while they have been slow to train their staff and adopt the mechanisms that fostered team spirit in the past. Newsrooms have become aseptic laboratories where people toil in isolation, places where it seems easier to communicate via cyberspace than by touching the hearts of readers. Dehumanisation is spreading at an alarming pace. It is not easy to understand how technology, in all its glory, and communications, which takes place at lightning speed, things that we all hankered after in our time, have managed to hasten and exacerbate the agony associated with closing time.

Beginners complain that editors give them three hours to complete a task that really cannot be done in fewer than six, that they ask them for material for two columns and then at the last minute give them only half a column, and that in the chaos of closing time no one has the time or the inclination to provide them with an explanation, let alone a word of consolation. "They don’t even scold us," said a novice reporter who was anxious to receive direct feedback from his bosses. Silence reigns: the editor who was a compassionate sage in times gone by barely has the energy or the time to keep up with the punishing pace imposed by technology.

In my view, it is the haste and restriction in terms of space that have reduced the stature of reporting, which we always considered to be the most prestigious genre, but also the one that requires more time, more research, more reflection, and superb writing skills. Reporting is, in reality, a meticulous and accurate reconstruction of facts. In other words, it is the news in its entirety, as events actually occurred, presented in a way to make the reader feel as though he actually witnessed them.

Before the invention of teletypewriters and telexes, someone in the field of radio communications with a fanatical devotion to the profession quickly captured the world news amidst the cacophony of the air waves, and a scholarly editor prepared it, complete with details and background information, in a manner akin to the reconstruction of the entire skeleton of a dinosaur from a single vertebra. Only the interpretation of the news was off-limits, since this was considered to be the sacred preserve of the editor-in-chief, whose editorials were presumed to have been written by him, although this was not the case. In addition, the penmanship was almost always famous for its flourish. Renowned editors-in-chief had personal linotypists whose job was to decipher this handwriting.

One significant improvement made in the past 50 years is that the news and reports are now accompanied by comments and opinions, and background information is used to enrich editorials. However, this does not seem to have achieved the best results, since this profession has never seemed more dangerous than it does now. The excessive use of quotation marks in statements, either false or true, provides an opening for innocent or deliberate mistakes, malicious distortions, and venomous misrepresentations, which give the news the force of a deadly weapon.

Quotations from sources that are entirely credible, from persons who are generally well-informed, from senior officials who request anonymity, or from observers who know everything but are never seen, make it possible for all kinds of offences to go unpunished. The culprit erects a fortress around himself by citing his right to withhold his source, without asking himself whether he is not allowing himself to be easily exploited by that source who, in transmitting the information to him, packaged it in the manner that best suited him. I think that a bad journalist believes that he depends on his source for his livelihood, especially if it is official, and for this reason considers it to be sacrosanct, agrees with it, protects it, and ends up entering into a perilous relationship of complicity with it, which even leads him to look askance at other sources.

Perhaps this may sound too anecdotal, but I think that there is another major culprit in this process: the recorder. Before its invention, the profession managed quite well with three tools of the trade, which, in truth and in fact, were really one: a notebook, uncompromising integrity, and a pair of ears that we, as reporters, still used to hear what was being said to us. The professional and ethical use of a recorder did not yet exist. People should teach their young colleagues that a cassette is not a substitute for one’s memory, but rather, a sophisticated version of the humble notebook that provided very reliable service during the early years of the profession.

The recorder hears but does not listen, and, like an electronic parrot, repeats but does not think. It can be depended upon but does not have a heart, and, in the final analysis, its literal rendition is not as reliable as that of the person who pays attention to the live words of his speaker, uses his intelligence to assess them, and judges them based on his ethical standards. While it does, in terms of the radio, offer the enormous advantage of providing an immediate and literal rendition of words, many interviewers do not listen to the responses provided because they are thinking about the next question. Because of the recorder, excessive and misguided importance is attached to interviews. Radio and television, by their very nature, have transformed them into the supreme genre.

However, the print media also seems to share the mistaken view that the voice of the truth is not so much that of the journalist who witnessed an event but of the interviewee who provided a statement. In the case of many newspaper editors, transcription serves as the acid test. They confuse the sound of words, stumble on semantics, trip up on spelling, and become ensnarled in syntax. Perhaps the solution is to return to the modest notebook, so that journalists will use their intellect to edit as they listen and let the recorder occupy its rightful place as an invaluable witness. In any case, the assumption that many ethical and a host of other lapses that debase and bring shame to modern journalism do not always stem from a lack of morality, but also from a lack of professional skill, is a comforting one.

Perhaps the shortcoming of mass communications academic programmes is that they teach many things that are useful for the profession, but very little about the profession itself. Clearly, humanities programmes should be retained, although they should be made less ambitious and rigid, in order to provide students with the cultural background that they do not receive in high school. However, any kind of education should focus on three key areas: assigning priority to aptitude and vocation; establishing categorically that research is not a speciality of the profession, but rather that all journalists must, by definition, be research-oriented; and building awareness that ethical standards cannot be a product of happenstance; like the drone of a bee, they must be the constant companion of every journalist. The ultimate objective ought to be a return to the basic level of education by offering small group workshops, which provide a critical appreciation of historical experiences, within the original context of public service.

In other words, insofar as learning is concerned, the spirit of the 5 pm get-togethers should be revived. I belong to a group of independent journalists, based in Cartagena de Indias, that is trying to achieve this throughout Latin America through a system of experimental, itinerant workshops bearing a rather lofty-sounding name: Foundation for a New Approach to Journalism in Ibero-America (Fundacion para un Nuevo Periodismo Iberomericano). This is a pilot programme geared toward journalists who are just beginning their careers. They work in one specific area—reporting, editing, radio and television interviews, and a host of others—under the guidance of a veteran of the profession.

In response to a public announcement of the foundation, candidates are proposed by the media organisation with which they are working, and that organisation covers travel, accommodation and registration expenses. Persons must be under the age of 30, have a minimum of three years of experience, and demonstrate their aptitude and level of skill in their area of speciality by providing samples of what they consider to be their best and worst work. The duration of each workshop depends on the availability of the guest instructor, who rarely can spend longer than one week. During workshops, the instructor does not attempt to provide participants with theoretical dogma and academic biases; instead he seeks, during the round table, to strengthen their skills using practical exercises, with a view to sharing with them his experience gained in practising the profession. The goal is not to teach people how to be journalists, but rather to hone the skills of those who already are, through practical exercises. No final exams or evaluations, diplomas or certificates of any kind are given. The sifting process will take place through the practical application of their skills.

It is not easy to assess the benefits reaped thus far from a pedagogical standpoint. However, we are heartened by the growing enthusiasm of persons attending the workshops, a phenomenon that is already providing fertile ground for nonconformism and creative rebellion within the media circles of these persons, an approach that is supported, in many instances, by their boards of directors. The mere fact that 20 journalists from different countries met, over a five-day period, to discuss the profession is already a sign of their progress and of the progress of journalism.

In the final analysis, we are not proposing a new way of teaching journalism; rather, we are seeking to revive the old way of learning it. The media would do well to support this rescue mission, either in their newsrooms or through scenarios created for that express purpose, in a manner akin to the air simulators who recreate every incident that can occur in flight so that students can learn how to avoid disaster before they actually encounter it in real life.

Journalism is an unappeasable passion that can be assimilated and humanised only through stark confrontation with reality. No one who does not have this in his blood can comprehend its magnetic hold, which is fuelled by the unpredictability of life. No one who has not had this experience can begin to grasp the extraordinary excitement stirred by the news, the sheer elation created by the first fruits of an endeavour, and the moral devastation wreaked by failure. No one who was not born for this and is not prepared to live for this and this only can cling to a profession that is so incomprehensible and consuming, where work ends after each news run, with seeming finality, only to start afresh with even greater intensity the very next moment, not granting a moment of peace.

The Mirage/ Vegimi

THE MIRAGE OF INDEPENDENCE


The proposed Kosovo 'solution' involves a new form of imperial sovereignty which is undemocratic and unsustainable.

Besnik Pula and Anna Di Lellio (the Guardian) March 8, 2007

If the settlement drafted by special envoy for Kosovo, Martii Ahtisaari, is approved by the UN security council later this month, a new "independent protectorate" will be established in Europe. Confused by the contradiction contained in that term? The truth is that naming the reality that is taking shape in Kosovo is a challenge.

The settlement provides for self-rule, clearly stating that Kosovo shall be responsible for managing its own affairs, and thus de facto severing local government's formal ties with its legal sovereign, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a state that is no more. At the same time, it requires the presence of an International Civilian Representative (ICR) with broad powers, who is the final authority regarding the interpretation of the settlement.

This is no small feat, as the settlement strictly defines constitutional provisions, the rights of communities, decentralisation, the justice system, religious and cultural heritage, property and archives, international debt, security and defense. The Kosovo authorities must also consult with the ICR on appointments to senior economic posts, such as the head of the central bank, as well as in drafting Kosovo's budget.

In other words, because the local sovereign is not deemed to be capable of establishing the rule of law and democratically protect its entire people, a new bureaucratic sovereign is appointed outside the law. The ICR is, to paraphrase the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, both outside of and belonging to the legal and political system, or what the German scholar of jurisprudence Carl Schmitt once famously defined as the mark of a real sovereign - the one who is capable of deciding about the law from outside the law.

The ICR has no expiration date and a vague definition of benchmarks by which a court made of France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, the EU, the European Commission and Nato will judge the work of the office. What is clear is that the ICR definitely stands outside the norms of a self-ruling, democratic state, making Kosovo a country subject to a sort of "permanent state of exception".

Even colonial governors used to be subject - at least nominally - to the laws of their respective metropolitan state, while ruling various territories and populations conquered by force. The new sovereign of Kosovo seems to be relieved of that nuisance, given that he (it probably will be a he) will enjoy diplomatic privileges and full immunity from the laws of Kosovo. This includes all members of his staff and their families, and about 1,500 armed European police officers who will be deployed to serve in Kosovo as rapid reaction units under the direction of the ICR. Who are these people?

They are new and old to Kosovo. Many have been working in Kosovo for years under the UN banners. Others have joined recently. But in one way or another, many have already experienced international administrations, in Bosnia first and then East Timor and Afghanistan. They are members of the "migrant sovereigns", another oxymoronic neologism warranted by reality.

Some political scientists have dubbed endeavours such as this "state-building", a seeming necessity in our era of failed states, ethnic conflict and global terrorism. Yet, as a particular tribe, the international bureaucracy that in so many countries becomes the unaccountable, ultimate political authority, is probably better studied by anthropologists. Mariella Pandolfi, at the University of Montreal, is doing just that, in the context of research on a state of "permanent transition".

A consensus among American and a number of European diplomats has been formed on the Ahtisaari package as an unchangeable document that is favourable to the Kosovo leadership, a compromise solution in exchange for independence. Yet, it is unclear how establishing an unaccountable layer of power atop the existing government elected by Kosovars can be understood as independence in the normal sense of the term.

What is worse, western diplomats seem incapable of drawing lessons from past failures of international tutelage such as Bosnia and the extremely deficient UN-led administration that has governed Kosovo since 1999. Internationally imposed entities in Bosnia have not facilitated ethnic reconciliation and integration, let alone democratic governance. By fragmenting power among ethnic communities and municipalities, the imposed future Kosovo constitution is a recipe for further division and deadlocked government; by granting minorities veto power on any amendment, it flagrantly violates the same democratic norms that it claims to champion.

EU diplomats in particular have hinted at prospects of EU membership for Kosovo if it accepts the Ahtisaari deal. But more than the EU representing hope for Kosovo, Kosovo embodies the efforts of the EU to expand on a new form of imperial sovereignty which is undemocratic and not sustainable in the long run. The risk is that Kosovo will become for the EU what Iraq is for the US: a failed attempt at state engineering, for which there is no honourable exit.





VEGIMI I PAVARËSISË



`Zgjidhja' e propozuar për Kosovën përfshin një formë të re të sovranitetit perandorak i cili është jodemokratik dhe i paqëndrueshëm.

Besnik Pula dhe Anna Di Lellio ( Gazeta Britanike,the Guardian, 8 mars 2007)


Nëse plani i skicuar nga i dërguari i posaçëm për Kosovën, Martti Ahtisaari, miratohet nga Këshilli i Sigurimit të Kombeve të Bashkuara në fund të këtij muaji, një "protektorat i pavarur" do të krijohet në Evropë. Hutoheni nga kundërthënia të cilën e përmban ai term? E vërteta është se emërimi i realitetit i cili po merr formë në Kosovë është një sfidë. Plani parashikon vetëqeverisje, duke theksuar qartë se Kosova do të jetë e përgjegjshme për menaxhimin e çështjeve të saj, dhe në këtë mënyrë de facto do t'i prishë lidhjet formale të qeverisë më sovranin e saj legal, Republikën Federative të Jugosllavisë, një shtet i cili nuk është më. Njëkohësisht, plani kërkon prezencën e një Përfaqësuesi Civil Ndërkombëtar (ICR) me kompetenca të gjera, i cili është autoriteti kryesor lidhur me interpretimin e planit. Kjo nuk është diçka e vogël, përderisa plani saktësisht definon nenet kushtetore, të drejtat e komuniteteve, decentralizimin, sistemin e drejtësisë, trashëgiminë fetare dhe kulturore, pasuritë dhe arkivat, borxhin ndërkombëtar, sigurinë dhe mbrojtjen.

Autoritetet e Kosovës duhet gjithashtu të konsultohen me ICR-në mbi emërimet në postet e larta ekonomike, siç është posti i drejtuesi të bankës qendrore, sikurse edhe në skicimin e buxhetit të Kosovës. Me fjalë tjera, për shkak se sovrani vendor nuk vlerësohet të jetë i aftë të vendos sundimin e ligjit dhe të mbroj demokratisht të gjithë njerëzit e tij, një sovran i ri burokratik caktohet jashtë ligjit. ICR-ja është, për të parafrazuar filozofin italian Giorgio Agamben, edhe jashtë edhe brenda sistemit ligjor dhe politik, ose siç e definoi dikur treguesin e sovranit të vërtetë studiuesi i jurisprudencës Carl Schmitt – ai i cili është i aftë të vendos rreth ligjit jashtë ligjit. ICCR-ja nuk ka datë të përfundimit dhe një definicion i të standardeve të vlerësimit përmes së cilave një trup gjykues i përbërë nga Franca, Gjermania, Italia, Rusia, Mbretëria e Bashkuar, Shtetet e Bashkuara, Bashkimi Evropian, Komisioni Evropian dhe NATO-ja do të gjykonin punën e zyrës. Çfarë është e qartë është se ICR-ja pa dyshim qëndron jashtë normave të vetëqeverisjes, shtetit demokratik, duke e bërë Kosovën një shtet që i nënshtrohet një lloji të "gjendjes së përhershme të përjashtimit".

Madje edhe kolonialistët i janë nënshtruar – së paku formalisht – ligjeve të shteteve të tyre metropolitane përkatëse, ndërsa duke sunduar territore dhe popullata të ndryshme të pushtuara me forcë. Sovrani i ri i Kosovës duket të jetë i liruar nga ai ngjyrim, duke marrë parasysh se ai (me siguri se do të jetë një mashkull) do të gëzojë privilegje diplomatike dhe imunitet të plotë nga ligjet e Kosovës. Kjo përfshin të gjithë anëtarët e personelit të tij dhe familjeve të tyre, dhe rreth 1.500 zyrtarë policorë të armatosur evropianë të cilët do të vendosen të shërbejnë në Kosovë si njësite të reagimit të shpejtë nën udhëheqjen e ICR-së. Kush janë këta njerëz? Ata janë të rinj dhe të vjetër për Kosovën. Shumë prej tyre kanë punuar në Kosovë për vite të tëra nën flamuj të KB-së. Të tjerët janë bashkangjitur kohëve të fundit. Por në një mënyrë ose tjetër, shumë prej tyre tashmë kanë përvojë të administrimeve ndërkombëtare, së pari në Bosnje dhe pastaj në Timorin Lindor dhe në Afganistan. Ata janë anëtarë të "sovranëve shtegtarë", një neologjizëm tjetër oksimoronik i autorizuar nga realiteti. Disa shkencëtarë politikë kanë pagëzuar përpjekjet sikur ky "shtet-ndërtim", një gjoja domosdoshmëri të erës sonë të shteteve të dështuara, si konflikt etnik dhe terrorizëm global. Megjithatë, si një fis i veçantë, burokracia ndërkombëtare e cila në aq shumë shtete bëhet autoriteti politik kryesor i papërgjegjshëm, me siguri është më mirë i studiuar nga antropologët. Mariella Pandolfi, pranë Universitetit të Montreal-it, pikërisht po bën atë, në kontekstin e hulumtimeve mbi gjendjen e "tranzicionit të përhershëm".

Një konsensus midis diplomatëve amerikanë dhe disa evropianë është krijuar mbi pakon e Ahtisaariit që përmban një dokument të pandryshueshëm i cili është i favorshëm për udhëheqësinë kosovare, një zgjidhje kompromisi në këmbim për pavarësinë.
Sidoqoftë, është e paqartë se si krijimi i një shtrese të papërgjegjshme të pushtetit mbi qeverinë ekzistuese të zgjedhur nga kosovarët mund të kuptohet si pavarësi në kuptimin normal të fjalës.

Çka është më e keqja, diplomatët Perëndimorë duken të jenë të paaftë të nxjerrin mësime prej dështimeve të mëparshme të mbikëqyrjes ndërkombëtare si në Bosnje dhe administrata jashtëzakonisht e mangët e KB-së e cila udhëheq Kosovën që nga viti 1999. Entitetet e imponuara ndërkombëtarisht në Bosnje nuk kanë ndihmuar pajtimin dhe integrimin etnik, lërë anash qeverisjen demokratike. Duke fragmentuar pushtetin midis komuniteteve dhe komunave etnike, kushtetuta e ardhshme e Kosovës e imponuar është një recetë për përçarje të mëtejshme dhe për një qeveri në amulli; duke i dhënë pakicave fuqinë e vetos mbi cilindo amendament, ajo në mënyrë flagrante shkel normat e njëjta demokratike të cilat ajo pretendon t'i mbrojë.

Diplomatët e BE-së në veçanti kanë paralajmëruar për anëtarësimin në BE për Kosovën nëse ajo pranon planin e Ahtisaari-it. Por më shumë sesa BE-ja paraqet shpresë për Kosovën, Kosova personifikon përpjekjet e BE-së për të vazhduar me një formë të re të sovranitetit perandorak i cili është jodemokratik dhe i paqëndrueshëm në periudhën afatgjatë. Rreziku është se Kosova mund të bëhet për BE-në ajo që është Iraku për SHBA-në: një përpjekje e dështuar për ndërtimin e shtetit, për të cilën nuk ka një dalje të ndershme.

Morali i rrejshëm

PARABOLA E IMORALITETIT

Vlora Gashi

Shkrimtarët e mëdhenj sipas një ligjësie imanente shpesh kanë pikëtakime. Në të vërtetë ato janë shëmbëllime, sikundër është natyra e vet artit letrar, një përngjasim me jetën. Hajnrih Bël është shkrimtar i njohur gjerman, laureat i çmimit Nobël (1972), ndërkaq Ismail Kadare, shkrimtar i njohur shqiptar, i nominuar për vite me radhë për çmimin Nobël. Veprat e tyre që i morëm si objekt observimi në këtë punim, s’do mend, nuk janë veprat e tyre më të mira brenda korpusit krijues, por paraqesin një lëndë interesante që shtrihet në disa pista paralele krahasimore.

“Nderi i humbur i Katerina Blumit” u botua më 1974, kurse “Nata me hënë” më 1985. Në këtë plan mund të thuhet se diferenca e botimit prej rreth një dekade nuk mund të quhet distancë e përfillshme. Ngjashmëritë ndërkaq, në kontekst të zhvillimit letrar të dy autorëve, nuk japin bazë pandehme për ndikim të drejtpërdrejtë tek njëri-tjetri dhe aq më pak për imitim apo plagjiat.

Bazamenti kontekstual i të dy veprave, qoftë në planin tematik, qoftë në planin ideo-estetik është morali, nderi ose thënë më saktë parabola e imoralitetit.

Shtjella e fabulave në të dy rastet na jep të drejtë shumë lehtë t’i zhvendosim titujt e tyre. Vepra e Bël-it mund ta mbante bindshëm titullin NATA PA HËNË sikundër që veprës së Kadaresë do t’i rrinte natyrshëm titulli Nderi i Humbur i Mariana Krastës.

Në të dy veprat kryepersonazhi është femër, veshur me atribute intelekti, bukurie e sharmi, elemente këto të mjaftueshme për të sfiduar rrethin mediokër, për të nxitur zilinë, smirën dhe butaforinë e thashethemnajës. Mbi këtë bazë këto dy kryepersonazhe krenare, mospërfillëse dhe të dinjitetshme bartin brenda qenies së tyre shpirtin tragjik ose fajin pafaj.

Paradoksalisht autorët e këtyre dy veprave tok me personazhet e tyre janë shndërruar në vetje kontestuese që me personalitetin e tyre provokojnë oportunitetin kolektiv: Bëli profanizon pseudomoralin e shoqërisë kapitaliste (në këtë rast të Gjermanisë të viteve ’70), ndërkaq Kadare hipokrizinë e moralit kolektivist (në këtë rast të Shqipërisë socialiste të viteve ’80).

I pari vëhet në shënjestër të shoqërisë si element promajtist, madje kur e tek nuk kanë munguar as akuzat dhe hamendësimet për punë spiuni komunist; i dyti i ekspozohet po këtyre akuzave dhe dyshimeve me pandehmën për agjent të imperializmit. Analiza e këtyre dy veprave na bind edhe një herë se krijuesit e mëdhenj, pavarësisht nga formacionet stilistiko-letrare, me veprat e tyre zbulojnë të vërtetat dhe esencat e jetës në plan universal.

Struktura e romanit “Nderi i humbur i Katerina Blumit” të Hajnrih Bël-it stiset mbi bazën teorike të romanit policor, ku fillimisht jepet epilogu, pastaj sipas parimit të narracionit retardues zhvillohet ngjarja. Pra në fillim flitet për një krim dhe vetëm në fund të romanit zbërthehet misteri i vrasjes.

Katerina Blumi ka vrarë gazetarin Verner Tërges i cili ishte në të vërtetë bërthamë e intrigës dhe përgojimit në rrafshin mediatik, duke i dhënë zë opinionit të deformuar publik. Akti i krimit të Katerinës është një akt shokant për mjedisin dhe shoqërinë e kohës së saj, megjithatë shkrimtari ka krijuar një kontekst paradoksal dhe ironik.

Mendësia publike e gjykon veprimin e saj si “nder të humbur” por në anën tjetër Katerina Blumi me këtë akt, në mënyrë madhështore ka mbrojtur nderin e nëpërkëmbur. Sado që me akt vetëgjyqësie ajo ka dëshmuar gatishmërinë të paguaj haraçin e rëndë me burg prej disa vitesh. Mirëpo, me këtë akt ajo ka shënuar edhe aktin e çlirimit të saj shpirtëror, duke u fejuar me Ludvig Gëtenin që brenda burgut.

Që në nismë ngjarja zë fill në një mbrëmje festive të karnevaleve, ose më drejt një mbrëmjeje vallëzimi tek nuna e saj, Elsa Voltershajm. Në një këso atmosfere ngjizet edhe fabula e “Nata me hënë” të Ismail Kadaresë.

Mariana tek kthehet një natë me hënë nga një mbrëmje vallëzimi, nën trysninë e një emocioni të çastit shkaktuar nga një delir përkëdhelës hëne, shqipton fjalinë më të rëndomtë të një vajze beqare: “A është e vërtetë që burrat e kanë dashurinë më të fortë se gratë?”.

Pikërisht kjo fjali bashkë me dy-tre vargje për dashurinë të një poezie të viteve ’30 do të bëhet detonatori i fatalitetit të saj. Që këtej pastaj vjen e zhvillohet butaforia e thashethemnajës në kolektivin ku punon, në rrugë, në shtëpi dhe gjetiu. Drama e saj shpaloset në akte e nën akte të seancave, të mbledhjeve, të konferencave nëpër gjithë nomenklaturën e forumeve socialiste, që nga shoqatat e pionierëve e deri tek ato të veteranëve të luftës.

Zhvillimi i kësaj drame e vë Marianën para dilemës dhe sprovës së rëndë, siç e kishte vënë më parë edhe Katerina Blumin: t’i nënshtrohet me oportunitet gjykimit mediokër ndesh bindjes së vet, për të “shpëtuar” kështu pseudonderin, moralin fallso të shoqërisë, apo të rezistojë dinjitetshëm duke pranuar ndëshkimin?!

Edhe Katerina edhe Mariana, pranojnë blasfeminë, anatemën shoqërore, pranojnë njollën kolektive të “humbjes së nderit”, duke mbrojtur mu në esencë moralin dhe nderin vetjak. Marianës i kërkohet si provë nderi e morali dëshmia e virgjërisë nga mjeku.

Derisa gjithë kolektivi i saj priste që ajo ta sillte atë paçavure, ajo bën aktin më të pafalshëm për mendësinë e rendit shoqëror. E gris atë. Një akt i tillë në shoqërinë shqiptare të viteve ’80, një sfidë e tillë e strukturave të monizmit ishte më e rëndë dhe më fatale se vrasja që bën simotra e saj Katerina Blumi në Gjermaninë e viteve ’70.

Ky akt, pavarësisht nga pesha e tij, pavarësisht nga ndëshkimi kolektiv, është një akt i çlirimit shpirtëror të Marianës. Derisa Katerina projekton rifillimin e jetës nga burgu, Mariana po ashtu projekton variantin e saj të rifillimit të jetës duke e lindur foshnjen pas nëntë muajve nga ndëshkimi.

Kjo foshnje pa atësi, si riti biblik i Jezuit është goditja më e rëndë që i bëhet pseudomoralit dhe pseudonderit të shoqërisë. Në të vërtetë as Katerina as Mariana nuk i bëjnë veprimet e tyre si akte hakmarrëse, sado që konceptohen si të tilla, por janë akte të ndërgjegjshme dhe të dinjitetshme. Rebelimi i tyre përfundimisht është triumf i nderit.

Mbi bazën e ngjashmërive fragmentare këto dy vepra kanë pikëtakime edhe me lëndësinë letrare që nga antikiteti e gjer më sot. Personazhet femra që sfidojnë moralitetin e shoqërive të tyre mund të gjenden gjithandej. Na vjen në mendje Antigona e Sofokliut, Hajria te Halili e Hajria, Zhulieta te Romeu e Zhulieta, Ana Karenina e Tolstoit, Ema Bavari e Flloberit e të tjera.

Mirëpo, binomi Katerina Blumi dhe Mariana Krasta shtrin një denduri paralelesh, si të thuash një motërzim të mrekullueshëm të një himni për nderin dhe dinjitetin e femrës. Të dy këto vepra në mënyra të veçanta i janë ekspozuar vlerësimit kritik, qoftë të kritikës oficiele, qoftë të kritikës profesionale. Interesimi im për këto dy vepra nuk ka gjetur në asnjë rast që dikush nga kritikët a lexuesit ta ketë sheshuar në botimet publike këtë përngjasim.

Kosova & Europe

KOSOVO’S FUTURE TOWARD EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

Torbjorn Sohlstrom, the Personal Representative of HR Javier Solana in Pristina, and the Head of the International Civil Office in an interview for Kosovanews talks about the new mission of EU in Kosovo, challenges of 120 days of transition and about the EU and Kosovo people top priorities on the road to the European Union.

Mr. Solstrom how is going on the plan of establishing a new International Civil Office?

Sohlstrom: Our preparations are going very well, thanks to our close cooperation with the political and community leaders in Kosovo, and the full support of the European Union. We have come a long way in the past months to prepare for the transition of responsibilities from UNMIK to the Kosovo authorities. After a Security Council Resolution, we would enlarge our office to its full size so we can fulfill our mandate.

What will be the primary task of new civil mission?

Sohlstrom: While Kosovo will be responsible to manage its own affairs, the comprehensive settlement proposal foresees the main task of an International Civilian Office to be monitoring and overseeing the implementation of a status settlement. This would also mean that an ICO supports the relevant efforts of Kosovo’s authorities in their efforts to comply with the provisions regarding the constitution, decentralization, community rights, cultural heritage, security, and so on.

What kind of relation will an ICO have with other institution in Kosovo?

Sohlstrom: Our key partner will remain the Kosovo authorities and representatives from all communities. I hardly remember a day in the past months where I have not met with Kosovo’s politicians and community leaders. These daily consultations are the core of my and my team’s work, and we even envisage this to intensify. The international community will no longer run Kosovo after status. Rather, we are prepared to help Kosovo run itself and to provide certain guarantees. In the context of European integration, new instruments will be available to assist Kosovo’s institutions – economically, technically, and politically. And yet, the largest responsibilities to provide all citizens with equal chances will be with Kosovo’s elected leaders and community representatives. The tasks they face in the upcoming months are more difficult than anything they have done before.

What role will have the future international presence in Kosovo?

Sohlstrom: Following a UN Security Council Resolution based on the proposal by President Ahtisaari , there would be three EU actors in Kosovo. All would have the same goal for Kosovo, ultimately: helping Kosovo move towards the European Union. A future International Civilian Office, with the EU in a leading role, would be prepared to oversee the implementation of a status settlement. A more operational EU mission would help foster the rule of law in Kosovo with assistance in the police, the judicial system, customs, and border issues. The third effort is in the hands of the European Commission, which would provide technical and financial support. It has allocated about 200 million euros for Kosovo from 2007 to 2009 in its pre-accession program– more per capita than anywhere else!

Approximately, how long will last the mandate of new mission of EU in Kosovo?

Sohlstrom: It depends on the pace of progress. The monitoring and supervision by the international community would be there until a settlement is implemented. The assistance, however, we hope to continue until Kosovo meets the criteria for EU membership.

Mr. Solstrom what will be the new role mission during the first 120 days of transition, what are the challenges during this period?

Sohlstrom: In the event of a UN Security Council resolution, we would be prepared to build an International Civilian Office during 120 days of transition. The ICO would be fully operational once UNMIK’s mandate would end. During this time, the top priority would be transferring tasks from UNMIK to the local institutions. Jointly, we have already been preparing for this monumental process in a number of working groups. During the 120 days, we would expect the assembly and the government to pass a constitution, laws on elections, a long list of other laws, to assume a lot of additional competencies, and to prepare for the implementation of the settlement. Standards implementation will continue to be essential across the board. In essence, it will be Kosovo’s Team of Unity, the assembly members, and community representatives, who will face the largest challenge of all. They need to use the 120 days to assume the responsibilities for Kosovo and its people.

Regarding to latest reports, following a UN Security Council Resolution, the new mission of EU would be focused more in economy development, police control and judicial development. Which of these aspects will more priority?

Sohlstrom: All three aspects are a top priority for the people in Kosovo on the road to the European Union, and these three aspects will also be top priorities for EU assistance.


What will be the role of national institutions in these aspects? Will they have an observer role or they are going to be also co responsible?

Sohlstrom: Kosovo’s institutions will not be observers, nor will they be co-responsible. Rather, they are in charge. If you compare Kosovo to a football team, the international community has so far been the owner of the team. In the future, we hope to move more in the direction of being the trainer. We prepare to help Kosovo’s institutions, because they are still young.

The EU commitment in these aspects means that UNMIK and Provisional Institutions of Kosovo Self-Government during these years have failed in these aspects?

Sohlstrom: I prefer to look towards the future, and that is where I see Kosovo’s European perspective. All EU governments affirmed this perspective in their 2003 Thessaloniki summit, and Kosovo is firmly anchored in the EU’s Stabilization and Association Process. But this reform road to Europe – with all the political, social, and economic benefits – requires an environment of trust and therefore, the rule of law. All citizens need to be sure, and be reassured, that the law is not only there on paper, but that it is followed by their leaders and their neighbors.
(Journalists;Fazli Rrezja & Fisnik Musa)

Kosova through “Acquis Communautaire” obligations to standardize the Eu laws and standards on the Country

  

Interview with The head of French Office in Prishtina, Thierry Reinard,

Journalists: Fazli Rrezja & Fisnik Musa

The head of French Office in Prishtina, Thierry Reinard, said that except Russia, we are to convince other Security Council members for new resolution approval for Kosova. Meanwhile, if Russia threatens with a veto, he said that this could affect new problems. In an interview for news agency “Kosovanews”, the head of French Office says if Kosova’s Institutions take unilateral decisions, they could face legal problems, and this is obviously the reason why he urges for new resolution approval for Kosova, which would repeal the actual 1244 resolution. Nevertheless, he doesn’t mention France’s next step if the resolution wouldn’t be approved at the SC, since, as he says, “doesn’t know the opinion of France recent elected president.

 

 

France has sponsored the draft –resolution for Kosova together with the U.S.A., on the same time Russia has proposed too a resolution that suggests to continue with the negotiation process. Do you expect whether there could be a compromise between these two proposals?

 

Thierry Reinard: As far as I know, there is only one draft – resolution at the Security Council, presented last Friday by the U.S.A. and other Western countries. It is very interesting since Germany as a Quint member has assisted on the creation of this document. According to the information that I received from New York, this is the only existing draft-resolution on the table of the Security Council. During the Contact Group meeting held time before, Russia had presented a so-called list of “the main elements that must be included in the resolution”. This is the only thing that Russia did, and they didn’t propose any official project yet concerning the draft presented by us.

 

Russia has warned that it will veto if the resolution is based on the Ahtisaari plan, how can this situation be avoided?

 

Thierry Reinard: Russian position is still unclear, perhaps we shall know more after two important meetings in Moscow. The first meeting is between the American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the second with the German foreign minister, Steinmeier, which actually is in Russia in order to prepare the EU – Russia summit, scheduled for May, 18 in Samara (Russia).

 

 

 

Kosova’s issue will be one of the main topics to be discussed during these two meetings, Putin – Rice and Putin – Steinmeier, so I don’t know yet what results are going to be reached at. Until now, Russia didn’t threaten officially whether is going to use the right of veto or not. It was mentioned during declarations of Russian vice-minister for Foreign Affairs, Titov and also by the Russian ambassador at the Security Council, Churkin. In this context is said and mentioned the use of the veto, nevertheless, at the moment we didn’t hear officially any use of veto. We have the text and we urge all Security Council members to be positioned and to analyze it point by point… and when there’s no deal, we put it in brackets. This is an exercise that  is usually used at the SC, and we are to begin very soon to identify the articles proposed by Ahtisaari, when Russia admits to repeal resolution 1244.

 

 

 

At the moment I am not able to say what is going to happen. What we are calling the whole world and particularly the temporal SC members, like South Africa ,Indonesia, Congo, Qatar, Peru, Panama, is that these countries to support the resolution. These African and Latin American countries aren’t informed properly about the situation in Kosova. We have urged the same countries together with our U.S. and EU colleagues for support, and we have also showed them why we do support this draft-resolution and that why we thought Kosova’s status must be addressed very soon.

 

Is France ready to recognize independence of Kosova, if it doesn’t pass in the SC?

 

Thierry Reinard: At the moment we don’t want anything like that to happen. You know that it has been mentioned by different countries of EU that this will cause legal problems. We need to understand that we urgently need a new resolution mainly because resolution 1244 has to be changed since this resolution does not allow Kosova to declare its independence. There will be legal conflicts if you declare your independence. It will really present a problem for us, that’s why I cannot say what our new president thinks. We don’t have a certain opinion about this problem, because we are a part of EU, and if we declare our opinion, we could cause problems within the EU.

 

Taking in consideration the will of majority of Kosova and also the reactions of some countries, particularly of Russia, how close to his independence is Kosova today?

 

Thierry Reinard: It depends by your leadership to decide. It will not depend whether Kosova wants to be independent or not. We know the will of people of Kosova and of its leadership. We think that the time has come for Kosova status to be resolved. We think that the main reason why we support a very soon solution in accordance with Ahtisaari plan, is that we want to close this darken chapter of ex Yugoslavia separation, and we want to go ahead through the stabilization of Western Balkans, because we want to work in accordance with European agenda, not only for Kosova, but also for Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Albania. The problem of Kosova is being blocking yet the process inside Western Balkans, that’s why it must be resolved.

 

If Russia uses veto in the SC, what is going to happen with the plan of chief negotiator, Martti Ahtisaari?

 

Thierry Reinard: This is a huge problem, as I mentioned before, Russia didn’t threaten with the use of veto also after the SC delegation visit in Kosova.

 

Ambassadors have evaluated it as a very useful mission, particularly, those who knew about the situation here. They have also seen that the stand of the parties involved in the conflict, have been sufficiently contradictory and there wasn’t any chance to proximate their stands. The second result of this mission is that they have also evaluated that status – quo, which is present since 1999, is not a proper solution. This is obviously what Ahtisaari emphasizes in his report. The members of Quint agree too with this position of ambassadors. We hope that to persuade, apart of Russia, other members too, since we know that it is too difficult to persuade Russia. We think that at the moment there are 14 votes in favor of the resolution at the SC, meanwhile, regarding to Russia, personally, I do think that we are going to have problems if it vetoes. CS usually is committed to reach a consensus. Different European leaders are optimistic for reaching of a compromise with Russia, maybe not during this month, but at least until June, because we want this issue to be resolved before summer holidays, since, during four months of Kosova’s transition period, a much-intensified agenda new process will start.

 

How Kosova’s Institutions are prepared for the transition phase?

 

Thierry Reinard: I think that they must know that they have a lot of work to do. It is important what we do think about the majority leaders which are in power now, are saving the unity of the working groups, comprised by local and international authorities.

 

We do know that there are still problems for raising the capacities since there are capacity lacks at Kosova’s administration. AER, BE, USAID, and all other international donators, are being assisted in the development of these governmental capacities here. It is going to be a much intensified four monthly agenda, where, the legal aspects of the Ahtisaari plan must be clearly implemented, especially during the summer months, but we do believe that they are to do it since they are very committed.

 

Belgrade insists to continue with a new negotiation phase. By your point of view, is there any place for new talks between Prishtina and Belgrade, taking in consideration their very contradictory stands?

 

Thierry Reinard: We don’t think that there are to be developed new negotiations, since the result of Ahtisaari plan came as a result of a long and difficult negotiation process. Serbia’s stand was Kosova to have autonomy and this is not a know position for the opinion..

 

Does International Community have any plan “B”, and what will happen if the situation in Kosova gets worse?

 

Thierry Reinard: No, because we (KFOR and UNMIK) have made a very large plan and they are also prepared for any possible violence, even though there are no indications for such a thing by none of parties. The new EU mission is going to bring new members in the area of policy, justice, and customs. We are prepared for everything that could happen here.

 

The future EU presence in Kosova! Does it mean that Kosovar institutions aren’t able yet to take “the wheel on their hands to lead the state?

 

Tierry Reinard: In his plan, Ahtisaari mentions that Kosovans are going to have the responsibility for leading Kosova in the new system. The International Civilian Office in Kosova will be in charge for supervising the implementation of the status agreement. Also, its role is to supervise whether the status agreement is being respected or not, and also they are going to be here to acquire the minority rights, particularly of the serbs. Other roles that EU is going to have in Kosova is the supervision of the judicial system too, and also the fight against organized crime. The EU role is totally different by resolution 1244.

 

And finally, how far is Kosova for being integrated at the EU?

 

Thierry Reinard: It depends on you, from standards, and also from actuating plan of the European Partnership. The best thing is that we have combined old UNMIK standards with those of the European integration, dated from 2003-2004, and the whole standards, 109 codes out of them to be realized, and the people didn’t know exactly the meaning of the same ones. So, all standards are combined at the EU agenda. Kosova and its leadership with EU have decided to implement so-called Actuating Plan of European Partnership, which is too real for Kosova to present the legislation. This is called as “Acquis Communautaire” and in the case of Kosova it means “obligations to standardize the laws and EU standards on the country.

 

During the next years, we are going to substitute the Conducting Mechanism of Stabilization – Association with European Partnership Actuating Plan, which will lead all Kosova’s legislation to the European existing standards. You are lucky in Kosova, because of UNMIK presence here since 1999. This was a part of the existent “Acquis Communautaire”, because the UNMIK rules have been totally based on EU system. You are in a very favorable position, in comparison with other countries, when they did start to be integrated at the EU. This is going to take time, and it all depends how long will take the negotiations for Stabilization – Association. You are beyond entering the EU house, you are not so far from, and you are also trying to knock on EU doors.