UNMIK/PR/398

PRESS RELEASE - 25 October 2000

UNMIK Opens Media Resource Centre at RTK

UNMIK has established a Resource Support Centre at Radio Television Kosovo (RTK TV) to support journalists covering  the election results period. The center will be open to media beginning Saturday 28 October,  and it will continue to support journalists for some days following the elections.

This new resource facility should not be confused with the OSCE Media Centre from where information about the elections will emanate.

The Resource Centre at RTK TV will support journalists from the print, radio and TV broadcast media. It has been set up with an office and equipment centre including a bank of 15 workstations.

Up-to-date electronic broadcast equipment will be available at the Resource Centre to be lent to accredited journalists for the election  period beginning this weekend and ending when the final election results are announced.

Equipment borrowed by journalists in the morning must be returned to RTK TV by 10:30 pm the same day. It may be borrowed again the following day but loans will be on a one-day-at-a-time basis only.

On Thursday, 26 October, journalists interested in borrowing electronic equipment and using the Resource Centre facilities should present their credentials at the RTK TV building where RTK staff will register them.

Those journalists must bring the following credentials: a form personal identification, as well as a letter of guarantee from their newspaper or magazine, radio or TV station. The guarantee letter should be on letterhead stationary of the interested media organization and contain the name of the journalist to be registered.

The letter should also include the OSCE Registration Number for the company's media license, the name and signature of the line manager of the media organization, and its full contact information, including telephone, addresses and email if available.

The Letter should include the name and the signature of the responsible officer who is guaranteeing that the journalist represented will return any equipment which has been borrowed, in good condition, and that the media organization assumes full financial responsibility for any loss or damage involving the equipment borrowed.

RTK TV will review applications for registration in order to establish that only bona fide journalists from licensed media organizations have  access to the Resource Centre.

RTK TV reserves the right to deny access to the facilities and equipment of the Resource Centre if it judges that the necessary credentials or guarantees have not been provided.

The Resource Centre is being established by UNMIK using funding donated by the Government of Japan through the UN Trust Fund. The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) then purchased and shipped the necessary equipment to Pristina.

UNMIK wishes to thank the Government of Japan for this generous contribution to improve the coverage of municipal elections in Kosovo.