KAS expert Christian Spahr gave an interview to the Albanian Newspaper "Gazeta Shqiptare" about the importance for the South Eastern European societies to come to terms with the past and which role media and journalists play in this process. The interview took place during the conference "Reporting about the Recent Past – Responsibilities of Media and Politics" in Tirana, Albania on 20th October 2015, which was organised by the KAS Media Program South East Europe.

Spahr explained that coming to terms with the past can mean two things in South East Europe: firstly dealing with the communist era; secondly dealing with the experiences of war in the countries of former Yugoslavia. Politics play a crucial role in this process, since politicians are often the ones deciding which information is made transparent. However, if politicians are pressured into opening files by citizens, by media and by the civil society, then they have to react.

"Media are very important when it comes to establishing a debate about the experiences with the past in the society. Journalists play a major role if it comes to learn from historical experiences. Independent reporting on the past is an important issue and by organising such events, we would like to ask questions about the role of journalists in this process," Christian Spahr explained. He further stated that it is important to know what happened in the past, only then it is possible to set the right priorities for the future. The Media Program supports journalists in Albania and in the region to report on sensitive political issues by offering trainings, especially in investigative journalism and media ethics.

In an environment of corruptive judiciary opening files can be challenging. Spahr noted: "We need legal instruments to shed light on the past. An independent judiciary is a very important element in this regard." However, he said that the situation varies in the different South East European countries. Spahr also mentioned the support by the KAS Rule of Law Program South East Europe which is engaging for a more independent judiciary.

The complete Interview is available