Anger on Albanian journalist’s banned entrance into Greece

TIRANA, Sep. 01 – All the Albanian media community and civic organizations loudly complained on banning entrance into neighboring Greece for an Albanian journalist.
On 19 August 2012, Marin Mema, a reporter with Albanian private Top Channel TV station was heading to Greece on a private visit when Greek border police denied him entry to the country, recalling a report of his on Greece a year earlier. He was handed a piece of paper on which he was allegedly described as a threat to national security and therefore persona non grata. Mema linked the ban to a TV report he did on the Cam population of ethnic Albanians who were expelled from northern Greece during World War Two.
This act sparked protests from the community of journalists. The Union of Albanian Journalists association sent requests to the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calling on the ministry to demand explanations and protest against this unreasonable ban. The union also organized a protest in front of the Greek embassy in Tirana, deploring this act and calling for a stop to these bans that threaten media freedom.
The Albanian Foreign Ministry did call the Greek counselor to complain and issued a strong warning for the move.
But there has been no reaction from Athens so far.
The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), also called on the Greek authorities to explain why they have impeded Mema’s entry to the country.
“Reporters should be allowed to travel both as private citizens and as information professionals,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “The border police appear to have violated several international standards by impeding the journalist’s free movement. Press freedom cannot stop at countries’ borders.”
“Greece is a European Union country,” Vujovic said. “These actions of the Greek border police have to be investigated and explained. International organizations like the Council of Europe or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should also look into these practices.”