TIRANA, April 21 – Albania drop by seven places in the 2019 ranking of “Reporters Without Borders” Media Freedom Index caused debate in Tirana’s political circles.
Albania went from 75th in 2018 to 82nd this year.
President Ilir Meta said that he had “experienced the conclusions of the report on the regression of Albania in relation to media freedom with deep concern.”
According to him, the drop in the rankings “and this report’s serious warning” that “Albania’s path to the European Union is long” is a strong alarm bell that should awaken us all.
“I have repeatedly condemned all the attacks and any acts of violence against journalists, which unfortunately have recently become frequent,” Meta said, adding that “I strongly appeal once more that the perpetrators of the crimes against media representatives immediately face justice and that blackmail, intimidation or any other kind of pressure on them ends.”
The opposition’s Democratic Party also reacted to the report through its former lawmaker Albana Vokshi.
“PD has long denounced the alarming situation of media freedom in Albania. Without free media there is no transparency and accountability of the government, there is no public information, therefore no free elections. Free Media is a negotiable condition for the opening of negotiations,” Vokshi, according to whom Albania’s fall in the rankings is Prime Minister Edi Rama’s fault, noted.
“He has most of the media under control, through links with oligarch owners, tenders, concessions, PPPs, or corrupt licenses, as evidenced in the report. Rama’s principle is to threaten, blackmail, insult and take to court whatever can not be bought through tenders, concessions and licenses,” Vokshi said.
On his part, Rama voiced his opinion on the report through a Twitter post.
“A reminder of the ‘virgins’ who killed citizens, beat and wound journalists, and act moral today! There is still much to be done concerning media freedom and separating the river of information from the scam of trash. But with this government there is no blackmailed media and denied freedom!” Rama wrote.
According to Thursday’s report, in Albania “media attacks, either by the government or organized crime, reached unprecedented levels in 2018. Journalists were target of insults, death threats and legal persecution, with the intent to intimidate and prevent the investigation of corruption. Politicians led by Prime Minister Edi Rama called them ‘trash’ and ‘fake news producers.’ The PM proposed a bill designed to strengthen state control over electronic media and, according to critics, restrict access to news and information.”
The report also mentioned a joint study of “Journalists Without Borders” and BIRN published in March last year, which found many problems with the Albanian media.
“Regulatory standards have been manipulated in the interest of the government, and ownership over the broadcast media has concentrated in the hands of a few big businessmen. This has created a situation in which auto censorship is widespread and 80 percent of journalists have no confidence in their professional future,” the report said.
