During a meeting of the Socialist Party parliamentary group, Prime Minister Edi Rama was critical of the management and functioning of the Albanian Public Radio and Television, calling it a failure. He stated that today we do not have public television and the balance is a successful failure, from debt to debt.
"We are not going to give a single lek from Albanian taxes until it is deserved. Every option should be on the table, including final closure, privatization, partnership, and everything else besides this one," said Rama.
This statement was met with criticism from experts, organizations engaged in media freedom, and representatives of the Opposition.
The Safe Journalists Network, an organization committed to improving the safety of journalists in the Balkans expressed, among other things, that linking the funding or existence of RTSH to political approval undermines its independence and violates media freedom.
This passage of the statement was re-published by Prime Minister Rama on the social network X, accompanied by a series of accusations that this reaction is disinformation and presents a “deeply distorted misunderstanding” of his position on RTSH. “My remarks have nothing to do with the financing of RTSH with political approval,” Rama writes. in his response, written in English.
Blerjana Bino, representative of the Safe Journalists Network for Albania, told Citizens.al that their concern is not related to the alleged purpose of the statements, but to the consolidated European principle that the existence and funding of media outlets should not be conditioned by politics.
"Assessments like this are an essential part of our work to monitor risks to freedom of expression and do not constitute disinformation," said Bino, adding that for years this network has raised its voice for the reform of RTSH, as the institution has serious problems that cannot be solved by closing it, but by reforms that restore the democratic mission of public television.
"Even if closure were ever considered as a theoretical option, it cannot and should not be articulated by the Prime Minister: RTSH is accountable to Parliament, and is financed by the public service fee (not by taxes, as is often intentionally misinterpreted), which means that it is directly accountable to citizens and the public interest," said Bino.
The Association of Journalists of Albania (AGSH) also viewed Prime Minister Rama's statements with concern, stating that this political rhetoric that stigmatizes public media, without an in-depth analysis, violates the fundamental principles of public service and European standards for media freedom.
"Public television is not simply a financial enterprise, but an institution of public interest that must guarantee impartial information, culture, education and equal access for citizens", AGSH said in its statement.
According to AGSH, the refusal of public funding as a means of political pressure poses a risk to the independence of public media, while further adding that responsibility cannot be attributed solely to RTSH.
Ina Zhupa, a member of parliament from the Democratic Party and at the same time head of the Committee on Education and Public Information, considered the government to be guilty for the situation in which public television finds itself, while raising the question of when and why the debts were created at RTSH.
"The debts and problematic situation arose precisely from the political capture of RTSH, from the flagrant violation of the law on the Governing Council and from the political appointments of directors, without any professional and legal standards", Zhupa declared.
Lufti Dervishi, journalist and media expert, in a communication on social networks stated that today RTSH is in a survival mentality and does not have a critical reporting towards the government. According to him, in a media market where the interests of the owners prevail over the public interest, an independent public media is a necessity and not a luxury.
"RTSH must be reformed, but not by closing in panic, not by privatizing or "twinning" with towers. The challenge is not how to give to the private sector, but how to take from them," said the Dervish.
Organizations committed to media freedom demanded that any discussion on reforming RTSH be conducted in a manner that respects freedom of expression, the independence of journalism, and the public's right to be informed.
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Erisa Kryeziu has completed higher studies in Journalism and Communication and Master of Science in Public Relations at the University of Tirana. She has been a journalist and project manager at Citizens.al for five years, where she reports on social issues and human rights, especially on issues of rights at work, in education, gender equality, marginalized groups, people with disabilities such as and for environmental issues. At the same time, she works as a project coordinator with a focus on youth and media education. User of new reporting techniques such as "Mobile Journalism" and citizen engagement tools in reporting (ECR-Engage Citizens Journalism).
