The next attack by the head of the opposition, Sali Berisha, against News24 and BalkanWeb is no longer an emotional reaction of the moment, but a deliberate escalation of language and pressure on the media, which, as he himself said, “has just begun”. In this climate of repeated and increasingly harsh statements, it seems that public debate is no longer the goal.
The editorial office of BalkanWeb, which he attacked today for the first time by name, responds by emphasizing that regardless of any attack or political pressure, it will continue to exercise its informative mission in an independent and professional manner.
Mr. Berisha,
Age and political fatigue cannot justify your rant of the last few days. If you have facts about the accusations you articulate every day against News24 and BalkanWeb, bring them out! Otherwise, what you are doing is just an attempt to smear two of the most followed and most reliable platforms in Albania and beyond.
Your daily statements clearly indicate a growing concern. The elections within the Democratic Party and the movements of Ervin Salianji seem to have directly affected you and brought you out of your composure. But these are internal issues of your party, not the responsibility of the media.
Mr. Berisha,
It is unbelievable that you attack the very media that has given you the most public space over the years. In News24, to broadcast to you every, consolidated and highly watched programs have been discontinued. The space for you has been found at any time when you have given statements for hours, consecutive appearances at meetings of the presidency or the national council, or “pulpits” in different cities.
And you were happy with that because appearing on News24 gives you high audience. But as soon as other voices appeared on these screens, including Ervin Salianji, your approach to News24 changed. Not because this television changed, but because it was no longer only in your function.
As for BalkanWeb, the facts are simple and verifiable in the archive, you are among the figures with the most news online, often more than in any other media, including those very close to you.
Mr. Berisha,
You have had unlimited space on the News24 screen, because this media has believed in the importance of the word of the opposition, even taking costs for its stance.
The space we have given you for years has been without any interest. Your deputies and officials know this very well, who have been present on our screens without paying a single cent and without anything in return. But that doesn’t seem to matter to you anymore because your only problem is control. You are not fighting for power; you are fighting to keep the party going. And this is also shown by your “lukewarm” protests, which repeat the same calls for the “last kilometer”, while the reality on the ground shows contraction from week to week, without any real effect.
In the same vein, when you seek to create the impression of a major political battle, it remains unclear why some public issues are not carried through to the end. Today you have a USB with the corruption file for Belinda Balluku, but you don’t publish it. Here the questions arise: Why don’t you publish it? What prevents you from doing this?
Likewise, when you try to argue attacks on the media through domestic political developments, you keep coming back to the same personal logic. You mention Lulzim Basha as an argument for the attack, but that is a chapter you wrote yourself. You took him, you raised him, you promoted him and raised him to the pinnacle of power, you gave him the party and then you ran into him.
Even the case of Ervin Salianji is not related to the media. It was not brought by News24 or BalkanWeb either. We found him there, among you. So, the claim that the media is responsible for your political developments or choices falls without being raised. It is not the duty of the media to bear responsibility for them.
Mr. Berisha,
As the owner of the Democratic Party that you are, we draw your attention to the attacks on the owner of our media, which are another diversion. It is not the first time you have done this, you have reached the point of politicizing issues that should not be touched on, like when you also dealt with the ceremony of escorting his late mother to her last residence.
You call us “lawyers” of the owner, to intimidate us. But no! We are journalists. Journalists working free and uncensored. The owner of our media, despite being under constant attack by the government, maintains a correct attitude and has not interfered at any time in our work. This is because there is no dependence or obligation to any political force, and this very independence is what has made this media stronger and more reliable.
We are those journalists who are on the ground even when we face and are in danger from the violence of your protesters and we report amid tear gas about the “magnificence” of the opposition protests, which are always looking more and more “minor”.
In the end, it seems that for you the problem is no longer Edi Rama’s government, but the media that you cannot control. And this is the reason why your attacks will continue, but also the reason why they will have no effect! /AOL
