Leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, has sharply reacted to the fines imposed by the Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) on television stations for the use of language considered inappropriate in broadcasts. During an interview on the show “Drejt” on Ora News, Berisha described this practice as a form of control over freedom of expression, comparing it to the censorship mechanisms that operated during the communist regime.
He also drew a comparison with Afghanistan, to oppose what he considers state interference in determining the language that should be used in public space. “It is totally Taliban-like. It’s something like in Kabul, where the Ministry of Virtue determines the entire vocabulary and the entire context”, Berisha stated. According to him, imposing fines for this reason constitutes a step backward for Albanian democracy, especially after 35 years of political pluralism.
“We who experienced the communist dictatorship know clearly what that means. The return of this practice after 35 years of pluralism is absolutely the involution of Edi Rama to Kristaq ‘the executioner’ Rama or Spiro Koleka. It is unimaginable”, said the Democratic Party leader. Continuing his position, Berisha also brought up a decree by former president Ramiz Alia related to the protection of historical and cultural personalities. He argued that, even in that period, despite repressive measures, the mechanism of fines was not used for such matters.
“Ramiz, if you remember, issued the decree for the protection of historical and cultural personalities, and included Noli, Sami Frashëri, Enver Hoxha and so on. But the truth is that he arrested here and there, but didn’t impose fines”, Berisha said. His statements bring back into focus the debate over the limits of AMA’s competencies, the regulation of media content, and the relationship between monitoring broadcasts and guaranteeing freedom of expression.