Journalist departures spark concern in Albania

The departure of several journalists and editors from major Albanian media outlets has drawn criticism from the country’s opposition party, the Democratic Party, amid fears that opposition voices in the mainstream media are disappearing.

“This is bad news, a step forward in the usurpation of the media by a corrupt and criminal regime [...] their departures leave these media [outlets] in the full service of the government,” said Democratic Party leader, Lulzim Basha.

Among the most prominent journalists to leave their posts is Armand Shkullaku, who has served as editor-in-chief of the Albanian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) news service for four years. Mr Shkullaku affirmed that he was not renewing his contract, while insisting that he would “remain engaged with articles and opinions”.

His announcement even gained its own hashtag — “last island” became a buzzword on social media, referring to Mr Shkullaku as the the last “island” of free journalism.

Not all the journalists in question were able to make the decision for themselves, however, Vincent Triest, ABC’s correspondent for Germany and the Netherlands, posted on Facebook on Wednesday that he and all of ABC’s other foreign correspondents had had their contracts terminated.

The director of Albania’s Mapo media outlet, Alfred Lela, also stated that he would soon give up his post to take on the role of university lecturer due to disagreements over the media outlet’s new editorial line, making reference in particular to the pressure he came under from Mapo‘s publisher, Henri Cili, regarding an article about Prime Minister Edi Rama.

“Professionally and personally I could not be pushed into taking a standpoint that invalidated my public standpoint,” he explained.

Source: Balkan Insight