The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, accused the Albanian government of dominating the media and weakening pluralism during his speech at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
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According to Berisha, more than 90% of the media in Albania, including the way news is reported, debates and editorials, are controlled by the prime minister, the government and oligarchic businesses linked to it. He said that the part of the media not under this influence faces pressure, verbal and physical attacks against journalists, heavy fines, as well as property damage.
Berisha also said that the recommendations of the Council of Europe and other international institutions regarding the media situation in Albania have been ignored by the government.
Referring to the situation in the country, he argued that broad control over the media has transformed what he called “banal evil” from a series of isolated mistakes into a genuine system of rule.
According to the leader of the Democratic Party, the manipulation of language is not merely a consequence of this system, but a mechanism through which power is exercised. He said that words can be used as a “prison without walls,” preventing independent thought from the very beginning.
Berisha linked the corruption of language to the breakdown of the fundamental relationship between the individual, society and truth. In this way, he said, freedom also loses its substance, while political pluralism is replaced by bureaucratic pluralism.
“Language no longer serves to seek the truth, but to build walls,” he declared, also quoting Ludwig WITTGENSTEIN: “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
The opposition leader added that this language is used to attack opponents and portray the opposition as responsible for every problem that arises in the country.
At the conclusion of his speech, Sali Berisha called for a firm international stance, the imposition of sanctions and the punishment of what he described as a “narco-state” in Albania, as well as the people who, according to him, built it. He presented these measures as necessary conditions for guaranteeing the freedom and independence of the media and restoring genuine democratic pluralism.
