If you speak, she will bury you” / Artan Hoxha: Vlora Hyseni attacked Klodiana Lala to send a message to others

Artan Hoxha commented on the clash between former SHISH director Vlora Hyseni and journalist Klodiana Lala on News24’s “Kjo Javë.” Hoxha said he stands by his colleague and suggested that Hyseni’s response may also have been intended to intimidate other journalists.

According to Hoxha, Klodiana Lala was directly targeted, but the attack may also have been a message to others.

Nisida Tufa: On Thursday, Ms. Hyseni went to SPAK, where everyone is required to appear. She pushed away the many microphones held out by journalists who were addressing her. People go in and then leave without making statements, at least from what we have seen so far. Ms. Hyseni chose to attack journalist Klodiana Lala. There has been a great deal of discussion and comment about this. What did you make of that hearing?

Artan Hoxha: That procedure is known as the review of the conditions of a security measure. The measure had already been imposed, and it is formally communicated there. Generally, the questions concern your mother’s name, your father’s name and whether you have anything to declare. So it is not a proceeding of any particular significance.

I support and encourage my colleague, journalist Klodiana Lala, in the work she does. Journalists meet different people and obtain information from them. What matters is how the information is obtained and whether it is accurate. If we are going to be judged solely on perceptions, then I, too, have been referred to SPAK because I published a meeting between Edi Rama and a person sentenced to life imprisonment. What is the crime in that?

Klodiana Lala is simply doing her job, which is to ask questions, and she can ask them of anyone. On the other hand, I think the former head of the intelligence service was under considerable strain. To me, that scene showed she was quite weak professionally. She could have chosen to answer or not to answer, but it seems she had planned her response in advance. I suspect her aggression may have been intended to send a message to someone else.

I think she chose to attack Klodiana Lala in order to strike at the other journalists through her. The message may have been: “I have information on all of you, and if you speak, I will bury you.” She knew very well that if the media remained silent, this matter would pass without scrutiny, just as happened with Rama.

Nisida Tufa: Do you think that response has made her situation worse?

Artan Hoxha: Not only has she made her position worse, but she has also shown her counterparts how weak she was. She was appearing in connection with the security measure, and her behavior toward our colleague Lala was not merely a form of pressure; it went beyond that. After all, the journalist has a family, children and parents, so there were many other ways she could have responded.

Hyseni took that action when all the cameras were pointed at her. Television stations were broadcasting live, and she was the person attracting the most attention. That was precisely when she attacked Klodi, drawing even more attention to the situation. It is like the behavior of some snakes that bite, move away and wait for the venom to take effect before returning. She used the same method: strike, inject the venom and wait for the other person’s reaction.

For that reason, I support and encourage Klodiana Lala. Beyond my colleagues in the media, I want to address citizens and the public: you must understand that the people who best serve your interests are those holding the microphones, whether you like them or not. The remote control is in your hands.