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VOA: Mayor Erion Veliaj's language towards journalist Ola Xama arouses reactions

2023-07-18 20:36:10, Aktualitet CNA

VOA: Mayor Erion Veliaj's language towards journalist Ola Xama arouses

The Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, attacked the journalist Ola Xama of the BIRN Albania Network with a harsh language over the weekend, after an article she published on SPAK's investigations into incinerators.

Xama wrote that, based on the documents of the Special Prosecutor's Office, the Tirana incinerator project was proposed by Erion Veliaj.

But the latter rejected the article as untrue, and started a series of messages on the phone to the journalist, where, among other things, he calls her "a professional killer".

Journalist Ola Xama published in the online media Reporter.al of the BIRN Balkan Network of Investigative Journalism in Albania, BIRN, an article based on documents that SPAK has sent to the Assembly, on the investigations into the incinerators. In it, it is emphasized that Erjon Veliaj had proposed the project for the Tirana incinerator.

From the messages between them, it is learned that she asked Mr. Veliaj for a comment and some questions on the subject a few hours before the publication.

The article was published without Mr. Veliaj's comments, and a day after publication, the journalist Xama received on her mobile phone from Mr. Veliaj answers to questions mixed with insulting words about speculation, militancy, bias, and he even calls the journalist a "paid killer".

VOA: Mayor Erion Veliaj's language towards journalist Ola Xama arouses

The editor-in-chief of the BIRN ALBANIA Network and its online publication Reporter.al, Besar Likmeta, says for the Voice of America that the journalist Xama has applied professional standards, while Mr. Veliaj received the questions before the publication of the article and that his answers on the subject of the incinerator were later included in the article, removing the insults, which were spread in other media, although they were addressed to the Xama journalist.

"It is unfortunate that senior public officials are addressed with insulting messages and organize a disinformation campaign against professional journalists who have an excellent record like Ola Xama, in terms of reporting in the public interest. Mr. Veliaj reacted after 24 hours by sending the journalist a series of insulting and threatening messages. A day later they were distributed by a series of media, we can say with a coordinated method according to the methods used in campaigns against journalists in many countries of the world, but which do not honor Mr. Veliaj", said Mr. Likmeta .

But the Municipality of Tirana says that the journalist Ola Xama has never officially addressed this institution to give her the necessary time and the possibility of a full clarification and with facts of the issue raised in the article published in BIRN.

Asked by the Voice of America about the communications between the journalist Xama and Mr. Veliaj, the director for communication and media of the capital's Municipality, Renato Kalemi, emphasized that in that article two unrelated processes were deliberately mixed up and that cause confusion.

"The municipality of Tirana in 2012, when it was led by Lulzim Basha, says Mr. Kalemi, engaged IFC to conduct a study to improve the management and treatment of waste, as well as the possibility of expanding the Sharra Landfill. This study was completed in 2014 and the new administration found it on the table. The letter that the Municipality of Tirana sent to the Ministry of the Environment in 2015 refers to this study, and these have nothing to do with the initiation of a procedure for the construction of the Tirana incinerator, as was incorrectly quoted in the article published by journalist Ola Xama in BIRN" , details Mr. Kalemi, adding that BIRN did not publish these explanations until today, raising suspicions of a lack of professionalism.

Meanwhile, international organizations that protect the press have expressed concern about the harsh language used by President Veliaj against the journalist.

The general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, Ricardo Gutierrez, says for the Voice of America, that here it is not a question of lack of professionalism, but we are dealing with very professional colleagues, the language used during this incident was shocking, and it brought big waves comments on social media, where it spread in Albania and Kosovo.

"It is very dangerous for a journalist to be described as a hired killer, because we know from experience that when a well-known politician makes such accusations, he is followed by a lot of reactions from militants and activists. These do not remain only as online digital threats, but in some cases can also turn into physical attacks. I am shocked about what happened, and I remember that Mr. Veliaj has done these actions with other journalists and other media , "says Mr. Gutierrez.

He added that Mr. Veliaj is the only mayor among large municipalities, who has such behavior, adding that no politician should behave in this way with the press.

"I am shocked and reacted to denounce this, and to show how dangerous this thing is. It is very dangerous and has been proven by many other experiences, that physical attacks against journalists start from such words towards them. I expressed my support to my colleague Xama, because I believe that she is a professional, while she told me that her family members have been attacked online by activists and this shows how serious this issue is. "Even when we were on a fact-gathering mission in Tirana, we discussed these issues with Prime Minister Rama ," said Mr. Gutierrez.

On the other hand, Mr. Likmeta says that BIRN does not constitute anything special in this case, because the article only quotes documents that SPAK sent to the Assembly.

He added that Albanian politicians are used to having a great influence on the country's media product, thereby harming Albania's journey towards the EU, and are used to putting pressure on the press, while BIRN informs the public and protects the public interest, but journalists are especially attacked for the fact that they are professionals.

"The mayor of Tirana does not give interviews. The Mayor of Tirana propaganda video, broadcast 24 hours a day by the media. Unfortunately, Albanian citizens pay for this propaganda. When confronted with reports based on facts, by professional journalists, he does not react in the right and European way, but reacts in a violent way, which does not honor either the mayor or us for the first citizen we have " , says Mr. Likmeta.

Although a few days have passed since the weekend, when Mayor Veliaj sent the messages to the journalist Xama, to which a series of journalists' organizations reacted, in response to the Voice of America's request for the language used in these messages, the director of communications and media , Renato Kalemi, emphasized, among other things, that "the greatest enemy of Media Freedom is the use of journalism as a shield for untruth or fraud, and even more so when untruth is purposefully used as a means of attacking the public interest" .

He added that the Municipality of Tirana is and will remain open to any interaction with the media, but also deserves treatment with professional standards of reporting, accurate and impartial, with retort and facts, which according to him were missing in the journalist's writing Xama.

Albania is among the countries that are often mentioned in international reports for violations of media freedom, so groups of organizations that protect journalists from Europe and the USA often visit Tirana to observe the situation and call on politicians and authorities to improve relations with the press, to respect journalists and guarantee freedom of information./ VOA