On Thursday, May 21, the Albanian parliament passed a resolution evaluating the annual activity of the Commissioner for the Freedom of Information with top marks.
However, in a press statement, a number of Albanian NGOs, media freedom organizations, journalists and media outlets have opposed the parliament’s assessment and claimed that the Legal Affairs Committee passed the resolution with no effective discussion and without asking the opinion of journalists, activists, and civil society organizations, who are most immediately and intimately affected by public institutions’ lack of transparency.
The signatories complained that the parliament always treats the matter of public transparency as a routine one and that MPs sidestep debate, effectively turning the position of an MP into that of a “public notary” that signs whatever act is put before them.
They also expressed indignation that the only MP who attempted to raise questions regarding this matter, Ralf Gjoni, was penalized for interrupting the Commissioner’s speech. Gjoni pointed out reports from civil society organizations that witness a regress in public institutions’ transparency, a large number of administrative suits filed by journalists and activists, including the Alliance for the Protection of the National Theater, and a protest held in front of the Commissioner’s office by the Alliance, as facts that contradict the Commissioners allegedly stellar performance.
