In a meeting with the Venice Commission yesterday, the Democratic Party presented their stance on the controversial legal changes made by the Socialist majority that online media de facto under state control.
Former MP Albana Vokshi told the media that the so-called “anti-defamation” package should not be revised or improved but should be cancelled completely. Vokshi stressed that the PD is against the law and said that Prime Minister Edi Rama is using it to block media that is critical of his government. She added that the legal changes are not there to prevent defamation as a legal framework for this already exists.
“The AMA and AKEP laws were drafted in a non-transparent way, and were aimed at controlling online media. The Opposition’s stance is that these two laws should be repealed and that they must be torn down because they are anti-democratic and anti-European laws. Everything is provided by the current law, there is no need for new laws. AMA and AKEP are controlled by the government and through them, they are trying to control the online media,” she said.
The law was passed by the Socialist Party majority in parliament in December. President Ilir Meta then vetoed and returned it to parliament for being unconstitutional. The Socialist Party vowed to pass it anyway but following significant pressure and the Council of Europe announced that the Venice Commission would give an opinion on it, they said they would postpone the vote.
The Commission is expected to give its opinion on 20 March.
Today, the Albanian Media Council who has opposed the laws will launch a new self-regulation platform for journalists in Albania. A press conference will take place at Europe House at 11:15 am.
