Remarks by U.S. Ambassador John L. Withers
Conference “Between Violated Freedom and Informality”
Ladies and Gentleman, my fellow diplomats, members of the press, members of the public.
It has been my intention for quite some time to speak to the membership of the Union of Journalists. And it is a privilege and an honor for me to share this microphone with Mr. Çipa.
Unfortunately our first meeting is under the shadow of a tragic and unacceptable event. One of your colleagues, one of the members of the journalists’ community of Albania and one of my friends, Mr. Mero Baze, was assaulted in an unprovoked and inexcusable manner just a few nights ago. The alleged perpetrators of this assault are well known persons to all of us, to all of you, persons seemingly of high standing and high judgment until this incident showed otherwise.
They were persons who have been the subject of Mr. Baze’s articles, in which he was quite critical of different things that they supposedly have or have not done. But no matter how irritated they might have been, how provoked they might feel themselves to be, there’s no justification in a democracy, under any circumstances or under any conditions, to use violence to silence the free expression of the press. If I might be permitted a personal word, Mero I hope that you soon recover your health completely and that you return to doing what you do.
But this incident has larger implications and ramifications than the simple act of this assault. Terrible acts are going to happen in any time. It is unfortunate that these acts cannot be prevented before they happen but, the test of a society, the test of a government, the test of a nation, is how it responds when those unacceptable acts happen.
So it is today in Albania. Albania is a country that is on the verge of integration, and to some of the most important institutions, internationally renowned, that we have. It is already a member of NATO and is trying to become a member of the European Union. And so it must prove itself worthy of membership in those great alliances.
And I submit to you that a test of readiness will be how the institutions of this nation respond to this assault on our colleague, Mero Baze. I applaud Prime Minister Berisha’s statement immediately after this incident in which he condemned it in full and reasserted in the strongest and most unambiguous terms Albania’s commitment to freedom of the press and freedom of expression. I applaud his call for a thorough and immediate investigation of the facts, and for the Albanian system of justice to run its course without interference. I applaud that the statement was immediate, clear and decisive.
We’ve had such incidents in Albania in the past. You will remember not that long ago, when a fellow journalist was assaulted right here, a few meters away, by Member of Parliament Tom Doshi. Despite universal condemnation at that time, nothing happened. I submit to you that it is unacceptable for nothing to happen this time.
I’ve been reading and watching with interest reactions from officials, from journalists, from media magnates responding to what happened those few nights ago. And I must say that some of those reactions I found difficult to believe. Editorials and media commentaries which seem to imply that because Mero Baze’s articles were provocative, pointed, opinionated, that he somehow brought this attack upon himself.
I was saddened that even in a couple of private conversations with senior officials, that attitude seemed to be there. I was especially shocked to hear in last night’s “Opinion” television program, Mr. Frangaj, who has close associations with the media and who one would expect more of, to seem to justify that beatings in the case of disagreements over opinions are somehow alright. I would say to him that I could not disagree more with that opinion and I would say to him also, however, that I would accord him the right to express opinions with which I fully disagree, at exactly the same time that he seems unwilling to accord that right to others.
I have been in Albania a little over two years now, and during that time, my Embassy, and I too, have been objects of press articles and press opinions, sometimes positive, and sometimes critical. A few months ago a noted journalist wrote an article about foreign ambassadors here, in which he compared our operations with those of the Soviet and Chinese Ambassadors during communism. Mero Baze himself has written articles about me, about the Embassy, about American policy, which have taken a very tough line and have taken us to task.
It is hard to read those types of articles written about oneself. And in many cases, I had disagreed strongly and completely with what those journalists have said. But what I will tell you is this: as much as I disagree with those viewpoints, I, as an American and a believer in democracy, will fight for the right, to the very end, I’ll fight for the right of those people to say what they say.
In a very few moments it will be my honor to meet with relatives of Musine Kokalari. She was a woman who literally gave her life for her belief in the freedom to express her views and her opinions. And she did so in a time that was far more oppressive than the time that we here are living in. And so I would say to you and to the journalistic community, draw on her spirit, rise with her as on wings of eagles in defense of the rule of law and of your sacred right to say what you believe publicly, openly and without fear of retribution.
Do not give in to intimidation, do not give in to threats, do not give in to violence. What you hold in your hands is not simply your profession, your attempt to make a living. You hold in your hands one of the most blessed principles of democracy. Fight for it. It is well worth it. You owe it to your profession, you owe it to your country, and you owe it to yourselves.
I thank you for your attention.
