ODHIR pressured to manipulate final report
06/04/2011 15:20
Opposition demonstrators clash with the police in the protest in front of Tirana municipality, foreign embassies condemn acts of violence 19/04 16:00
ODIHR, one of the two international organizations that will certify May 8th local elections has been under pressure to draft a positive final report on these elections.
News Agency “Balkan Insight”, quoting an ODIHR observer who remains anonym, says that he has been pressured by two western diplomats accredited in Tirana.
“They don’t want us to write what we see”, is quoted the ODIHR observer.
“Their argument on their pressure to sugarcoat this report, is based on the fact that it is necessary to guarantee this country’s stability”, says Balkan Insight.
The ODIHR observer has also declared that Tirana’s western diplomats believe that ODIHR report for the June 2009 general elections had been too negative, giving the Socialist opposition the right to contest the polls results.
Giuseppe Milazzo, ODIHR spokesperson in Tirana, was contacted by Top-Channel on this matter and declared:
“There has been absolutely no pressure of any sort, by any embassy or anyone on the observing report, or even on other aspects of the mission. We want to emphasize our impartiality. Our methodology and the only means of our work are the facts collected during the elections.”
Despite the guaranties for impartiality given by spokesperson Giuseppe Milazzo, the ODIHR observer declaration reopens the controversy on international reporting impartiality and of their role on the May 8th local elections, casting a shadow of doubt on the final report.
Top Channel
