AMA in crisis with three members

“AMA announces the procedure that will give three national private licenses for digital audiovisual broadcasts”, Bushati declared.

This decision rejects the claim of Mrs.Bushati that she has just approved the regulation for licensing the digital networks. AMA, the institution she leads, now has only four members, because the mandate of the three others has expired.

While she is declared aware that the decision for the licensing procedures marks a peaking moment for the media development in Albania, she is also aware for the lack of qualified majority that the law requires for opening licensing procedures, but this has not stopped her from opening the procedure even in these conditions.

“Document 781, of 3 April 2013, of the National Council of Radio and Television (National Council of Radio and Television), because it was not called AMA yet by then, nofitied the Parliament on the vacancies in our institutions, but this commission did not start the procedures foreseen by the law”, Bushati declared.

The most interesting reason in the answers of the head of AMA is why she accepted Gent Ibrahimi to sign the licensing regulation, although his mandate has expired.

“He can sign and this is not illegal, because the new law has a disposition stating that all members will stay on duty until the vacancies are filled. You are here asking me, but it is the Parliament that verifies when one mandate has ended. I cannot tell someone that his mandate has expired and that he should replaced”, declared the Head of AMA.

AMA seems to have an even deeper stalemate. One of the four members remaining on duty, Zylyfar Bregu, announced his resignation.

“Since this is a sensible public matter and since the opposition is not being represented, I ask the Head of this institution to stop the process. Personally I will not be part of this process”, Bregu declared.

Bregu’s resignation brings the number of members to three, making it practically non-functional.

Digitalization, compromised process

Besides rushing to open a procedure with half of the institution and by violating article 139 of the media law, which states that for taxative licensing the process should be done by five members, the head of AMA went even further by declaring that they have discussed this process with the private operators.

But her declaration also shows that in the two meetings organized by AMA, three of the five operators have not been present: Top Channel, Digitalb and TV Klan.

To explain the absence of Top Channel, we reiterate that in this letter, this institution was made aware about the remarks and suggestions about the important and delicate process of digitalization, which is compromised from the beginning.

AMA was tasked by the law to create a strategy, law amends, the regulation and criteria of the licensing, but in the most important process this institution was left outside.

The strategic document was planned by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology.

The document was created without taking in consideration any of the opinions, remarks and suggestions of the private media that should implement this strategy.

As result, the strategy defines technical parameters that cannot be implemented in this media reality. It also defines a number of networks and frequencies by not having any detailed technical study or plan.

This is because it is AMA’s functional duty to administer the radio frequency generation, and not the Ministry of Innovation and Technology.

It is this institution that will start and complete the sharing of frequencies based exactly on this strategy.

But AMA doesn’t have an answer for the question if AMA has a detailed technical plan for appointing the frequencies.

No one can invest in the construction of a digital network without having these documents and the answers for several other problems raised by Top Channel.

“Bushati doesn’t know the law”
 
In her declaration, the head of AMA attacked the rapporteurs of the new media law, Mark Marku and Alfred Dalipi, saying that they do not know the law and that they do not understand it.

Alfred Dalipi answered by reiterating the fact that five votes are needed for starting the licensing procedure in the digital network licensing.

“It is illegal and will be considered as such, when AMA will be complete in September. It is illega and it will be punished by the institutions that will judge this corruptive action. Mrs.Bushati must not abuse, speaking on behalf of this institution in a press release when these actions are illegal and anticonstitutional”, Dalipi declared.

Dalipi underlined another aspect that makes AMA’s positions even worse. AMA has only the representatives of yesterday’s majority, and no representative from the former opposition, while the procedure has started and she considers it as the most important for the development of media.

“You cannot create a national license with three votes. You cannot project a 15-year-long future with three mandates of one institution that should be pluralist and independent, but that has been proposed by the political force in power. Let’s wait and produce a media authority with a complete AMA. Every license given during this time will be considered illegal, because that’s what the law says”, Dalipi declared.

The left representatives in the media commission remind that during the past legislature they appaled the Democratic Party to fill the vacancies at the AMA.

The head of the Media Commission, Valentina Leskaj, publicly reported the fact that the right Parliament Members did not participate in the meetings of the commission for this matter, but this was not taken in consideration, making AMA today function with only half of the members.

Top Channel