Fule: stop political rhetoric
14/04/2011 15:50
Albanian sign language branch is opened for the first time at the Faculty of Foreign Languages 05/10 21:12
EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Fule, advised the Albanian parties to stop the rhetoric that produces tension and violence during an election campaign. On an interview for Top-Channel, Fule said that the elections should guarantee transparency. As for the media coverage, the commissioner said that media should not be stopped to follow the candidate meetings.
TCH: We are on the verge of local elections. What is your opinion on the political pre election climate?
Fule: Complex. We all know the situation in Albania, with the political stalemate continuing for some time now. The government and the opposition haven’t found yet a way of communication. These elections are a possibility for a new beginning. What should be guaranteed is a free, honest and democratic election process. The elections should fulfill the European and international principles, there should be transparency and trust, with the appropriate climate before the voting day, so that the pre-election climate should not be held hostage of unfavorable rhetoric.
TCH: Except the rhetoric, are you concerned for the violent pre-election climate in Albania?
Fule: This is exactly what I was about to say. We need to see the existence of trust. Not only around the political parties, but trust coming from the voters. We should create the conditions for transparency, so that this election process should be more inclusive. Aggressive rhetoric is of no help for this.
TCH: Have you been informed that both Albanian political parties have video cameras and video editing studios, and that they broadcast edited electoral meetings, which does not allow a transparent coverage and proper information of the public?
Fyle: I think that there are two things. First, political parties and the institutions can decide to cover their own meetings, but on the same time, there is another concern; the media freedom should be implemented thoroughly. It’s not good that only some activities are selected for you to cover, and then you are limited on other activities. Media freedom was the key word on the speech of President Barroso, when he visited the region recently. We are facing many difficulties with the media freedom in Balkan and also in Turkey. This is the reason why we are reorganizing the conference, in order to treat the media problems. We hope not only for a favorable rhetoric during these elections, but also that the media plays a good role. The media has a very important role, before and after the elections.
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