The undersigned organisations express concern over the public targeting and ethnic delegitimisation of Kristina Voko, the Executive Director of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Albania (BIRN Albania), by Ardit Bido, a member of Parliament for the Socialist Party, currently in government.
The case follows a parliamentary hearing held on 8 June in the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Public Information Media, where civil society organisations discussed the annual reports of independent institutions, including the Audiovisual Media Authority and the public broadcaster RTSH. During the hearing, Kristina Voko raised a legitimate and legally grounded concern regarding the obligation of the public broadcaster to provide inclusive information and content, including for national minorities and persons with disabilities.
This intervention was later distorted in a public post by MP Bido, who targeted Voko through her ethnic background and portrayed a lawful civil society contribution in Parliament as suspicious, anti-national or linked to foreign interests. Such rhetoric is unacceptable from an elected representative. It risks turning participation in a parliamentary process into grounds for public intimidation and delegitimisation.
We are further concerned that, following the joint reaction of Albanian civil society organisations, MP Bido published another post in which he did not de-escalate the situation, but instead broadened the attack against BIRN Albania and civil society organisations more generally. In that post, he portrayed civil society organisations as foreign-funded actors seeking financial gain through “victimisation” and accused BIRN Albania of producing “fake news”. This rhetoric further contributes to the delegitimisation of independent watchdog organisations, media accountability actors and civil society voices.
Public officials may criticise media reporting or civil society positions. However, criticism must be based on facts and must not rely on ethnic framing, insinuations of foreign loyalty, smear narratives about civil society funding, or language that portrays critical voices as enemies.
This case is particularly concerning in the current context of heightened civic mobilisation around Zvërnec and the Vjosa-Narta protected area, known publicly as the “Flamingo Revolution”. Citizens, activists, journalists, media organisations and civil society groups have been raising concerns about environmental protection, transparency, public consultation, accountability and respect for the rule of law. In such a context, rhetoric portraying critical voices as “foreign”, “enemies” or ethnically motivated can create a chilling effect on public participation, peaceful protest, media freedom and civic space.
Public officials and political actors have a heightened responsibility to avoid language that may fuel hostility against journalists, media accountability organisations, civil society representatives, activists and citizens. This responsibility is even greater when the public debate concerns human rights, minority rights, public broadcasting obligations and participation in parliamentary oversight processes.
We call on MP Ardit Bido to withdraw the posts, stop the public targeting of Kristina Voko and BIRN Albania, and issue a public apology.
We call on the Parliament of Albania, the Speaker of Parliament, the Socialist Party parliamentary group, and the bodies responsible for parliamentary ethics to clearly distance themselves from this rhetoric and review the case in line with the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly and the standards expected from Members of Parliament.
We also call on Prime Minister Edi Rama, as leader of the governing majority, to send an unequivocal public message that targeting civil society, media actors, journalists, activists or citizens on the basis of ethnicity, origin, language or critical opinion is unacceptable.
Civil society participation in parliamentary hearings, media accountability work and peaceful civic mobilisation are not threats to democracy. They are essential elements of it.
Signatories
Media Freedom Rapid Response partners:
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
SafeJournalists Network
Croatian Journalists’ Association
Association of Journalists of Kosovo
Association of Journalists of Macedonia
BH Journalists Association
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Trade Union of Media of Montenegro
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
Balkan Free Media Initiative (BFMI)
Reporting Diversity Network