Police attack against the newspaper “Koha Jonë”
Deliberate assault on the free press
Yesterday, distribution of 11 newspapers across the districts was blocked
Yesterday, unfortunately, the state lost all sense of logic toward the largest Albanian newspaper, “Koha Jonë.” It used the power of the police state. Police armed with automatic rifles blocked and escorted to the police station all the vehicles of the newspaper “Koha Jonë”, which were transporting the paper to the country’s districts. As early as 2 a.m., police cars were guarding the newspaper’s editorial office, then the policemen, under orders coming from the radios of their chiefs, smashed with the barrels of their automatic rifles every bundle containing the newspaper “Koha Jonë”. After that, the entire print run of 21,000 copies, intended for the districts, was blocked by the police. Coincidentally, only one vehicle managed to break through the police operations of precincts numbers 1 and 3, succeeding in distributing the newspaper only on the Rrogozhinë-Vlorë route. After talks with the police chiefs in these precincts, the vehicles continue to be held by the police for an indefinite period, forgetting that the newsroom spent thousands of dollars to purchase them. So far, the Ministry of the Interior has blocked 6 vehicles belonging to the newspaper “Koha Jonë”, which forces us to distribute the paper today with taxi vehicles, whose prices are exorbitant. Nevertheless, the management staff of “KJ” decided that at any cost, even risking its financial situation, it would distribute the newspaper to its readers. Other newspapers were also being transported with “KJ”, so readers did not receive several other titles either for the sole reason that the state, yesterday morning, suffered a nervous breakdown, a breakdown which, if prolonged, could lead to the closure of the independent Albanian press.
After absurd accusations of alleged financing from Serbia of 2,500 dollars a month, when monthly printing expenses alone reach figures above 100,000 dollars, yesterday’s fascist-type pressure came, which has seriously endangered the somewhat good state-mass media relations. Until the day before yesterday we truly believed that Berisha’s statements about press freedom stem from the spirit of a humanist doctor, but yesterday we understood that they were said by a bad politician, who yesterday also deviously sprang up as the de facto chairman of the PD. Now relations are strained and not because of us. In the next issues let us only wait for some day when SHIK agents will slip us some drug package or 500 thousand dollars into our pocket, after having searched us and almost daily end up repairing 313 in Tirana. Nevertheless, this is the struggle for a free press.
NIKOLLË LESI
Yesterday during the police blockade of the “KJ” press transport vehicles photo G. SHKULLAKU