Moderatori Adi Krasta ka zbuluar mbrëmjen e sotme në ‘A show’ në SYRI TV, një letër të dërguar ambasadorëve të kohës, Donald Lu dhe Romana Vlahutin.

Letra e nisur për dy ambasadorët, SHBA dhe BE nga stafi i AgonChannel, besohet se nuk ka mbërritur në dorën e tyre pasi është zhdukur nga stafi shqiptar i ambasadave.

Më poshtë keni dhe letrën e plotë:

Te nderuar Ambasadore,

Pastrimi i parave, se bashku me korrupsionin dhe krimin e organizuar - dhe depertimi i ketyre ne politike - jane preokupime te hershme te shume gazetareve qe punojne ne Agon Channel. Nje numer i konsiderueshem e kane perdorur zerin e tyre per te theksuar domosdoshmerine qe politika te distancohet prej ketyre krimeve dhe qe shteti t’i luftoje ato. Gazetaret me te respektuar te Agon Channel kane marre qendrime publike kunder krimit te organizuar, duke mbeshtetur keshtu prioritetin e BE-se qe hetimi dhe ndeshkimi i krimeve te tilla ne cdo nivel te shnderrohet ne praktike ne Shqiperi. Kesisoj, lajmi se vete rrogat tona mund te jene fryti i krimit te organizuar - i pastrimit te parave - eshte pritur me shume alarm ne Agon Channel. Po perdorim termin “lajm” pasi, megjithe akuzat e ngritura, ketu kemi te bejme me te vetmen kompani mediatike ku burimet e financimit jane publike, dhe sigurimet shoqerore paguhen. Akuza te ngjashme mbi burimet e financimit te mediave te tjera ne Shqiperi nuk jane bere kurre shkak per nje nivel te tille transparence, dhe as per ndonje hetim nga autoritetet shteterore.

Ne fakt, transparenca e burimeve te financimit te te gjitha mediave ne Shqiperi eshte e rendesise maksimale. Me shume se nje here, raporte nderkombetare dhe deshmite e gazetareve vendore, tregojne per opacitetitn e financimit te mediave ne Shqiperi. Fjalet rreth marredhenieve klienteliste midis pronareve te mediave dhe qeverise jane bere kaq te zakonshme ne Shqiperi gjate viteve te tranzicionit sa tashme kjo eshte shnderruar ne nje klishe qe nuk i sherben askujt, perkundrazi. Te gjithe gazetaret shqiptare kane dyshimet e tyre persa i perket burimeve te rrogave te tyre qe as nuk paguhen rregullisht. Auditimi nderkombetar i financave te Agon Channel dhe te bizneseve te tjera te Fracesco Beçhetti-t, mund te kete qene nje genjeshter kaq e holle sa nuk kemi kuptuar gje. Por nuk ka asgje te holle apo te pakuptueshme per kedo ne Shqiperi kur vjen puna tek mungesa e transparences se financimit te mediave e te partive politike ne pergjithesi.

Me perjashtim te kesaj mungese kronike dhe te tejzgjatur te transparences se financimit te mediave dhe partive politike ne vend, ka edhe disa sinjale te tjera, te diteve te fundit, qe na bejne te dyshojme se po inaugurohet nje epoke e re transparence te medias, biznesit dhe politikes. Pike se pari, reagimet publike te Kryeministrit ndaj aksionit te ndermarre nga Prokuroria e Tiranes jane minimalisht teresisht pavend. Diten pasi doli lajmi mbi sekuestrimet dhe urdher-arrestet e lartpermendura, Kryeministri Edi Rama shkruajti ne faqen e tij ne Facebook:

) - deklarata e Kryeministrit paragjykon nje proces ligjor qe eshte ende ne zhvillim e siper dhe rezultatet e te cilit per pasoje nuk dihen, ose me mire nuk do duhej te diheshin. A ka mundesi, pra, qe keto rezultate te dihen que tani? Kjo nuk eshte hera e pare qe Kryeministri informon publikun mbi konkluzionet e nje procesi qe ende nuk ka perfunduar. Megjithate, problemet e deklarates se Kryeministrit nuk i shpetuan shume vezhgueseve, dhe ai eshte sfiduar mbi to.

Diten e premte, me 12 Qershor, Kryeministri Edi Rama u pyet mbi deklaraten e tij nga gazetari Aleksander Furxhi ne programin e tij ne Vizion Plus. Kryeministri rikonfirmoi qendrimin e tij dhe Furxhi konstatoi se ka nje lloj ndjeshmerie rreth ceshtjes ne fjale pasi aty perfshihet nje media. Pergjigjia e Kryeministrit ishte se: “…” Furxhi atehere vuri ne dukje se, sipas kritikeve, kur Kryministri permend terma si “para te pista”, ai e ka dhene nderkaq vendimin dhe nuk ka nevoje per nje proces gjyqesor apo per hetime te metejshme. Reagimi i Kryeministrit ishte si me poshte:

“…”

Se dyti, vete Kryeministri e ka ushqyer idene mes zerave kritike se interpretimi i ngjarjeve te javes qe kaloi si nje sulm kunder lirise se medias nuk duhet te perjashtohet. Le te veme menjane si momentin e zgjedhur per kete sulm, si punen hetuese te Agon Channel mbi krimet elektorale, dhe le te leme menjane edhe faktin qe Agon Channel eshte nje prej vetem dy mediave kritike ndaj qeverise. I leme te gjitha keto menjane pasi asnje prej ketyre nuk ka vlere nese nje ent eshte fajtor per pastrim parash apo krime te tjera, edhe kur ky eshte nje ent mediatik. Duke lene te gjitha keto menjane, kjo eshte nje ceshtje mediatike pasi, ndersa Prokuroria ka folur per AgonSet, Energy, Cable System, 400KË dhe Fuqi, Kryeministri ka folur ekskluzivisht per Agon Channel. E thene thjeshte, teksa Prokuroria flet per biznese te ndryshme te medha, Kryeministri flet ekskluzivisht per nje media. Gjuha shpesh here na tradheton dhe nxjerr ne pah qellimet tona te verteta. Ne kete rast, gjuha, se bashku me ndikimin e pavend mbi nje proces gjyqesor qe do te duhej te ishte i paanshem, profesional, dhe skrupoloz, forcon dyshimet tona se ne nuk jemi deshmitare te luftes se shumepritur e te paanshme kunder korrupsionit dhe krimit te organizuar.

Se treti, interesat e tregut te mediave gjithashtu luajne nje rol ne kete ceshtje i cili nuk mund te neglizhohet. Se bashku me kembenguljen e Kryeministrit ne Vizion Plus, per te paragjykuar nje proces gjyqesor qe do te duhej te ishte i paprekshem, pjesa derrmuese e mediave ne Shqiperi nuk kane jane treguar te hapur sa i perket interesave te tyre per mbylljen e Agon Channel. Mund te permendim ketu procesin ne zhvillim e siper midis Agon Channel dhe Digitalb, kur ky i fundit e largoi Agon Channel nga platforma dixhitale duke thyer kesisoj kontraten. Kemi te bejme, pra, me luften e erret per dixhitalizimin, qe ne e kemi ekspozuar disa here.

Te nderuar Ambasadore,

Jemi shume te interesuar per nje proces hetimi dhe arbitrazhi profesional e te besueshem mbi te gjitha burimet e financimit te Agon Channel, dhe po per kete arsye jemi te interesuar ne transparencen dhe pastertine e financimit te te gjitha mediave ne Shqiperi. Por, fatkeqesisht, nuk arrijme te shohim shenjat qe do te na bindnin se neser apo pasneser nuk do te na duhet te punojme per nje tjeter media qe ky Kryeminister e te tjeret pas tij e konsiderojne te paster, deri ne momentin kur nderrojne mendje. Mbetet ende per t’u pare nese shteti ka ndermend te dekriminalizohet, dhe te dekriminalizoje sektoret e biznesit dhe te medias, ne vend qe te zgjedhe se me cilet kriminele do te “ndaje shtratin". Nese del qe ky proces eshte vertete nje ceshtje private,e motivuar nga interesa private, te gjithe palet e perfshira minimalisht do te demtojne reputacionin e tyre, duke mbeshtetur pranine e krimit ne politite, biznes, dhe media. Per te shmangur nje rezultat kaq te demshem per aspiratat demokratike te vendit, Ju bejme thirrje te jeni sa me skrupoloze ne interpretimin e kesaj ceshtjeje dhe te pohoni si privatisht ashtu edhe publikisht nevojen per nje proces te besueshem, te paanshem dhe profesional per hetimin dhe arbitrazhin e akuzave te ngritura kundrejt AgonSet.

English:

Dear ambassadors,

This past week has been momentous for the staff of Agon Channel. We are addressing you because we have reason to suspect that recent events are much more telling of state-media relations and the rule of law in Albania than may be apparent. We have reason to suspect that the Tirana Prosecution Office and Court have been instrumentalised for the pursuit of a private affair – a private affair with grave consequences for the public image of both Executive and Judiciary, and the reputations of all journalists and staff of Agon Channel. We would like to hereby draw your attention to what we believe betrays the good faith of this action and why we believe that matters.

On June 8th, the Tirana Prosecution Office issued a press statement informing the public of the confiscation of 60% of the shares of AgonSet, Energy, Cable System, 400KW and Fuqi. The charge against them is money laundering.

Money laundering, together with corruption and organized crime – and their penetration in politics – are long-standing concerns of many of Agon Channel’s journalists. A good number of them have raised their voice about the immediate need for politics to dissociate itself from these crimes and for the state to fight them. Agon’s most reputable journalists have taken public stances against corruption and organized crime, and have thus lent their support to the EU priority for Albania to establish a solid track record of investigations and convictions of these crimes, at all levels. In this sense, the news that our own salaries may be proceeds of organized crime – of money laundering – has been received with utmost concern at Agon Channel.

And we say “news” because despite allegations to the contrary, this is the only media where we have been presented with a detailed account of the company’s sources of funding, and where our social insurance is duly paid. Similar allegations about the sources of funding of other media in Albania have never been met with such transparency as here, or any investigation by state authorities.

We are no experts in finances and big business transactions. There are no such experts among journalists in the Albanian media sector. And in this sense, we are all vulnerable to deceit - and to involuntarily partaking in practices we firmly and publicly condemn. It is, therefore, of utmost importance to us that such experts in Tirana’s Prosecution Office get to the bottom of the sources of funding of the media we are employed at. The transparency of the sources of funding of all media in Albania is of utmost importance. More than once, international reports and local journalists have complained of the opacity of media financing in Albania. Talk of inappropriate, clientelistic relations between media owners and government has become so regular in Albania over the years that it is now a disempowering cliche?. All Albanian journalists suspect the sources of their irregularly paid salaries and what remains most unsubtle for everybody in Albania is the lack of transparency of media and political party financing in general.

Quite apart from this long-standing opacity of media and political party financing, there are several other signs, more specific to this week, that demotivate our belief that a new era of media transparency, a new era of clean business and politics is dawning upon us. First, the Prime Minister’s public reactions to the action of the Tirana Prosecution and Court are most inappropriate to say the least. The day after the news of the above-mentioned confiscations and arrest warrants, Prime Minister Edi Rama wrote on his official Facebook page:

“Decriminalisation is the fig leaf that falls and leaves the DP naked when crime is hit! The blocking of the source of the black money that fed AgonCh, a success!”

While the Prosecution’s statement speaks of “reasonable doubt” - and shares no evidence with the public (which may be an understandable choice given the well-known complexity of money laundering schemes) - the Prime Minister’s statement prejudices an ongoing legal process the results of which are not, supposedly, known. Or are they? This is not the first time that the Prime Minister notifies the public of the conclusions of an ongoing process. However, many observers saw the problems with this statement and he was challenged on it.

On Friday, June 12th, Prime Minister Edi Rama was asked about this statement by journalist Aleksande?r Furxhi on his show Kapital, on Vizion Plus. He restated his position and Furxhi stated that the issue carries a certain sensitivity because there is a media involved. The prime Minister responded that “There is no principle anywhere that when freedom of speech is nourished by dirty money, in the form of a commercial TV, then we should be careful. There should be no care, no pity”. Furxhi then noted that critics are saying that the Prime Minister is giving the verdict when saying “dirty money”, and it seems like there is no need for a court process or further investigations. The Prime Minister responded:

“I represent the Albanian government, the structures of the Albanian state, the structures of the Albanian Executive, which have investigated and referred to the prosecution a scandalous scheme of fraud and money laundering. So, I defend this conviction because it is the conviction of the state structures. I am not saying that there should or should not be convictions, how or how much, or who should be convicted. I am saying why I have said what I’ve said and why I stand by this conviction”.

While this may seem like a more nuanced and justified stance, the confusion between the representation of “state structures” and “Executive structures” is evident. In Albania’s parliamentary republic, the Prime Minister represents the Executive, government structures, and not state structures, which would include the Prosecution and courts. Furthermore, even in Albania’s imperfect system of division of powers and checks and balances, it is clear that investigative authority, in its full sense, rests exclusively with the Prosecution. Obviously, the Prosecution’s work relies on the cooperation of the Police and other government and state bodies – including Albania’s Financial Intelligence Unit, or the High State Audit and High Inspectorate for the Declaration and Audit of Assets. But none of these bodies have full investigative powers, and cannot, therefore, conduct full, conclusive investigations – only the Prosecution can. Last but not least, the Prime Minister or the Prosecution do not have adjudicating powers – only the courts do. While we are all entitled to due process on paper, free of inappropriate influence, the practice – as indicated by such Executive statements – is far from it. Unfortunately, the independence of prosecutors and judges is not reaffirmed even at a rhetorical level – not by the Prime Minister, not by the Prosecution, not by the courts. In practice, their independence, accountability and funding is so low that we often find them forced in bed with government or with crime.

Second, the Prime Minister has himself nourished the idea among critics that an attack on media freedom should not be ruled out from our understanding of this week’s events. Let us leave aside the timing, let us leave aside Agon’s investigative work related to electoral crime as well, and let us leave aside the fact that Agon Channel is one of two media critical towards government – and we leave such factors aside because we also believe that no entity, including a media entity, should be pitied or treated preferentially if found guilty for money laundering or other crimes. All this aside, this is a media affair because while the Prosecution has spoken of AgonSet, Energy, Cable System, 400KW and Fuqi, the Prime Minister has exclusively spoken of Agon Channel. In simple terms, while the Prosecution speaks of various large businesses, the prime Minister speaks exclusively of one media. Language far too often betrays our real intentions. And in this case, it is language coupled with the aforementioned undue public influence of what should be an impartial, professional, and scrupulous legal process that reinforces doubts that we are not witnessing the much-expected, impartial fight against corruption and organized crime.

Third, it is impossible to dissociate from this affair the interests of the media market. Together with the Prime Minister’s insistence on Vizion Plus on prejudicing a legal process that should be beyond his reach, the vast majority of media outlets in Albania have also failed to disclose their own interests in the shutting down of Agon Channel. That includes the ongoing court case between Agon Channel and Digitalb because of the latter’s breach of contract in removing Agon from the digital platform. That includes the obscure fight over digitalisation that we have exposed several times.

Dear ambassadors,

We are most interested in a professional and credible investigative and adjudicating process for all the sources of funding of Agon Channel, and that is why we are firmly interested in the transparency and cleanness of funding of all media outlets in Albania. Unfortunately, we are yet to see the signs that would encourage our belief that we will not end up working for another media that this Prime Minister and the others after him consider clean, until they don’t anymore. We are still to see that the state cares to decriminalize itself, as well as the business and media sectors, rather than pick which criminals to bed with. If this process ends up being – as it so far appears – a private affair, motivated by private concerns, everybody involved would have lost face and reputation, and saved crime in politics, business and media. To avoid such a damaging result for the country’s democratic aspirations, we call upon you to be scrupulous in your reading of this affair and to privately and publicly reaffirm the need for a credible, impartial and professional process for the investigation and adjudication of the charges against AgonSet

Yours sincerely,