Free speech or freedom from anonymity

2025-10-30 10:13:00, Editorial Edi Rama

Prime Minister Rama's full speech at the Paris Peace Forum on media freedom and the punishment of defamation

By Edi Rama

Your Majesty, dear friends!

It is with great humility that I participate in this forum to express, on behalf of my country, my views on the integrity of information and independent media.

I want to underline my concern that we have confused freedom of expression with freedom of speech and independent media with irresponsible media. What was once the kingdom of fact-checking, Europe, which we all saw from behind the curtain as a paradise of freedom, of creativity, of independence, of everything, has become the kingdom of chaos.

And where there is chaos, of course, there is no integrity of anything because in its nature, chaos is simply a disintegrating force.

What was once seen as a safeguard for truth and dissent, anonymity has become a nomination.

The freedom to speak anonymously has become a license to display any kind of shameful behavior or moral turpitude in public. And with all of us continuing to examine all of this only from the very legitimate, I would say, and simple perspective of freedom of speech.

I don't think that all previous generations were wrong in demanding that the media be accountable to the truth. I don't think that the whole amazing experience that was built up in this country (France) and in the great democracies of holding everyone accountable for what he or she said in the public sphere and for not publishing anything that wasn't checked was wrong.

I don't think it's wrong to tell our children not to hide behind an anonymous face, but to face their truths and their beliefs openly and never lie.

I think these are simple things that we took for granted and continue to take for granted as long as we allow all this chaos to overwhelm our children and overwhelm all of us in the name of war, and you know what? And who? The politicians.

All of this is about fighting politicians ultimately and extorting from all angles anyone who has something to give back. In my country or in our part of Europe, the extortion of enterprises, the extortion of businessmen through so-called free expression is an everyday practice.

And the last thing I would say is that not only is the filth of our society getting a free ride in the world of so-called free speech, but all the enemies of our society are using these very open channels of filth to infiltrate our democracies, to infiltrate our communities with their trolls, with their lies, with their fake news, and with everything you don't want to see.

We keep saying we're going to build walls to protect our elections and to protect our democracy from the Russians and others who are working day and night using what we've left open. A house with no doors, no windows, no security, no nothing. It's just a house where anyone can come in, get into bed, treat your wife like a whore, treat yourself like a criminal, treat your children like perverts, do whatever they want and not have to open their mouths.

On the contrary, you should give speeches like my friend Pashinyan from Armenia because otherwise you might get crucified. Now, that doesn't interest me. I don't care.

I've been elected four times. Twice more than Emmanuel. So I can't ask for more.

I have to share with you what's going on. What's wrong with you all? Because when I speak and when I say these things, it's very easy to say, oh, he's an autocrat. And I have a kind of autocratic look.

Nobody can accuse France or Germany, at least not yet, of being autocracy. The big countries of Europe must take the initiative and stop this filth and stop this chaos and do something. Do something.

It's crazy. We banned TikTok. To my great surprise, the TikTok people were sensitive.

I was very afraid that they would follow us. No, they were sensitive. We looked for some things, some filters, and I saw that they were open.

I said, "But why don't you do this?" You guess the answer.

Nobody is asking us to do this in Europe so there are many things we can do.

Please, we are gathered in a completely unusual space to have the King of France here in a stuffy room, but at least don't suffocate each other and yourselves with speeches that are fine to give in Paris-Bercy, but not here.

So, say some things that come from instinct and not just from the need to be right and to be polite. The European Union has 27 members. 24 of them have, rightly in my opinion, the law of defamation as a criminal offense. We must fulfill the condition that defamation in Albania is considered a freedom. We should even remove it from our criminal code.

I understand, because we are dangerous. So, before we introduce you, we need to make sure that we accept defamation as freedom. Thank you very much./ CNA