A day after the incident near parliament, journalist Bledi Mane has reacted publicly by giving his version of the clash with a group of protesters at the protest called the “Flamingo Revolution.” In footage made public a day earlier, he was seen being surrounded, insulted and hit with eggs.
Mane’s version of the incident
According to the statement he published on Instagram, the incident happened at around 4:00 p.m. on October 5 on “Abdi Toptani” street, when he claims he was chased by a group of around 30 people.
Mane writes that he was first hit with an egg and a small stone in the back of the head. He claims he stopped to ask the protesters what they personally had against him, but the situation, according to him, turned into organized swearing, insults and threats.
What was seen in the incident
In footage of the incident, several people can be heard addressing him with insults, including the cry “Rama’s lackey,” while the journalist tries to understand the reason for the confrontation by asking: “What do you have against me?”
In his reaction, he also says that there were minors among the protesters and that some of them were confronting him over the way he practices his profession and over the positions he takes on television or on social media.
Political accusations without public evidence
Mane presents the event as an attack linked to his work as a journalist and to his public positions. He goes further by claiming that the people who attacked him were paid.
In the same statement, he mentions Arlind Qori and Agron Shehaj, accusing them of paying people for such acts. For this claim, no evidence was presented in the public statement.
Message to journalists after the clash
At the end of his statement, Mane thanks journalists’ organizations, colleagues, friends, the police and the diplomatic corps for the support expressed after the incident.
He calls on journalists not to be frightened by threats and to continue their work, describing what happened as an attempt to pressure public speech.
The incident has once again drawn attention to the climate of tension at protests and the line that is often crossed from verbal confrontation to physical intimidation.
Meanwhile, the political accusations made by the journalist remain at the level of personal claims, with no evidence made public so far.