Top Channel re-appeared and started to put a surrounding fence around the AFMM Campus

25 May 2009 - After a three-week "silence", which permitted them to get a permission based on Berisha Government's illegal and irresponsible acts, Top Channel re-appeared and started to put a surrounding fence around the AFMM Campus. Now the level of corruptive acts has included the Tirana City Hall. The fence construction's permission was signed by Tirana mayor and chief of Opposition, Edi Rama and the Director of the Technical Commission of the City Hall. AFMM is now under attack from "independent" media and illegal central and local Government acts. This irrational and total corruptive situation is a threat and a sign of destruction of all the ethics, moral, intellectual and political values in Albania. 

AFMM is an independent institution, out of business - media -politics influences. The only viable reason for those acts is the control of these indispensable institutions, for the democratic and cultural health of our country, motivated by personal and professional jealousy as a result of big frustration caused by limited intellectual and administrative capacities of persons involved in those primitive and unprecedented acts. 

Actually, the authorization was given textually for surrounding the ex-lab's garden. As a matter of fact, AFMM settles in the ex-sound department building. The ex-lab is approx. 30m from it and is separated by an emergency road. But nobody cares, as the governments (central & local) itself have based their decisions on falsified plans and documents produced by the Cultural Administration represented by Albafilm and the Minister of Trade, Economy and Energetic (MTEE) Mr. Genc Ruli. Those falsified plans, among other destructive effects, block the fire exits to AFMM and our National Film Archive, where kilometers of National Patrimony History celluloid, dating from 1923 are preserved. Those facts underline once again the visionary governmental politics we are benefiting in Albania. The worst is that Top Channel, usually claiming itself of brilliant integrity with moral and public profile for the Albanian society, this time is putting itself on the barricade of occult electoral interest, being for the first time against country's long term and indispensable cultural and artistic interest.

LEGAL SUMMARY UPDATE 

26 January 2009 - The Court of Tirana send back the Albafilm /METE complaint against Orafilm/AFMM, for illegal occupation of land.

21 February 2009 - Albafilm and the state police, warning only the 20th of February afternoon, perpetrate illegal violence during more than three hours, against AFMM Campus, students and Academic staff, who protected the facility, the Law on Superior Education and the Constitution of Albania. It took the German Ambassador and French Embassy representatives to send backwards the police forces and Albafilm.

Albafilm, the police and MTEE made a complaint to the Albanian Prosecutors Office against Rector Kujtim Çashku and some Academic Staff members, for illegal usurpation of land, violence against State Agents on duty.

23 February 2009 - Albanian Ombudsman denounces and analyses the Berisha Government and its representatives, illegal acts against the Academic campus and staff. He advises Albafilm and the police to solve their pretending legally in a court and not through illegal violent actions and counterfeited procedures.

The association of world's major film and television school CILECT and from South-East Europe SEECILECT, addressed a note of protest to Berisha Government, on its acts against AFMM and culture.

24 February 2009 - Rector Kujtim Çashku, the Head of Productions Eol Çashku, the technical Person in Charge Sabir Kanaqi (former AFMM student from Montenegro), the assistant camera department teacher Royald Elezaj (former AFMM student) and Bashkim Rodoni, second year directing student, were violently taken and put under police custody, and Albafilm started to destroy the garden sculptures and surround with wired fence the AFMM facility. They were illegally held during seven hours at the police station nr 4 of Tirana.

Albanian Ombudsman re-denounces publicly all the illegal state actions. The Embassy of the United States in Tirana stresses their release through their press release on the matter. German Government makes a Statement in support to AFMM, and calls for negotiations and not violence. After the release from the police station, rector Çashku calls for calm and asks the government to stop illegal actions immediately which damage the normal academic process of AFMM, currently in exams and shooting period. 

26 February 2009 - Albafilm and a private armed police come again and destroy everything in the AFMM Campus garden including the one and only Wide Screen open-air movie theatre in Albania.

16 April 2009 - Top Channel comes to take possession of AFMM garden, and starts cutting the trees, some of them centenary, without permission from the Tirana City Hall, and based on Governments counterfeited plans and documents. They are sent away from students’ protest and Tirana Municipal Police.

24 April 2009 - Tirana Prosecutors office rejects every Albafilm, state police and MTEE pretensions and accusations.

14 May 2009 - Tirana Mayor signs the permission for the surrounding of the ex-lab garden, letting Top Channel abuse with Berisha Government counterfeited plans and restarting the illegal surrounding of AFMM Campus Garden.

18 May 2009 - Tirana Prosecutors Office rejects Jory Security and Albafilm accusation of usurpation and destruction of property.

25 May 2009 - Top Channel continues to build the illegal fence on AFMM Campus waving around the City Hall permission signed by Edi Rama to surround another building approx 30 meters from AFMM facilities (Permission attached). Top Channel staff stated today they will come to destroy the garden with bulldozers during the week-end.

Meanwhile a total media silence censorship has been apparently imposed to prevent any public opinion information on the First Albanian Film School of the History situation and the Berisha Government administration of public territories, in this General Election’s eve in Albania.

You will very soon have images from the latest developments through www.afmm.tv , www.afmm.edu.al , www.saveafmm.net and www.seecilect.org/media .

by Eol Çashku

Filmmaker, Director of Productions AFMM