PM said that if it weren’t for the leadership of the Socialist Party, Albania would not have been able to implement the Justice Reform. According to him, it was a historic effort that is now coming to fruition and is targeting even the top officials of the ruling party.

“It is a historic effort that is yielding concrete results and would not have happened if it weren’t for the will of the Socialist Party. It goes without saying that the invaluable support of our strategic allies was essential, but without our vision and determination to dismantle the corrupt system of justice, the new justice could never have taken root and exert the equal force of law even over the political figures. Without our allies, we would not have been able to suppress the resistance of those opposed to the justice reform,” stated Rama.

Prime Minister Rama described the Justice Reform as a national necessity.

“Why didn’t America carry out such a crucial reform in another country in the region? It paved the way for the establishment of new justice bodies that are now rooting out corruption.”

“For all those who want to see and hear the truth, the truth is simple: it is written in the program where the justice reform is our top priority.”

“This is a long-overdue national need. Leading with this conviction, we will find a way to address this need, so that in the end, every Albanian understands that the law is equal for all,” said Rama.

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TIRANA, July  14 /ATA/ Prime Minister Edi Rama stated on Friday that he does not agree with those who misuse the vote of the Albanians, turning the mandate of the Albanians and their trust also, into an unacceptable opportunity to fill their pockets while working for the state.

In a press statement after the vote by the Assembly to strip the former Deputy Prime Minister, also MP, Arben Ahmetaj of immunity, Rama said that a justice independent from the power of politics, capable of fighting corruption at the highest levels and organized crime, is what he stood up for either when he was in opposition, or now in his capacity as prime minister of Albania.

“When I said that we don’t want a reform to bring justice under the control of one party to the disadvantage of the other, we want a new justice, independent of political power, capable of fighting corruption at the highest levels and organized crime, unbiased in its investigations and judgments, regardless of party colors, clan ties, corrupt temptations, I was not only the leader of the opposition, I was also the prime minister of Albania. I haven’t talked for the sake of the prime minister’s communication manual like my predecessors. Nor have I been satisfied with the big words about the need for Justice Reform without action, but I have tried relentlessly, to get it through parliament even at the cost of the coalition government at the time, and why not at the cost of power, if necessary I was ready to support it without shirking vis a vis its overarching goal, even when it happens that it does not deliver a very compelling decision in a certain case,” said Rama.

The Prime Minister added that the Albanians had entrusted him with this mission and that he could not agree with anyone who abuses this trust.

“I didn’t just try for the high-level corruption of those who yesterday in the government robbed as much as they could and today in opposition they sling mud as much as they can, but also for the high level of our government , of course because the Albanians entrusted me with this mission and before them, either those who voted me or those who did not vote me to spearhead this historic effort to the benefit of all, for this country blessed by the hand of God and hampered for so long by the hand of the man, I cannot agree with anyone who abuses this trust, turning the mandate of the Albanians, of our voters and my trust as well, into an unacceptable opportunity to fill the pocket, working for the state,” he emphasized.

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In a joint press conference with the World Bank country manager in Albania, Emanuel Salinas, the Prime Minister responded to the journalists about the Transparency International report on the level of corruption in the country.

“Transparency International does not speak about corrupt governance, to be clear, because of course the number 1 job of anyone with a microphone and a pen is not to distort the source of information on which they elaborate. Transparency International talks about corruption, which is not a partial phenomenon but a general phenomenon and it does not point the finger at the government, it says: ‘in all sectors of life, all governments. It talks about the executive, the judiciary and the fourth govt. which is the media, which is another important source of corruption,” said Rama.

The Prime Minister added that “corruption in the media is of criminal proportions because it is based on blackmail, extortion of businesses, of public actors for unreported financial benefits.”
Based on the journalist’s question, Rama clarified that the fact that there are already ministers in prison shows that the Justice Reform is working.

“What does this mean, a minister in prison, 3 ministers in prison, a deputy prime minister under investigation, which is not yet official. Is it positive or negative in the fight against corruption? What did you expect from the Justice Reform that was conceived and led by me together with the SP for more than 8 years? What did you expect from the Justice Reform, to confirm that everyone is an angel or that everyone is a devil?” said Rama.

“That’s why we implemented the Justice Reform to make sure that no one is untouchable. Let justice work equally for everyone and let something that has not happened since there was an Albanian state happen, that people linked with the current government are held to account. This is why I conceived the Justice Reform. If you supported it for something else, I don’t know. It has never happened in the history of Albania and it was this government and this majority to enable a crackdown on corruption by justice without the politics and the executive meddling in the work of justice. “
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Rama said that “the request to initiate proceedings and to hold to account the judges and prosecutors who have been fired after the Vetting for unjustified mind-boggling wealth is a long-standing requirement of the EU and is a natural request of the European Union which in this case is in complete sync with the entire Albanian people who strongly supported the Justice Reform.”

“One of the rare moments in our recent history when Albanians broke down the party boundaries and massively endorsed the Justice Reform by supporting Vetting and demanding the punishment through Vetting of all those who had turned our justice system into a shameful market place, where the right was bought and sold. So I believe that they have already learned how the EU, the European Commission works and how everything written is part of the Commission’s memory and what is said today is not forgotten tomorrow, but what is said to be done today is repeated tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, for years on end, until it’s done, because that’s how this process works”, he said.

Concluding, Rama quoted the statement of the Enlargement Commissioner.
“Accession negotiations are an instrument of daily transformation. The reason why we have persevered with them is that it has nothing to do with the goal of becoming full member, but it has to do with the fact that negotiations are an irreplaceable transfer of knowhow that you cannot find in any other reality of the political world. For this reason, the Commissioner underlined and we must bear in mind that every step in the negotiations, starting from every requirement of the negotiations, constitutes an added value and a new opportunity to advance all aspects of the country’s life,” Prime Minister Rama said.
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In his address to the event “Road to April 25 – JUSTICE WE WANT,” Prime Minister Rama said that, “I want to say to all those discontented, all undecideds, no matter their affiliations and convictions, that on April 25, more than anything else, the fate of justice will be sealed. The fate of justice, which seemed to be marked once and for all, until we bravely embarked on a journey of this overhaul full of unknowns.”

“It will decide on the face of the courts and prosecutions tomorrow, not in the next 4 years, but in the decades to come,” said Rama.

“At this point, as far as justice is concerned, the choice is way clearer than at any other point, because in justice, the divide between the parties is deeper, is clearer, it is clearer than on any other topic,” said Rama.

PM underlined that, “in justice there is no better and worse, as in all other areas when we draw the comparison between the parties. “In justice there is either very good or very bad.”

“Unless we justify the third term, after 4 years you can review your decision, but if you do not justify with your massive attendance in the elections the need of the new justice for your protection and support today, then this child, who was born after so many exhausting years, is destined to die after only 4 years, ” said Rama.
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Prime Minister Edi Rama, during a conversation with the citizens of Elbasan, on Sunday morning, said that the government has reasons to be proud of the work done in the Justice Reform.

“We have every reason to take pride in justice reform, despite the fact that some people are impatient and lost sight of the fact that what we have done in these years to have a functioning justice is nothing short of historic,” said Rama.

“It’s something that is probably valued many times less than it really is. The required results are not yet clearly visible, but we are being freed from the cold and silent but very damaging violence of a caste of judges and prosecutors, who have never been in the focus of media or public opinion because they have been above all. If politicians have been the subject of talks and attacks for 30 years on end, this caste, which has not been targeted by the wave of attacks, has much more responsible and guilty in relation to Albania than politicians,” Rama added.

Rama said that “if this caste had not stifled justice and turned it into merchandise that is bought and sold, politicians would have been much more restrained and responsible.”

“The lack of a justice that guarantees solid foundations of the system has made us suffer a lot in all aspects with the consequences of their decisions befalling the weakest. We are all witnesses to the fact that many men reported for violence have been acquitted by the courts and women have been blamed. The process of purging the justice system is not easy. “Those who rightfully want the rule of law to be restored should be cognizant that this is not a process that can be completed in 1 or 2 terms of office, it is impossible,” said Rama.
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