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Agron Shehaj's interview for the Italian newspaper/ Courts, the opposition and Rama's strategy

2023-11-08 17:36:00, Aktualitet CNA

Agron Shehaj's interview for the Italian newspaper/ Courts, the opposition

The MP, Agron Shehaj, gave an interview to the Italian newspaper "Il Foglio".

He spoke about the approach that Prime Minister Edi Rama has in the country and the way he appears to the international community.

He also spoke about the agreement for immigrants between Albania and Italy, the opposition in Albania and the judiciary.

Below are excerpts from the interview:

"He who you in the West see as an enlightened and Western prime minister, here in Albania behaves like a small Balkan despot".

This is how the deputy Agron Shehaj, one of the well-known figures of the right in Albania and the deputy elected with the Democratic Party today in the opposition, but now an independent deputy, says.

According to Shehaj, the agreement between the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Italian Prime Minister, Xorxhia Meloni, to allow Italy to build in the Albanian territory at least 2 centers for the management of illegal immigrants is "technically very difficult to implement".

"I myself was an immigrant in Italy. I arrived in your country in 1991, and I agree with any form of cooperation, which can help Italy in the management of immigrants and to guarantee basic rights to everyone who arrives there. I have no doubt about this" - he emphasizes.

But the problem according to him is more of a technical nature, and it has to do with the transfer of territorial sovereignty, which in fact should be guaranteed: "The issue of jurisdiction over the territory is fundamental, because the Constitution guarantees the territorial integrity of the country. How can one give up the sovereignty, even of a part of the territory?"

Yesterday, the opposition presented a request to the parliament for an urgent interpellation with the prime minister on this agreement, while it has warned that it will sue him in the Constitutional Court. But for Shehaj, the problem has to do with the current situation that dominates the country.

"Here Edi Rama can do whatever he wants. The Constitutional Court, newly recreated after the last reform of the justice system, has been signed to the needs and demands of the Government" - says the deputy.

But not only that: "Like many other issues, this agreement was reached in a total lack of transparency. The public opinion in Albania, which also has a strong feeling of gratitude towards Italy, only learned about this agreement from the media" - declares the deputy.

According to Shehaj, Edi Rama has a clear strategy to sell himself abroad "as a modern, moderate prime minister who is ready to cooperate in solving the problems of other countries". "More or less how Gaddafi behaved with Libyan oil, Rama does this with the issue of immigrants" - he emphasizes.

But according to him, it is not a coincidence that all European countries, which have tried to cooperate with third countries for the management of migratory flows, have done so with Third World countries, because it would be very difficult to reach an agreement similar to a western country.

"Rama can take decisions that are widely opposed by public opinion, or even risk taking anti-legal and anti-constitutional decisions. This happens because he has all the power in Albania" - says the deputy.

Shehaj's judgment comes from a deputy of the opposition "which is now destroyed by Rama through a merciless war against her" . In fact, according to the prestigious organization Freedom House, Albania is currently a "partially free" country.

The main problems are related to the lack of transparency on political decision-making processes. And in its latest report, the US State Department underlines the existence of a major problem with the independence of the judicial system, and the fight against corruption and crime.

"It is not surprising that in the last local elections in Albania, the ruling party won over 90 percent of the municipalities. Such a result is not normal for a country that can be called a democracy" - says Shehaj.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said during the joint press conference with Meloni, that the pact is based only on the "gratitude" that Albania has towards Italy.

Although there are voices that talk about a strong lobbying by Italy for the accelerated membership of Albania in the European Union.
In fact, Tirana officially applied for membership in the union in 2009, when the prime minister was Sali Berisha (today a controversial leader of the Democratic Party, which has been placed under sanctions by the US due to corruption allegations).

For Shehaj, "Edi Rama has no interest in bringing Albania into the EU, as this would be equivalent to relinquishing power." "Beyond the summits and smiles of officials in front of the cameras, the European Union is looking for basic and specific things, such as the rule of law, the fight against corruption and crime, issues that are getting worse," he says.

The deputy underlines that an important issue should be taken into account: Today, Albania is a country where the level of democracy, instead of progressing, takes steps backwards, and the same thing happens with corruption.
According to Eurostat data, nearly 50,000 people per year during the last 10 years have received residence permits in the countries of the European Union. To these should be added those who migrate elsewhere. "This shows that Albanians do not see a future in their country" - concludes Agron Shehaj. / CNA

Agron Shehaj's interview for the Italian newspaper/ Courts, the opposition