TIRANA, August 27 – Prime Minister Edi Rama had an interview with Greek journalist Pavlos Papadopoulos for the Greek newspaper “Kathimerini” in which many issues between the two countries were touched upon. The interview was published by some local media in Albanian on Sunday.
Asked if he felt personally insulted that Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not invite him to Athens for the informal dinner of the last few days with the leaders of the Western Balkans, Rama said whatever importance the Greek side gives to the Beleri issue, we all know what he was up to do, this was not the way to act. “I think that, especially when unpleasant things happen between friends, friends should face each other, talk to each other, try to understand, respect the friendship by being very open and at the same time never forgetting that they are friends. Kyriakos was a friend that I liked and respected, and he continues to be a friend that I like and respect. I hope that this thing will be fixed, but even if it doesn’t happen, Kyriakos will always remain a friend that I like and respect,” said Rama.
The journalist asked the Prime Minister of Albania why he attacked Fredi Beleri, calling him illiterate and a vagabond.
“The reason I was harsh with him was that he made some very, very unacceptable statements, such as ‘it would further the interrupted process of Hellenization of Himara.’ This is something that cannot be said in Europe, in this Europe. This comes from a dark and very distant past. Then, of course, there were others that weren’t really good at all. He spoke as if he was there to free Himara, I don’t know from whom, but we can talk about it,” said Rama.
In this interview, Prime Minister Edi Rama revealed his approach to the strong positions of the Greek government after the arrest of Fredi Beleti as following: “I do not agree that a foreign country, a foreign government makes deep comments about the actions of the justice system of another country, even if they are quite friendly countries. In my opinion, this is not European! We will find out everything when the special prosecutor’s office presents the complete evidence to the court, and we haven’t gone there yet. He was caught in the act of buying votes, of course with his vote buying network. Nowhere in the Albanian legislation does the government or the prime minister have the authority to issue permission for a person detained in custody – in custody (I emphasize) – to be released from prison. This does not exist. There is no such thing as someone getting permission to take the oath, while he is in custody for a crime in flagrante delicto, and the court has already rejected it”, said Rama further.
To the question of whether there will be early elections in Himara, Rama answered by saying that he was not sure if there would be. “My instinct or my first reaction is that, perhaps, we will have to wait for the judicial process, until it is proven whether he is guilty or innocent. However, this is not a legal opinion, it’s just my opinion on the fact that we don’t really have any precedent and then, it would open the way for many interpretations. I have to wait for the legal department, but this can go in one direction or the other,” said Rama. /argumentum.al
