“I think that although yesterday’s decision of Secretary of State Blinken was repeated in this hall and in this rostrum today, let us leave it as beautiful as is the decision of the Secretary and not enter into any kind of comment or any kind of nuance to that decision because it is so beautiful as that decision and as important as that decision. And let everyone read it as it is the ruling.”
These words were the highlight of the remarks made by the chairman of the Socialist Party (SP) parliamentary group, Taulant Balla in Thursday’s plenary session of Parliament regarding the decision of the US State Department on Wednesday to designate former Albanian president and prime minister Sali Berisha “persona non grata”, along with his wife, his son and daughter, “for involvement in corrupt acts”.
According to Balla, Albanians should realize that the US has selected those sort of instruments to convey messages to relevant countries and democracies. He added that this has not occurred only in Albania!
“I remember that some time ago the Speaker of the Romanian Parliament was designated by the previous Secretary of State to be part of this blacklist of the United States. And that we must respect as such. “And, of course, justice must do its job,” said Balla.
But on purpose or because of short memory SP’s number two did not mention in Parliament the fact that Berisha is the fourth Albanian to be added to the list of people unwelcome to the US after former General Prosecutor Adriatik Llalla, former Socialist Party mayor Vangjush Dako and the current Social Democratic Party (SDP) head, Tom Doshi.
Doshi was the last one, but so effective was the US punishment that showed the results of his party, which although a tiny party without any activity bought from Skender Gjinushi, now President of the Academy of Sciences of Albania, could win 3 seats. Doshi declared that his votes will be added to the 74 votes obtained by the SP although the US State Department has ‘warned’ PM Edi Rama to stay far away from the alleged corrupt politician Doshi.
Further on Balla said in his remarks it is very important that the process and the creation of the necessary quorum in the Supreme Court, which then opens the competition for the 3 vacancies that belong to the Supreme Court to be appointed to the Constitutional Court, we have the opportunity to vacancies to be filled in the shortest possible time.
Balla said that the Vetting process is going well, although the Parliament should, at the right time, and I believe that this Parliament, as well as the other legislative elected from the elections of April 25, should consider the procedures for postponing the term of the Qualifications Commission because there are also a very large number of judges and prosecutors who have to go through the Vetting process. /argumentum.al
