The issue of the elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, has again collided with Prime Minister Edi Rama and Sakis Ioannidis, the Representative of Greece in the European Economic and Social Committee/Member of the Central Economy Administration, Sakis Ioannidis, but this time in Brussels.
Sakis Ioannidis claimed that Fredi Beleri should be sworn in as mayor, while Prime Minister Rama responded by emphasizing that Greece should learn to respect justice in their country and in every country of the European Union.
“I am forced to react to the intervention of my Greek colleague, who made Albania look like it was Siberia and that someone in Siberia is being held hostage by a cruel and bloody regime just because he is a Greek citizen. This should be a reason to alert the world that Albania is not Albania, but is Siberia.
I have to answer very simply. This way of looking at the matter is completely delusional, it has nothing to do with reality and if there was an iota of truth in this whole explosion, do you believe this town would have kept quiet and said nothing word? So, there would not have been a single word, neither from the European Commission, nor from the European Council, nor a word from the other member states?
This is just that, a matter of justice in a sovereign country where the reform in justice has been the most praised reform by the European Union and where recently no one in Albania is above the law, be it rich or poor, be it a politician or a citizen ordinary, whether an Albanian or a Greek citizen, and there is no reason to bring all this Balkan drama and trauma to Brussels because it sounds very, very far from what makes the European Union what it is.
I have to guarantee my Greek colleague and every like-minded Greek that there is no such thing. This is simply a matter of justice and justice will give the answer, eventually. Learn to respect justice in your country and in every country of the European Union and the European hemisphere,” replied Rama.
-Question: Thank you very much! I will speak in Greek. Presidents, prime ministers, we have organized the organization today for civil society, I welcome you to our plenary session. The EESC has shown its support for the Western Balkans enlargement and we welcome all new members to our EESC family. The European Union is not only a financial instrument. It is an institutional instrument and both prime ministers mentioned such a thing. I would like to mention an issue related to this and it has to do with the mayor of Himara, Mr. Beleri.
Beleri was arrested 2 days before the elections in Albania, accused of corruption for 360 euros and was imprisoned for 160 days and was not allowed to take the oath as the mayor of Himara. I will not comment on the decisions of this country, but a key witness admitted that he was bribed. If this had happened in a country of the European Union, these charges would have been dismissed by now and no one would be held, someone for 9 months in prison in another country of the European Union. However, the civil society organization in Albania, the minority organizations and the opposition in Albania, have condemned this violation of the human rights convention, the mayor is accused, the moderator will conclude. He is not allowed to take the oath and he is an elected mayor, I am talking about popular sovereignty. It is a key principle for expansion. I will give you the opportunity to answer in 5 minutes
Yes, you will be able to answer. Thank you for respecting the time. We have quite a long list of interventions ahead of us.
Moderator: We will now have 5 minutes for feedback. Perhaps I would like to give the floor again to our distinguished friends. I don’t know if Prime Minister Rama would like to react.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: I am obliged to react to the intervention of my Greek colleague, who made Albania look like it was Siberia and that someone in Siberia is being held hostage by a cruel and bloody regime just because he is a Greek citizen. This should be a reason to alert the world that Albania is not Albania, but is Siberia.
I have to answer very simply. This way of looking at the matter is completely delusional, it has nothing to do with reality and if there was an iota of truth in this whole explosion, do you believe this town would have kept quiet and said nothing word? So, there would not have been a single word, neither from the European Commission, nor from the European Council, nor a word from the other member states?
This is just that, a matter of justice in a sovereign country where the reform in justice has been the most praised reform by the European Union and where recently no one in Albania is above the law, be it rich or poor, be it a politician or a citizen ordinary, whether an Albanian or a Greek citizen, and there is no reason to bring all this Balkan drama and trauma to Brussels because it sounds very, very far from what makes the European Union what it is.
I have to guarantee my Greek colleague and every like-minded Greek that there is no such thing. This is simply a matter of justice and justice will give the answer, eventually. Learn to respect justice in your country and in every country of the European Union and the European hemisphere.
– Thank you Prime Minister! Perhaps in the interest of time I will continue with the rest of the interventions, but suffice it to say that based on the feedback we heard, this initiative also helps us communicate with each other, learn from each other, and learn something more. different for each other so, let’s see it from this point of view.
In the meantime, we will continue with the second round of interventions and we will start with the president’s list.
