Visibly annoyed, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at the plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee during a workshop in Brussels, confronted Sakis Ioannidis, Greece’s representative to the Commission and member of the Central Economic Commission.
The occasion was the case of the imprisoned elected mayor of Himarra, Fredi Beleri, with the Albanian Prime Minister even attempting to…give lessons in democracy and justice to Greece!
Among other things, according to himara.gr, Sakis Ioannidis argued that Beleris should be sworn in as mayor, while Edi Rama responded by stressing that Greece must learn to respect justice in its own country and in every country of the European Union.
It should be recalled that just the day before yesterday, Tuesday, a prosecutor in Albania recommended a 2.5-year prison sentence for Fredi Beleri, with the trial continuing on February 28.
The following is the dialogue between Ioannidis and Rama:
Sakis Ioannidis said:
The European Union is not just a financial instrument. It is an institution and both prime ministers have mentioned this. I would like to mention an issue related to this and it has to do with the mayor of Himara, Mr Beleri.
Mr Beleri was arrested 2 days before the elections in Albania, charged with corruption for EUR 360 and imprisoned for 160 days and was not allowed to take the oath as 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 European Union country, these charges would have been dismissed by now and there would not have been someone in prison for nine months in another European Union country.
However, the civil society organization in Albania, minority organizations and the opposition in Albania have condemned this violation of the human rights convention.
He is not allowed to take an oath and he is an elected mayor, I am talking about popular sovereignty.
Eddie Rama replied:
I am obliged to react to the intervention of my Greek colleague who made Albania look like Siberia and that someone 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 Siberia, but Albania.
I must answer very simply.
This way of dealing with this issue is completely delusional, it has nothing to do with reality and if there was some truth in this whole explosion, do you think this city (Brussels) would have been silenced and would have said nothing?
There would not have been a single word, not from the European Commission, not from the European Council, not from the other Member States?
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This is exactly a question of justice in a sovereign country where the justice reform was the most praised reform by the European Union and where recently nobody in Albania is above the law, whether rich or poor, whether a politician or an ordinary citizen, whether Albanian or Greek, 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 provide the answer, eventually.
Learn to respect justice in your country and in every country in the European Union and in the European hemisphere.
