Prime Minister Edi Rama described the acts of violence during the eight days of protests in Albania as being orchestrated by domestic and foreign elements seeking to destabilize Albania and other European countries.
During a meeting with representatives of Albania’s banking sector, Rama announced that the government would soon introduce a package of measures similar to those adopted by other countries. These would include establishing a register of violent individuals who would be denied access to hotels and airports.
“We will introduce the package of measures as soon as possible and identify the individuals behind online profiles that incite violence. We will track down those who hide behind hoods. Families will be held financially responsible for anything committed by a minor. Italy and France have done this, and we will do the same.
“We will place violent individuals on a special register. We will restrict their access to various means of transport, airports and hotels.
“We will cooperate with EU countries, and we have already begun working with them to prevent these individuals from travelling. Violence has no place in Albania.
“Dialogue, the exchange of ideas, democratic debate and finding new solutions served us well during the extraordinary protests of 2018, which involved students and university lecturers. Unlike those who, before being lecturers, are party activists and who break chairs at the Prime Minister’s Office,” Rama said.
PRIME MINISTER EDI RAMA’S FULL SPEECH
Prime Minister Edi Rama at a meeting with representatives of the banking sector
Thank you very much, Governor! Thank you all very much for being here.
It was very important to hold this meeting with you as well, following a wave of violent hysteria that placed enormous pressure on people and, above all, held Tirana hostage, while creating the impression of an escalation that could engulf the whole of Albania in flames and stones.
Naturally, we have absolutely no doubt. This is orchestrated violence. It is violence linked to domestic and foreign elements. It is also violence connected to what is happening in other cities and European capitals through a neo-communist anarchist movement called Antifa, as well as other radicalized sections of young people.
But this is only one component of the violence. Young women and men who have become extremists, who shout and make calls reminiscent of the Middle Ages or the post-war period, demanding the imprisonment and exile of anyone they believe represents evil.
The other component is criminality. Petty criminals from neighborhoods and outskirts who gather with the sponsorship of organized crime, but also of other political actors.
And all these elements together receive extraordinary support, which has been proven and continues to be demonstrated day after day, from foreign forces interested in destabilizing Albania and Europe as a whole.
Naturally, these elements, united in a single front, are not the students. They are not the part of society that has every legitimate reason to express dissatisfaction, to protest, to demand change and to demand many other things.
That part of society neither incites nor supports violence.
Unfortunately, there are people, increasingly fewer, to be fair, but nevertheless there are people, such as the so-called university lecturers, a very small proportion of lecturers overall, together with others mixed in among them, who amplify and support the violence and do nothing to distance themselves from it.
This is then fully amplified on television screens, where, unfortunately, violence is glorified and the state is attacked wholesale through attacks on the police.
I am presenting this picture because it is extremely important to understand that what is happening has absolutely nothing to do with the ghosts of the past, absolutely nothing to do with 1997, God forbid, and nothing to do with those dramatic moments when money, which embodies people’s sweat and hard work, came under the terrible pressure of collapse and the consequences of fraud.
Today is completely different.
Today, we are living alongside a parallel world of people who want to impose their world on us through stones, fire, threats, insults and pressure from every direction.
This is happening within a perimeter in central Tirana that has become like a scene from a horror film, where masked individuals wearing hoods confront the State Police, while the police naturally carry out their duties and stand their ground.
Meanwhile, outside this perimeter, there is an Albania that certainly has concerns, problems and needs, and that rightly demands improvements in many areas.
But all of this should provide a broader perspective and encourage great patience and maximum calm across all institutions, including this institution here and the banking network, which safeguards and guarantees Albanians’ savings and investments.
That is why I am here to express my full solidarity with you during this extremely important and critical moment we are going through.
I am here to tell you that this will pass, but we will not forget.
There are many responsibilities ahead of us as the government of the Republic of Albania.
We have a duty to address the concerns of those who are protesting, or who protested peacefully, as well as the many others who support the protesters but not violence, not the throwing of stones.
Not the stones that shattered the windows of the Bank of Albania.
The Bank of Albania was not attacked even in 1997, because there were no other banks. The other banks were Sudja and Xhaferi, and there was nothing left to attack because they had made Albanians’ money disappear.
The Bank of Albania was not touched even in 1997, yet today it has been attacked with stones.
We will address these problems by identifying our responsibilities one by one.
These include further advancing the law on affordable social housing, which we approved in the government today and have sent to Parliament. Naturally, we will also need your cooperation.
This is a new law that also addresses students’ difficulties.
We included this issue in our government programme and, a little over a month ago, translated it into a draft law, creating an entirely new approach to rising prices and students’ inability to afford rent in Tirana without placing an unbearable financial burden on their parents.
The government will therefore cover 50% of the rent for all students who meet the eligibility requirements, which are naturally linked to specific criteria, their studies and other conditions.
Other provisions of the law concern support through interest-free loans for young couples purchasing an apartment up to a certain price.
There will also be loans at 3% interest for apartments up to a certain price, aimed at young professionals, young public servants, people launching their own initiatives, start-ups and small businesses, and those who want to build their lives here in Tirana.
This law will provide support for several thousand apartments annually in Tirana, where the challenge is greatest.
On the other hand, we also consider it extremely important to increase the budget for young people in relation to employment policies and job opportunities.
All young people who want to work, all those who want to study, and all those who want to succeed through talent, knowledge and hard work are my greatest concern.
They are the focus of these responsibilities and the lessons we must learn.
Together with the banks, we will work to make financing available.
We are already doing this through the “Double Your Business” programme, which is progressing well.
I thank you for your support and ask for even greater support.
Many young women and men running small businesses have already started applying for additional financing backed by state guarantees.
We must do the same for housing and other areas.
But all of this is only one side of the coin.
The other side is that everyone who has raised a hand against the state, attacked the police or damaged public and private property will have the shadow of the state following them until they have paid for the damage they caused.
I believe you have seen that France has introduced its own package of measures, and Italy has introduced its own.
We have cooperated with both countries in preparing our package, which also has certain specific features.
Because, as I said, this is not only about Antifa, the scourge of Antifa, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the President of the United States.
It is not only about under-the-table payments by certain political actors and organized crime to disoriented young men from the outskirts and minors who come and throw stones.
There is also malicious interference connected to Albania’s position and, unfortunately, a sinister attempt to incite religious hatred.
This is happening in a republic where our greatest treasure is the harmonious coexistence of all religions.
Our greatest treasure is the Albanian tradition of honoring God and welcoming guests.
Albania is, will remain and must always remain a friend to anyone who does not seek to stop its progress or lead it down a path of darkness.
All countries and states that do not have such intentions toward Albania should be our friends. All of them.
And here I must draw attention to something and express my disgust toward everyone who fuels the flames of antisemitic hatred, toward everyone who confuses things that should not be confused.
Because we are a country that is a friend of the Jewish people.
We are a friend of Israel, just as we are equally a friend of Qatar, which has no relations with Israel.
We are a friend of the United Arab Emirates, just as we are a friend of Saudi Arabia, which has no ties with Israel, and a friend of Turkey, which does not have good relations with Israel at this moment.
Meanwhile, we are a small country, and we need friends.
We need to grow our economy.
We need to improve prosperity.
We need to be a country that everyone sees as a destination for tourism and investment.
A country where people come, preferably to live and invest here, becoming part of this community and bringing knowledge, money and experience.
We are a country to which God has given everything, but people have not allowed it to raise its head.
And every time it does raise its head, every time it climbs a little higher, it becomes the target of attacks from within and from outside.
I was looking at the economic figures.
I was looking at the economic figures, and they are very encouraging for us.
They are very encouraging because, at the end of the day, despite all the concerns, problems, needs and the desire to have more and to have it sooner, we are the country with the highest economic growth in our entire region.
Because this is where we should compare ourselves.
We are not comparing ourselves with ten years ago, when Albania was a completely different country. We are comparing ourselves with our region.
We used to be at the very bottom.
Today, we are almost on equal footing with countries that were once far ahead of us, and we will continue to grow the economy.
The economy grows through work, not through stones.
The economy grows through cooperation, not by turning our backs on one another.
The economy grows when everyone takes responsibility.
And those who thought they could get away with anything, those who attacked banks with stones and fire as part of a sinister scenario to create panic, will be held fully accountable.
Meanwhile, there is nothing to take from bank counters.
You know this better than I do, better than anyone.
But everyone with even a little common sense knows that ripping out ATMs to take the money inside them is absurd, especially when those machines serve everyone and must be restored as soon as possible.
However, to restore everything as quickly as possible, we will not only introduce the package of measures without delay, but we will also invest rapidly in technology and begin identifying the people behind anonymous profiles that incite violence.
By investing rapidly in technology, we will identify those wearing hoods, even if they keep their hoods on and even if they cover their entire faces.
Because we will track them down.
We will track them down through the eyes of technology.
And this is not merely a statement.
It is a warning to everyone who still has violence in mind to abandon that path as soon as possible.
Anyone who has a minor child must take responsibility for that child.
Italy has done it. France has done it.
I said a few days ago that we would do it too.
The bill will be sent to the family.
The family will pay.
The family of a minor who comes and burns someone else’s property will no longer receive any services from the state.
And, of course, we will place violent individuals on a special register.
And, of course, we will impose extensive restrictions on their access.
We will restrict their access to airports, hotels, trains and all means of transport.
Naturally, we will cooperate, and we have already begun working with European Union countries to prevent these individuals from entering those countries on the grounds that they are violent.
Therefore, it is absolutely essential to understand that violence has no place and will have no place in this country.
Meanwhile, dialogue, the exchange of ideas, democratic debate and sitting around a table to find new solutions can serve us, just as they did during the extraordinary protests of 2018.
That was a peaceful student protest, a protest involving university lecturers and students.
It was not a protest by certain individuals who, before being lecturers, are standard-bearers of an opposition party and who come and break the chairs set out for dialogue at the Prime Minister’s Office, accompanied by all kinds of people who have absolutely nothing to do with the university and who refuse to distance themselves from violence.
We learned lessons from the 2018 protests.
We introduced the Pact for the University.
We have achieved many results.
We have completely transformed the situation in many areas.
There is still much to do, and we are working on it.
Every ministry, depending on its relationship with one or two universities in different sectors, is working to determine the next steps once this hysteria gives way to reason and dialogue.
Because if there is a competition to be critical of the government and the administration, I am ready to enter that competition, and I believe I would win against all reasonable critics.
But I have nothing in common with critics in traditional media who incite violence.
Neither in France, nor in Italy, Belgium or Portugal are there television channels that encourage violence and refuse to distance themselves from it.
In Italy, there is a name for those who engage in violence.
It is a term used by all Italian journalists across all media outlets: “little vandals.”
Here, however, they are portrayed as the heroes of the pseudo-student movement.
I do not want to go on much longer, but I want to tell you something else because it is extremely important.
From the very first day, we were aware that this would be a major challenge and a major test of the state’s character and dignity.
We were aware of this, and we also had information about the possibility of the worst-case scenarios, including attempts to provoke another “January 21.”
Attempts to provoke the police and those protecting state institutions into reacting disproportionately and, God forbid, creating a situation similar to January 21.
We were very aware of this.
We also neutralized a drone attack involving explosives targeting the Prime Minister’s Office.
But precisely because of this awareness, there has been a very clear red line for everyone.
Even those wearing hoods are the children of this country.
They are blind to what they are doing, they are manipulated, they are abandoned, perhaps some even by their own families.
But they are the children of this country.
And it is frightening to see people on television, who claim to represent public opinion and the voice of society in its relationship with the government, accusing the State Police of disproportionate violence.
In France, the ratio is one to 2.5.
That means one injured police officer for every 2.5 injured protesters or citizens.
In Italy, the ratio is one to two.
In other protests, whose figures I presented yesterday, in Spain and Germany, the ratio has reached one to four, one to five and even one to six.
That means far fewer injured police officers than protesters.
In Albania, the ratio is reversed.
Of every three people injured, two are police officers, with the total including protesters and innocent passers-by.
How is that disproportionate?
Two police officers out of every three injured people.
This means that, as a state, we are acting entirely in self-defense.
The police are acting defensively.
And anyone who complains that they were there peacefully should leave and distance themselves from those throwing stones and wearing masks, rather than following them.
Because the police do not enter a crowd to perform ballet.
They enter to confront those who attack them.
And whoever remains around those individuals is siding with them.
They are not siding with peace or peaceful protest.
And, of course, we will clarify something else.
Participating in a demonstration with one’s face covered will itself constitute a violation of the law.
Simply covering one’s face.
Anyone who does not want to be met with tear gas has no reason to cover their face.
All they need to do is refrain from throwing stones, committing violence, breaking things or engaging in vandalism.
Then there will be no need for tear gas or anything else.
And fortunately, today we are not alone.
The whole of democratic Europe is under this attack.
Albania is part of it, and we now have examples to follow.
We waited for those countries to act first so that no one could accuse us of restricting democratic freedoms.
Thank you once again for the understanding you have shown us in this situation.
I know you have suffered damage.
I know your daily working routines have been disrupted.
But I also know that everything is entirely under control, that you are resuming your activities and that work is continuing normally.
I express my solidarity and respect for you.
And rest assured that there is absolutely no chance, in any form, that violence and undemocratic pressure will be imposed on this country, on its capital, on its institutions, or on your ability to operate and carry out your work normally.
Thank you!
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