Tirana Times Editorial
TIRANA, Jan 27 – Seeking justice and shedding full light into the deadly opposition protest in front of the government building on Jan 21, 2011 is vital for Albania for reasons that are too important for anyone to ignore.
Violence led to loss of life and injuries. Four people were killed and scores of others were injured in the middle of the day, in the heart of the capital.
It is simply unacceptable for a NATO member and an EU hopeful to kill protestors. The year we left behind was full of protests around the globe. It wasn’t just the Arab spring; 2011 was a year of protests in countries with consolidated democracies too. Yet no protesters were killed in the western democratic countries. Killing protesters is something the happens in the middle east, not the west, the direction in which Albania wants to head.
It is also important to point out that what happens with the Jan. 21 investigation will be a measure of how the Albanian public perceives the justice system in this country.
Lutfi Dervishi, an independent analyst, says with a full measure of sarcasm, that justice in Albania exists, it’s just very expensive, referring to the largest problem the Albanian justice system faces – corruption. But in the Jan. 21 case, the main challenge is political, which can be even more problematic that corruption.
The key question is whether a fair investigation and trial can be held when they involve high profile political actors and factors. The prime minister has described the Jan. 21 events as a coup headed by the state’s general prosecutor, the president and the head of the opposition. The list originally included journalists too, though they were later dropped.
There was also an ad-hoc parliamentary committee put together to investigate this alleged coup, reminiscent of Bolshevik committees and show trials that Albanians who lived under communism remember well.
The evidence, some of it backed by the FBI crime labs, is now back in Albania. Independent institutions have also offered their input – yet the question remains whether under the current politically polarized climate the courts will be able to offer solutions based on law and verdicts that free of fear. It remains to be seen if that will be the case.
The investigation and court cases that are to follow offer a second chance for the justice system and the state itself to redeem themselves. The executive branch can also show whether it will respect the judiciary or whether it will try to interfere.
The case can show whether Albania is going in the direction of full rule of law and justice that is equal for all, regardless of who stands in front of it or who holds executive political power.
The justice system lost one chance to redeem itself in the case of the former deputy prime minister accused of corruption Let’s hope it doesn’t squander the second chance provided by even the more important case of Jan. 21.
