TIRANA, March 24 – The Gerdec tragedy showed that the country’s law enforcement and security institutions failed, according to Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
That was a bold statement made last weekend by Berisha in an effort to find the causes of the March 15 explosions that killed at least 22 people and injured more than 300.
In another statement, an adviser to former Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu said Sunday that the army command, not civilians, had chosen Gerdec as the location for the ammunition disposal factory.
However, media reports said that army Chief-of-Staff, Gen. Lt. Luan Hoxha has said, while questioned at the prosecutor office, that the army had been sidelined by the ministry in that project.
Berisha said that the secret police, the army, customs and other institutions had all failed in preventing the Gerdec tragedy.
He added that deep reforms were needed to assure that future tragedies do not occur. Berisha added that reform did not mean officials needed to be transferred or dismissed from various posts. In practice, especially in Albania, it has been customary for people to be removed from posts during reforms.
