Albania\u2019s new Minister of Interior Taulant Balla held his first meeting with Ministry directors and Police leaders this Monday, after he was sworn in the new duty over the weekend.<\/p>\n
As the appointment of a new minister of interior is usually accompanied by changes in the State Police structure in Albania, Balla chose to break that tradition and not announce any essential changes. However, he had a warning for all those who will want to stay in the State Police ranks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhoever is ready to improve in the position they hold in this common front line will have my unwavering support at every step. And those who are not willing to go beyond themselves, to increase their contribution to the common cause, will find it impossible to stay in their position.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Balla\u2019s strongest calls was directed to the senior leaders of the police, who might face with pressures from deputies, aiming to interfere with the work of the State Police.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo deputy should and can interfere in your work, so whoever accepts interference from deputies in any specific aspect of their duties cannot justify their continuation in office. A deputy has a duty to address any concerns, and you have a duty to listen to them respectfully whenever they call you, but for any case where the reason for the call constitutes interference in the performance of your duties, I ask you to direct the deputy to me. I believe it goes without saying that when I mention the deputy, the interference of anyone else is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
As one of the first orders in the new duty, Balla asked his subordinates to arrest the brother and son of former Socialist MP Rrahman Rraja, who barbarically assaulted two citizens who complained about the stone quarry owned by them. The Minister also announced that the Police Station of Fush\u00eb Kruja has been completely revamped.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the first meeting I held with the General Director and the Director of Tirana, my first request was the immediate arrest of the brother and son of the Member of Parliament from Fush\u00eb Kruja, who is a friend and former colleague of mine, Rrahman Rraja, who fulfilled his duty by resigning and morally taking responsibility for his actions. However, the State Police has not yet fulfilled its duty to bring these two individuals, who have already appeared before the justice system, to legal punishment. That ugly scene in Fush\u00eb Kruja has a much more significant meaning for the State Police than the capture of its authors. Because that scene speaks of a previously orchestrated situation, stemming from the unacceptable tolerance of the police in that area, which ignored the complaints of the residents and, as a result, chose to become a shield of lawlessness, acting strong against the weak and weak against the strong. The dissolution of the Fush\u00eb Kruja Police Station was the appropriate response to a failure much broader and deeper than the surface conflict that brought the failure to light.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the end, the new minister of interior of Albania stressed the importance of the continuation of the fight against corruption, while warning that any police officer caught in violation with their duty will not be able to escape without punishment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fight against corruption does not begin outside us but primarily within our ranks. The State Police Oversight Agency was created with a law developed in cooperation with our international partners. My question, after so much time has passed since the establishment of the Agency, is how many directors and police station chiefs have been caught red-handed? I am not questioning the results of the agency here, but I cannot avoid questioning the fact that behind its statistics lies the truth that many small wrongdoers in uniform have been hit, but there have been more big wrongdoers than few, not to say none!\u201d<\/p>\n
Taulant Balla replaces former Minister Bledi \u00c7u\u00e7i in the position of Minister of Interior, following the latter\u2019s dismissal from Prime Minister Edi Rama.<\/p>\n
Previously, Balla has served as the head of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Albania\u2019s new Minister of Interior Taulant Balla held his first meeting with Ministry directors and Police leaders this Monday, after he was sworn in the new duty over the weekend. As the appointment of a new minister of interior is usually accompanied by changes in the State Police structure in Albania, Balla chose to break […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":57394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[1353,377,243,151,3304,2039,2176],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n