During an interview in Opinion with Blendi Fevziu and other journalists on Thursday evening, Former Minister of Interior Saimir Tahiri has attacked foreign ambassadors in Albania, especially the American one, by criticizing their interventions in the interior affairs of the country, as well as the low efficiency of their assistance programs for the police.
Tahiri opposed the idea that organized crime is a serious problem in Albania, stating that the currently existing criminal gangs can easily be annihilated.
In my estimation there are no mafia families, it is an unnecessary exaggeration. Of course there are mafia clans, that can be easily taken apart. […] Albania is never a country that has such big wounds of crime and criminality.
The journalist panel opposed him, citing the various international reports and statements by foreign ambassadors related to the escalating crime situation in the country.
Responding to the mentioning of the ambassadors, Tahiri said:
I have a lot of respect for the ambassadors in general, even though I have known them differently, each with their own issues, they’re also human.
With his statement “I have known them differently,” Tahiri appeared to suggest that they are not what they seem in public, insinuating ironically the ambassadors also have their sins, just like everyone else.
It seems that he reserved his greatest irony and discontent for the US Ambassador, Donald Lu, after journalist Lorenc Vangjeli retorted, “even the US Ambassador?” Tahiri replied, “even the US Ambassador.”
Tahiri also clearly expressed his opposition the foreign ambassadors’ intervention in internal Albanian affairs:
I have not preferred to be the type of politician who prostrates himself before and ambassador, or to now and then kiss their hand. I have though that Albania is a sovereign state which solves its own worries by itself and I have not expected some ambassador to come and solve the problems that we can’t solve ourselves.
This criticism seemed targeted in the first place against the US and EU ambassadors, which have been extraordinarily active in Albanian political life and have publicly voiced advice, conditions, and orders to national politicians.
Tahiri continued:
Albania doesn’t need ambassadors that point out how many mafia families or clans there are, I have told the ambassadors back then that I don’t need public criticism from an ambassadors, when they talk about the police they should come and offer concrete help.
He based this critique on the fact that the foreign aid programs, supported and financed by foreign partners, did not give any real assistance and were inefficient:
In 20 years, the State Police has received €90 million in aid, from which on 12 are real aid, the rest are just fairytales, drivel, trainings, useless expertise, fairytales.
Meanwhile if the international community wants to help, it should really help, not with words and fairytales.
With his criticism Tahiri thus attacked the different programs, such as OPDAT, ICITAP, and EURALIUS, initiated by US and EU allies to support and train the State Police, part of whose effectiveness has been undermined by the constant personnel and leadership changes within the police and government in general.
