As the country has been engulfed by protests for two months, Prime Minister Edi Rama has decided to comment on them during an interview for “Channel 4”.
Rama stated that he has reflected on the protest that has been going on for 2 months before the Prime Minister’s Office and that he understands the protesters.
The Prime Minister also added that the protest is a mirror to see “what we should reflect on”.
Journalist: Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, for hosting us. The protesters have been protesting for almost 60 days. How do you feel when protesters are outside your office night after night?
Edi Rama: It is something wonderful for the country, for society, because on the same boulevard, not long ago, about 15 years ago, people were killed with live bullets while protesting peacefully.
I have reflected a lot on this protest and I have come to the conclusion that for people it is not about the facts, and rightly so, but about the highest expectations that put them on the street. This is not a bad thing. It’s wonderful. That’s why I said it’s fantastic. So I understand them.
Journalist: Have you reconsidered any of your policies as a result of these protests?
Edi Rama: What policies?
Journalist: The policies related to the project in Sazan and Zvrnec, where it all started, because of the endangerment of the flamingo habitat and other habitats there.
Edi Rama: No. No project has started.
Journalist: I have seen it.
Edi Rama: No.
Journalist: Then what did I see? Shouldn’t I believe my eyes?
Edi Rama: I will tell you what you have seen, but no project has been started. And as for Sazan, which you included in your question, there is neither project nor agreement in Sazan. The inclusion of Sazan here is quite unnecessary, because we still have nothing in Sazan.
Reporter: But Mr. Kushner and Mrs. Trump connected the two projects, right? They said the projects are linked.
Edi Rama: Yes, the idea is connected.
Journalist: Then explain to me, because I went to Zvrnec and saw the place where the project had started and then stopped.
Edi Rama: No. The project has not started in Zvrnec.
Journalist: Then what did I see with the fences and so on?
Edi Rama: I will explain. It is not the beginning of the project. They are only preparations for carrying out preliminary works, before the permission is granted, based on the environmental, geological and hydrological assessment.
Journalist: But usually the environmental assessment is done before the bulldozers are brought in, because they can damage the environment. Usually several scientists are sent to make the assessment.
Edi Rama: Bulldozers were used to open the passage for people, for the community, to create roads through private property, so that people would not be prevented from moving.
Journalist: But people used to cross the sandy road before. They were only trapped after the fence was put up.
Edi Rama: Again, if you want the facts, I’m telling you the facts.
Reporter: Mr. Kushner said you were on the yacht with them when they discovered the island in 2020.
Edi Rama: I was invited to join some people on a yacht that stopped in Albania to refuel on the way to Montenegro. It was Nat Rothschild’s yacht. I accepted the invitation and went. I met Jared and Ivanka there. I don’t know if they had heard of Albania before. But I can tell you for sure that they had no direct interest in Albania. They were very interested in the history and the place where they were.
Then, a few months later, I met Jared in Davos. He expressed his interest in exploring the investment opportunity. Of course I said yes. How could I say no? For me this was the most normal thing. This will be one of the most extraordinary developments that will happen to Europe after a long time. Not many extraordinary things have happened in Europe in recent years.
Reporter: Why is he so extraordinary?
Edi Rama: Because it won’t be the way people imagine it, wrongly. As you imagine, wrongly.
Reporter: I’m not imagining it. I’ve seen what Jared Kushner posted on Instagram and some of the other plans. I understand that they are not the final plans.
Edi Rama: What was published on Instagram was only a preliminary presentation. The project has evolved, the process has evolved. World-renowned architects and landscape designers with extensive experience in wetlands are now involved. At the same time, we are independently conducting an environmental impact assessment. The project does not intend to destroy a beautiful place. He intends to regenerate it.
Journalist: The European Commission has expressed concern and, of course, Albania’s membership in the European Union is very important to you. The Commission is concerned about environmental laws and also about changes in the environmental law of 2024, which creates a kind of exemption for strategic investments. Do you think you could revisit this?
Edi Rama: It is good, even very good, that the Commission is concerned. And it could not be otherwise. We are in negotiations to become members of the European Union. Therefore, the very idea that we can move forward with a project that does not comply with European standards is unacceptable. What I’m saying is: calm down, talk about the facts, comment on the facts and look at the facts. Do not rush to say that everything is catastrophic.
Journalist: It seems as if these accusations have hurt you personally.
Edi Rama: No, no. I’m not hurt.
Reporter: You seem to take it too personally though. It’s interesting.
Edi Rama: I am not hurt.
Reporter: Because you seem to take it too personally.
Edi Rama: Listen, everything is personal. Anyone who does his or her job with passion experiences it firsthand. But I’m not hurt. This has helped me.
As I told you before, for me the June protest, not the current one, was both a confirmation that the country is on another level and, on the other hand, a very clear picture to see what we should reflect on.
