Prime Minister Edi Rama’s interview with BBC Newsnight
BBC: This evening I spoke to the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama. Why did he want to speak out?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: I though it came a point where it was not impossible to not react, because it was really an embarrassment for our civilization to hear all kind of crazy words being thrown in the air like a normality and the word “invasion” was the peak.
BBC: Why do you think the British Home Secretary is using words like “invasion”?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: It is not about one person only, but it is about the climate that has been created and it is about finding scapegoats, and blaming others while it is quite obvious even from Tirana, which is not near London. It is all about failed policies and it is not about Albanians or aliens or gangsters, but it is about failed policies on borders and on crime.
BBC: What do you think they should do?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: It is not about what I think, but there are other clear examples, the very, very clear example of Germany, for instance. With Germany we had the very same problem some years ago. And Germany moved in the right direction. Germany never blamed Albania and German politicians never came out saying “oh, we are being invaded by Albanians” and so on and so forth, but they legislated about Albania being a safe country of origin.
BBC: What do you think the consequences of that might be for the Albanians settled in the UK?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Oh of course, this kind of language for sure doesn’t come for good. This kind of language is not a policy, is not a programme, is not a vision. This is nothing but fuelling xenophobia and targeting, singling out a community and practically going totally against the British tradition of integrating the minorities. It used to be a role model in this and now is becoming like, like –I don’t know- like a madhouse.
BBC: You seem pretty angry about this?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: No, I am not angry at all. I am a big admirer of the United Kingdom. I have friends that I am privileged to have there. I admire everything that Britain represents. But I really am disgusted about this kind of politics that at the end is doomed to fail.
BBC: That’s interesting. I want to ask you Prime Minister if you would be prepared to work with the UK, the UK government and UK agencies to clamp down these criminal gangs?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: We work with the UK agencies and it is not the UK, it is not the UK professionals the problem. The problem is this political rhetoric of nonsense. So I would say that if what we have already discussed many times on bringing together our professional people, letting them do their work, sharing information and going after the real criminals, but not targeting the whole community like criminals, we could have been much more successful and we could have helped together these kids that are, as you said, manipulated by traffickers.
BBC: Are there failed policies in Albania, which might contribute to this as well?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: I hear it very often with people saying that Albania is a country that has corruption and so on and so forth. Albania is not Britain, Albania is not Germany, but Albania is a country that has been for a long time the victim of the various empires. We never had one and we are on this new path towards becoming a functioning democracy and of course we have our problems. But again, not being in the EU network, we are not in the free labour market and that’s why people seek this kind of different ways. But if you are to see how many people of other nationalities come a go in and from countries like yours, then the reason is elsewhere. The reason is exactly the same like young British kids from Britain’s remote areas and outskirts find the need and the push to leave their home, to leave their village, to leave their peripheral grey and hopeless areas and come to London. Albania has more hope then.
