Press point by Prime Minister Edi Rama following the cabinet meeting, where a series of important decisions were made, including the one on strengthening school safety and security, stepping up fight against crime, and closure of electronic gambling and betting shops in residential areas:
Good morning everyone!
The reason for this press conference is the need to communicate to the public some measures I think have a special value and I believe they will be more than welcome in every family.
First of all, the government decided today to start implementation of the new programme on deployment of security officers in schools across the country. The programme was initially piloted in 15 schools and it has yielded satisfactory results that have been confirmed by the community of teachers, parents and the State Police. The programme will now expand to 150 schools, mainly high school institutions, with as many as 150 police officers, specially trained for this tailor-made programme – will be deployed immediately. It is a programme that – just like the pilot project has already shown – ensures a significant increase in the interaction between the school, the families and the State Police in order to steer pupils away from the channels of narcotics but also to prevent acts of violence or bullying in the school premises, and protect their health from smoking and prevent truancy in schools.
The programme comes with a series of advantages every parent, every school and the whole society is interested in as it ensures a missing link, because security officer is not merely a policeman, he will take on the role of a guardian and mediator in relations between children, teachers and parents. I am pretty confident that taking notice of what we have already seen in the first 15 schools included in the pilot project, the program will provide a new basis for security and public order at schools.
Without going through this topic extensively, allow me to say that a special interest was shown in this programme during the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs in Tirana and the Austrian Interior Minister, not only showed interest, but also expressed readiness to cooperate in this programme. Although it may make someone smile, the truth is that the school problems, notably in high school institutions, are not Albanian problems only, but they are common problems faced by every country. Richer nations face higher and ever increasing strong drugs abuse problems in schools.
On the other hand, we are also working on full implementation of the decision to ultimately ban the use of cell phones by schoolchildren and teachers alike.
Secondly, we have decided to undertake a legal change regarding suspects, or convicts involved in organized crime, or terror organizations, who will now undergo a new, very strict isolation and monitoring regime, by having cut any contact of whatsoever, internal and external communication during the whole time of detention and serving the prison sentence. It’s a model you can go over details, referring to the aspect of the penitentiary legislation, or prison administration act that the Italians call the Article 41-bis, which means that these kind of crime world representatives will have very limited contact with other human beings and will be very strictly monitored during whole they serve their prison sentence.
Third, we have decided to set up a non-stop surveillance and monitoring room in all high-security prisons, first at “313” prison and the Power of Law operation facility. Meanwhile, a non-stop surveillance room will also become operational at the Prison Control and Management Service to monitor around the clock all penitentiary institutions across the Republic of Albania. The move will take safety and security of our jails and prisons to a previously unknown level. This will also take the fight against the endemic corruption in prisons to a previously unknown level. This will take the responsibility and accountability of those working in the penitentiary system of the Republic of Albania to a previously unknown level and it also take the surveillance of inmates to a new and previously unknown level, providing non-stop, 24 hours during entire time of serving the prison sentence. The decision to set up the surveillance centre will crack down to minimize, if not completely eliminate, on phenomena when cell phones are smuggled into prisons and it ensures that jails are places where inmates serve sentence and places from where certain individuals run the crime world.
Fourth, I believe this is news every Albanian family will wholeheartedly welcome and it has to do with an amendment to the gambling law. According to the law, all electronic casinos will cease operating starting as of December 31 this year. The today’s change to the law includes also the sports betting, and every other type of betting on horse racing, dog racing or any other racing games with any slaves of the Albanian fauna. Meanwhile, work is underway for a new registering, licensing and monitoring in distance this activity and the new regime will be put in place within the 31 December deadline.
For anyone who will seek to break the new law’s siege by resorting to the methods that broke the governing coalition when closure of this activity of national craze was postponed, I would like to explain that the National Lottery won’t contain elements of electronic casinos, or VLT systems as they are formally known. Given that the National Lottery is a concession, the contract on which, as everyone knows, has been already signed in the past based on a special law and beyond the arguments provided by business, the employees and revenues – for the sake of truth the revenues have doubled to over 54 million dollars compared to the past thanks to the formalization of this sector and the tax collection through the formalization, despite the fact that some 40 companies operated in the past but half of the revenue collected and now only 20 companies operate today but the revenues have increased two-fold – no betting shop and no electronic casino across the territory of the Republic of Albania will open their doors starting as of 1st January 2018.
Pursuant to the existing law, which bans ads from any betting company and which has been by every media in the country, I want to warn everyone: Every media should remove and stop broadcasting betting and gambling ads on TV channels, radio, newspapers or portals within the next 24 hours. The AMA (Audio-visive Media Authority) should guarantee that TV and radio channels abide to the law, whereas we will forcefully shut down any online websites that continue to promote these betting and gambling ads and violating the existing law of the Republic of Albania after the 24-hour deadline.
Likewise, the government decided today to suspend the operation of the Gambling Supervisory Authority, which until December 31st will be transformed and robotized through digital technology to function as a supervisor under the new regime.
Last, the government has begun drafting a package of amendments to the Criminal Code for the so-called “strongmen”. The package is called “criminal strongmen”, to whom, through an exemplary treatment, through the escalation of the State Police pressure in every territory, we will reserve exemplary punishment for their preferred forms of defying the law, the citizens and the business.
Of course, since it includes changes to the Criminal Procedure Code, we will soon share the package with the opposition, hoping it will return from the movie world to the reality of the fight against crime.
These were the decisions and measures made by the government today.
Mr Rama, did the Albanian government influence Telekom Albania decision not accept the Serbian Telekom’s purchase bid and have you communicated with President Vucic, because a day ago he said he will talk to you over this issue?
Second question, have you been informed over a DP platform regarding the electoral reform? You have repeatedly stated that the government would welcome any opposition proposal on the electoral reform. Will you examine the platform as an opportunity to sit on the table and accept the opposition demands?
PM Edi Rama: Thank you. I believe the today’s press conference was abundant in terms of the topics it dealt with. However, respecting you for taking trouble to come here I will briefly state that, first, the Albanian government is no part of any transactions that will be carried out by the private company Deutsche Telekom, which has an exit strategy from the small markets and is making sales, not only in Albania, with the companies it plans to sell its business. However, this is a strategic sector and of course the Albania government should be asked of an opinion from the interested part itself. The Albanian government’s stance is simple and clear; the Serbian businesses are welcome in the Republic of Albania, but regarding this strategic sector it is not our preference.
As for the proposed platform, frankly saying, yesterday I have been really busy with unmasking the opposition’s fake montage of alleged audio recordings and I have seen no platform of whatsoever being introduced, but, bringing to your attention the fact that the first series of “Babale 1” contains organized crime elements, convicts on organized crime charges, corruption and direct involvement of the political party in collaboration also with corruption offers and more than this, because the film’s screenplay has been written in two antechambers of the Albanian state and I would like to invite you all provide your contribution to the public in order to ensure that such an extreme demonstration of the most heinous brutality of the politics shall go unreported.
As for the election, we have a recommendation. The European Council’s conclusion include a recommendation initially tabled by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the process of considering it by the Brussels institutions and which of course takes into consideration the concerns voiced by the Democratic Party over the elections and which we have considered very seriously just like we have done with every other recommendation. The German government has been involved in this process through its Embassy here, along with the Social-Democratic Foundation and the conservative foundation Friedrich-Ebert and Konrad-Adenauer, with whom we have been working in absence of the other party and we have made ready the whole draft of proposals based on the OSCE-ODIHR recommendations. Plus, we have been working for months to explore the possibility of pilot voting and electronic counting. We are ready for this too it would be sufficing for the other party to join and agree to discuss and agree to apply and implement all recommendations. What can we do more?
Since you are familiar with what you term as “Babale 1” movie, is there any DP MP who deserves to face criminal charges? Secondly, when you speak of state antechambers, do you doubt the State Information Service?
PM Edi Rama: It is up to you to do the journalist’s job. If you are really dealing with true journalism, then you can easily answer to these questions and you could have done so well ahead of the Prosecution’s Office efforts to discover the half conclusions it has already found out.
I don’t want to speak further about this. I know everything from start to finish, because I have employed a special group that has been dealing with the issue from the very beginning in order for myself to find out and learn the whole truth and I expect the truth to be revealed in full. Of course, I don’t render decisions and I don’t make closing arguments, since, fortunately we live in a system where tasks are separated, the powers are separated, but I want to ensure you that the Albanians will find out and learn about it by names and surnames whoever is involved in this genuine conspiracy to oust the government.
Since you mentioned a group you have set up, which is the role of the former head of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, Lou Bladel, who has also been a formed Snowden investigator, in the group you have set up to look into the so-called Babale case? Did he make any suggestion also regarding the Article 41-bis?
PM Rama Edi Rama: I have no comment. We are too serious in our whole endeavour to combat crime, to battle the financing of crime, in our fight against money laundry and fiscal evasion. Other things you will certainly see, because this is our duty. On the other hand, we, and I in particular, are not in the position to do your job and the commentator’s job, or rush into reactions. You could have been the first ones to discover that cameras in Fushe-Kruja screen the truth inside. This was said in the statement, but it is not my duty to do your job nor to create the idea of interfering in a process that is already underway.
Good bye!
