A group of lawyers, journalists, members of parliament, civil society representatives and academics have sent a letter to European Commissioner Marta Kos, expressing their disappointment with the European Commission’s statement of 18 October on the protests in Albania.
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In the letter addressed to Commissioner Kos, the signatories say that the European Commission’s statement condemns acts of violence attributed to protesters, but does not mention reports of five days of disproportionate police force used against peaceful demonstrators.
LETTER IN ENGLISH
Dear Commissioner Kos,
We write to express our deep disappointment with the Commission’s statement of 18 October on the protests in Albania.
We share the Commission’s position that violence has no place in a democratic society. However, the statement condemns only acts attributed to protesters, while remaining silent on credible reports of five days of disproportionate police force against peaceful demonstrators, including students, shared with the EU Delegation to Albania via this link. Instead, it welcomes the government’s assurances and reaffirms Albania’s “important progress” at a moment when fundamental freedoms are under strain.
While the EU hears assurances from Rama, Albanian citizens hear “You are a bunch of incompetents… mediocre… envious people” and more in this video (subtitles in English) published yesterday morning on his Facebook account (original video).
This imbalance risks being read in Albania as an endorsement of the authorities’ handling of the protests, which will lead to more state violence. It undermines the credibility of the Commission’s fundamental-rights benchmarks for a candidate country, and it weakens trust in the EU among the young citizens most committed to Albania’s European future.
We therefore respectfully ask the Commission to:
Clarify publicly that the standard of accountability applies equally to excessive use of force by law enforcement.
Call for an independent and prompt investigation into allegations of police misconduct.
Reflect these events in its assessment under the Fundamentals cluster (Chapter 23) in the forthcoming Albania report.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with your cabinet or with DG ENEST.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Mirza Balaj
On behalf of a group of lawyers, journalists, parliamentarians, civil society organisations, and academics:
Edlira Cepani, Lawyer
Irena Dule, Lawyer
Redi Muci, Member of the Albanian Parliament
Mariana Koceku, Member of the Albanian Parliament
AOS, Civil society organization
PPNEA, Civil society organization
Diaspora of Albania, Civil Society organization
Ervin Goci, Academic
Ermal Pashaj, Academic
Gjergj Erebara, Journalist
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