Citizens fear the authorities and tax administration / Saimir Korreshi: Institutions act like tax collectors; a system of theft has been established

Democratic Party MP Saimir Korreshi has said that citizens’ greatest fear is not of the police but of state institutions, such as the tax administration, which he says put pressure on businesses and citizens.

Speaking to News24, he criticized the way institutions operate, accusing them of arrogance.

Korreshi said a system of theft has been established that allows abuses and is then used to exert blackmail.

“For me, it is not so much fear of the police as fear of those in power, fear of the tax administration, the National Food Authority (AKU), and so on. All these institutions act like tax collectors, arrogantly telling people, ‘What is your problem? The services will be there, there will be services, we will wipe you out.’ They have established a system of theft in which they let people steal, and then, when the big boss blows the whistle, he can blackmail them all. That frightens me more. I do not believe citizens are afraid of a police officer,” Korreshi said, among other things.

Korreshi also commented on Parliament’s approval of the new territorial reform, which passed with 85 votes in favor from the ruling majority.

The Democratic Party MP described the vote as “the death of democracy,” accusing the MPs who supported the initiative of disregarding citizens’ voices, particularly those of residents of Fier County, Divjaka, Patos and 13 other municipalities affected by the reform.