Çollaku: Rama’s reward exposed the police officers who assaulted 14-year-olds

Former MP and former adviser to the president of Kosovo, Kreshnik Çollaku, said the government’s decision to reward police officers had revealed the identities of those who, according to him, used violence against minors during the student protests.

Speaking Monday on the show “Now,” hosted by Erla Mëhilli on Euronews Albania, Çollaku described the decision as “a good service,” as it now makes it possible to identify the officers who struck 14-year-olds in the streets of Tirana.

According to him, the police officers involved in these actions do not deserve to wear the State Police uniform, and any future government should remove them from its ranks.

Çollaku said the main concern of the protesters, as well as of those involved in politics, had been precisely the inability to learn who was hiding behind the masks. He added that the reward approved by Edi Rama had made it possible to identify them.

“They will all be on the Interior Ministry’s payroll. Whoever received €2,500 for beating Tirana’s 14-year-old children will be removed from the State Police on the first day another government takes office,” he said.

Çollaku stressed that the police’s duty is to protect institutions, property and citizens’ lives, not to pursue or use violence against minors in the streets of Tirana. He described the officers involved as “thugs,” not as police officers worthy of serving in the State Police.