Academy of Science remains without state funds and it risking to be evicted from it premises, following a “war” that has been declared between this institution and the head of the government.
Everything started as Mr. Rama announced on Monday morning, a few hours before the elections at the Academy of Sciences took place, that if it didn’t undergo a reformation, then it would no longer receive any funds and it would be evicted from its premises.
“If it the Academy of Sciences doesn’t undergo reformation, it will receive not even a single penny from the budget and it must empty its premises! Let’s put a stop to this farce”, Mr. Rama declared through a posting in social networks.
A few hours later, the Academy of Science announces the reelection of Prof. Dr. Gudar Beqiraj as its chairman, responding to Rama with the words: “legal process” and “statute”. Immediately afterwards, Mr. Rama replied by considering this as a pseudo-academy and by saying: “Given that the ‘Academy’ chose the farce, I hope that they will find the necessary funds to continue this farce! Our funds will go to the university for scientific research”.
Rama’s decision prompted different reactions. A part of them were critical against the Prime Minister.
EXCLUSIVE/Prof. Beqir Meta, academic and former director of the National Historical Musem is interviewed by Albanian Free Press
Meta: If funds are pulled, science will be destroyed
“Rama’s threat would be considered as a scandal in every country of the world. There’s no reform in the domain of science with zero budget”
The elections for the heads of the Academy of Science have prompted a wide debate. The “spark” was lit by one of the members of the highest scientific institution, Prof. Artan Fuga, who denounced the “rotation” of the heads of this institution: The chairman becomes vice chairman and the vice chairman becomes a chairman. The debate also saw the involvement of PM Rama, who announced that funds will be pulled and threatened that the premises of this institution would be taken by the state, after considering these elections as a farce.
But what really happened in the elections for the heads of the institution? How should the Academy of Science be reformed? Prof. Beqir Meta, academic and former head of the National Historical Museum considers the declaration issued by PM Rama as outrageous and the pulling of funds as something that will destroy science. In an interview given last night for Albanian Free Press, the academic said that the institution has no funds for scientific research and that the government should intervene in this aspect. According to him, it’s not the scientists who should be blamed, but the lack of funding for scientific projects. Meta warns that the pulling of funds destroys Albanian science: “The lifting of funds is a destruction of Albanian science. The country gains by developing institutions of scientific research and not by destroying them. It doesn’t matter if the declaration is a threat or a concrete act. The fact that it was articulated is a serious mistake. A state is based on laws and not on threats. This is not the way how to consolidate a state. It’s very simple: The strongest one, the government, blames the weakest one, the scientists. Such declaration would be considered a big scandal in each country of the civilized world”.
EXCLUSIVE/The reelected chairman of the Academy of Science, Prof. Dr. Gudar Beqiraj talks to the Albanian Free Press about the latest developments
Beqiraj: If Rama pulls our funds, the Academy will be closed
The reelected chairman of the Academy of Science, Prof. Dr. Gudar Beqiraj says that after yesterday’s election process, a new page of reforms is opening up. In an interview with Albanian Free Press, Mr. Beqiraj says that letters such as the one by the academic, Artan Fuga, must not push the Prime Minister and the public opinion to engage in an institutional clash. Meanwhile, he has a said prediction for the fate of the Academy of Science. He says that if Rama implements the decision that he has announced in social networks to pull funds and transfer these funds to the state university, then the Academy of Science will close. However, Mr. Beqiraj is hopeful that this will not happen, because there may be intervention from the international community:
“I don’t think it’s an official decision, because it was announced on Facebook. It’s not easy to pull the funds of the Academy of Science. But, if funds are not allocated, the Academy of Science will be closed. However, it is not that simple, because things will become clearer and I believe that Mr. Rama will give way to dialogue to continue the reforms. It’s been three years that we’re getting ready for the reforms and the Prime Minister will understand us. The Academy of Science is a very important scientific institution where international institutions have their say in the matter. Personally, I believe that there will be a solution”.
But what are Beqiraj’s objectives as head of the Academy of Science for the next four years? He answers: “The main objective of the Academy of Science is to conduct reforms within the institution, deep reforms in which we are ready to cooperate with the government. We cannot make reforms without collaborating with the government. Even the government cannot make the reform without collaborating with the Academy of Science”.
