By ROLAND QAFOKU
It has now turned into some sort of unwritten rule that each time there’s a change of power in Albania, the administration finds itself in a crossroad. But there’s also a structure of the state which finds itself in this kind of situation not only when power is handed from one party to another, but even when ministers belonging to the same political party change. This is the state police.
Since the arrival of pluralism, the left wing and right wing have governed five times in periods which have not lasted more than 8 consecutive years. Out of these, the left wing has been three times in power, while the right wing has been twice.
Since the arrival of pluralism, Albania has seen 9 prime ministers, starting with Fatos Nano in 1991 and ending up with the current Prime Minister, Edi Rama. But the cabinets of these 9 prime ministers have had 24 interior ministers. This is a record number and it is believed that no ministry can ever break this record. Out of these 24 ministers, 14 of them belonged to the left wing, while 10 of them belonged to the right wing. The minister who has remained the longest in office was Saimir Tahiri with 3 years and six months. He remained in this post from 12 September 2013 until 12 March 2017, when PM Edi Rama removed him. Meanwhile, the minister with the shortest term in office was Ali Kazazi with 21 days. He remained in office from 4 to 25 July 1997. Meanwhile, statistics regarding the terms in office for police commissioners are even more interesting. Their number is smaller than the number of ministers, but the majority of them not only have not remained in office for the full length of their term, but they have also been removed upon the discretion of the political force which has been in power or the acting minister. It’s a real disgrace for a state which aspires to be serious that from 1990 until today, no police commissioner has been in office for the full length of five years of the term. The police commissioner with the longest period in office was Hysni Burgaj with almost 4 years. Burgaj remained in this post from 28 October 2009 until 10 October 2013, leaving a month after the Socialist Party came in power. The police commissioner with the shortest term in office was Hasan Ahmetaj with 2 months and 7 days. Ahmetaj remained in this post from 4 September 1998 until 9 November 1998.
These figures are enough to realize the kind of stability that heads of district policies or heads of precincts may have enjoyed during this time.
Political rotation has been one of the reasons behind the changes of police chiefs and in a way, judging by the manner in which Albanian politics functions, this is normal within a typical Albanian abnormality. But the biggest problem is that there have also been changes within police ranks when there were changes of ministers belonging to the same political force. Almost every minister who has assumed office, has aimed at removing the police commissioner and if he hasn’t succeeded in this, then he has removed the chiefs of police in the districts and the chiefs of police precincts. This goes for both the left wing and the right wing, without exception. The whole public opinion may recall a meeting that PM Edi Rama held with heads of police in the districts in October 2013. The head of the government had invited the 12 chiefs of police who had just been appointed and who were very eager and excited to fight crime. A few days earlier, the PM had discharged 12 chiefs of police who had worked during the time of the DP in office. During that meeting, the Prime Minister declared that as of now, police would no longer be betrayed and that the career of each competent and uncorrupt police officer would be guaranteed. For three and a half years as minister of Interior, Saimir Tahiri would consider those police chiefs as the heroes of the state. But when Saimir Tahiri left office, almost all of them left as well. One of the first orders issued by the new minister of Interior, Fatmir Xhafaj was to remove 9 police chiefs, meaning that only 3 of them were spared. While Tahiri considered them heroes, Xhafaj accused them by saying that cannabis was not cultivated without their knowledge. So, when the SP came in power, it removed all the chiefs of police, but some of them were also removed when the ministers of the same political force changed.
Personally, I praise minister Xhafa’s reaction against cannabis, but what I don’t understand is why police chiefs are assessed in a different way under different ministers in office.
This is so evident that from 1990 until today, we don’t have a single police officer who has started his career in 1990 and continues to be part of police ranks today.
It’s very ironic, but to this day, many professional and honest police officers have been removed from the force just because their ministers have changed.
Another serious problem is the closure of Police Academy for more than a decade. Currently, we don’t have police officers in their 30s who are making a career based on their education and experience. This situation may bring insecurities among police ranks and insecurities in law and order. Those who benefit the most from this situation is the criminal contingent and criminal organizations.
So, not only would I suggest to minister of Interior Fatmir Xhafaj not to remove specialists and competent officials within police ranks, but he must also recruit all those specialists and police officers who do not make compromises with crime and who have been removed due to political changes and the change of minister.
This is the only way police will belong to the state and not the party in power, or even the acting minister. This is the only way we will have the police that we want. Otherwise, it will remain the police force of the party in power and perhaps, even the police force of the acting minister.
Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy.
