Parliament should be sacrificed for a better justice system

Parliament should be sacrificed for a better justice system
This article has been written for Albanian Free Press newspaper and www.afp.al

By  SONILA MEÇO

Nothing changes until we face the true source of power, when politics has failed. And this time, it has failed completely.

Today’s headline was the following: Parliament rejects the Prosecution of Serious Crimes’ motion to allow the arrest of Saimir Tahiri MP.

The report of the socialist MPs, who were part of the Immunity Committee, against authorizing the arrest, received 75 votes in favor and 60 votes against.

Meanwhile, the report prepared by the DP and SMI’s lawmakers, which recommends the prosecution’s motion to be granted, received 75 votes against and 60 votes in favor.

The democratic representative in Parliament declared that the opposition is in favor of the arrest, to give way to the dismantling of the criminal gang which has enabled the introduction of drug money in the SP’s electoral campaign. According to him, Parliament doesn’t have the necessary powers to assess the evidence or their credibility. The socialist representative declared that the Prosecution’s motion is against the Human Rights Convention.

The opposition front unanimously declares that this parliamentary majority is being controlled by the claws of crime, by legitimizing it as a source of power. According to the opposition front, the fact that parliament has been criminalized is proven by the fact that this institution has delivered such decision regarding a case that reveals the connections that exist between crime and government.

So, while the Parliament of the first mandate of Renaissance underwent decriminalization, the second one is behaving like a unique body not allowing justice to investigate suspicions that exist for the introduction of drug money in politics and elections. Presumption of innocence no longer has place in the political discourse, because parliaments have been boycotted and attempts to overthrow the government have been made for cases on which there exist less evidence than in this case.

So, what should the public think when it sometimes has to listen to the legal arguments and sometimes to the political arguments which are provided by the sides? A public bombarded with accusations of the existence of a narco-state, with bombastic declarations of a vetting process that will reform the justice system, with files sent by Italian courts proving that crime is now structured and is able to launder its money through the economic system? How will a situation like this when there are no more divisions between powers and when the verdict is given by Parliament, be addressed?

Tahiri’s case is a big test for any current justice system and the one which will come. But it is also a big political test for the opposition and the united front that it has formed. It will be a test for the media, but also for the international community, especially those who backed the judicial reform and who offered assurances that the “big fishes” would be caught. And today, the biggest reform in the country is blocked by Parliament, not only because it decided not to authorize an arrest, but because this reform moves as a whole body under its orders. This is the most proven suspicion since allegations for the sale of votes appeared in international reports.

If Parliament’s decision on this issue was a political decision, turning the debate on the legitimacy of the Prosecution’s motion into a trial for the latter and raw material for prime time TV political shows, then, we should follow the majority’s behavior politically. If we only take into account the legal side of things in an attempt to interpret the existing evidence to cast doubts on the procedures followed by Parliament, then there are many reasons. Even the drafters of the judicial reform were caught in the act breaching the law. This political class, this Parliament and this majority have no moral rights to speak on behalf of the law. The justice system is no longer able to act, because it has been abandoned by its drafters and its supporters. Even the opposition cannot save it, because it still has unsettled business with it. But, we can’t blame the opposition about a parliament which doesn’t need any more proofs from Italy to convince people that it has come out of elections that were funded by cannabis’ money.

Because even if today, Prosecution has the authorization to investigate a former senior official for his ties with mob gangs, who have had an influence in the political product of a country, it must do this at a time when the head of the government attacks any other power which is supposed to guarantee the balance. It was him who allowed Albania to turn into a warehouse of cannabis, threatening the security of countries from which other bombs for the involvement of the government with organized crime, may come. The justice system cannot do any more than this, because it has been completely abandoned in the hypocrisy of those ones who believed that a Palace of Justice would do miracles.

But, when politics divides more than it unites, when it builds walls instead of communication bridges, when it steals instead of improving people’s living standards, when it kills instead of giving hope, who will help this fragmented society? What is politics replaced by when it has completely failed? Today, we know one thing for sure: crime. Crime is the one funding Parliament, which doesn’t respect any powers.

If we want a better justice system tomorrow, we must admit that Parliament of Albania is dead today.

Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy

 

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