Dokle: No to Nano over SHIK
Deputy Speaker of Parliament: It has many shortcomings; it must be changed
Deputies and senior officials must not be wiretapped
“The new law should not have been passed, but they didn’t listen to me”
SHIK, Meidani’s new challenge
Skifter
The law on SHIK, recently passed by the Albanian Parliament, has met with strong criticism, not only from the opposition led by former President Sali Berisha, but also from many non-governmental associations and independent organizations. Indeed, several members of the governing majority, including Socialist Deputy Speaker Namik Dokle, have expressed doubts about the law in question. The greatest concern is not only that the Prime Minister has extensive control over this institution, but also the lack of clarity surrounding its accountability, the authorization of clandestine businesses, and numerous other general terms in the wording of the law, which could become a gateway to major misunderstandings and abuses in the future.
Against this background, what is most surprising is how quickly the law was passed in Parliament, without taking into account many of the preliminary objections raised by both the opposition and numerous experts from the governing majority. Some Socialist officials say that any law passed by Parliament will be used when they come to power.
The reorganization of SHIK may also be hindered by the primitive attitude that Albanians generally have toward this institution. Few people in Albania, including politicians, hear the name SHIK and think of anything other than someone watching them from behind, spying on them, or even having the right to beat them. This attitude could affect proposals to reorganize the institution, and instead of having a strong SHIK that protects the interests of the Albanian state and its citizens, we may end up with a SHIK that rigorously respects human rights but does no work at all.
In this situation, the institution left to step into the game and change something is the Presidency. Through his advisers, Meidani has given signs that he will not remain indifferent to this law and may intervene. This is another opportunity for [text cut off at the end].
TIRANA - Namik Dokle opposes the new law on the reorganization of SHIK. “There are many things that need to be corrected in that law,” the Deputy Speaker of Parliament said yesterday, several days after the law was passed. Meanwhile, there appears to be hesitation about signing the law within the Presidency as well. “The President is reviewing the law together with the controversies surrounding it,” President Meidani’s Public Relations Adviser also said yesterday.
But the Deputy Speaker of Parliament says that he tried in Parliament to prevent the bill from being passed in the form presented by the Government, but was not supported by his colleagues in the majority. The arguments put forward by the Socialist Deputy Speaker of Parliament concern an article of the law according to which political figures with immunity, members of parliament, as well as ordinary citizens, are required to provide information.
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major abuses. In addition to this background, what is most surprising is the speed with which this of the prior objections, both from the opposition and from many figures in the governing camp. Some Socialist officials have justified this action by citing the urgent need to intensify the fight against terrorism, but many others view with suspicion the fact that, under the law, both members of parliament and citizens must cooperate with this institution. Fear of SHIK becomes more acute when one also considers the bad experiences Albanians have had, not only during the years of the communist dictatorship, but also during the years of Berisha’s regime. The opposition’s objections and criticism have, in a sense, lost their weight, since the Albanian opposition opposes everything the governing camp proposes and
does no work. In this situation, the only one left to step in and change something is the Office of the President. Nevertheless, through his advisers, he has signaled may intervene. This is another opportunity for the Albanian President to consolidate his position as the state’s arbiter and, ultimately, to have a positive influence on the reorganization of the SHIK institution. Unlike previous interventions, when they at least created genuine institutional crises, this time the President’s intervention seems less risky. He also has the Speaker of Parliament and a large part of the capital’s civil society on his side. A well-reasoned and substantiated intervention by the President would also put Berisha’s opposition in a difficult position, since it has declared that, as soon as it takes power, it will change the law.
Albanian Parliament (top); Deputy Speaker Dokle