Albania Social Briefing: Albanian State Police in the Arduous Duty of Serving the Community and the Nation Marsela Musabelliu

ISSN: 2560-1601

Vol. 16, No. 3 (Al)

March 2019

Albania social briefing: Albanian State Police in the arduous duty of serving the community and the nation Marsela Musabelliu

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Albanian State Police in the arduous duty of serving the community and the nation

The recent protests in Albania have placed the law enforcement agencies into the spotlight and directly into the public discourse, most of all the Albanian State Police (ASP), the organization in charge for the safeguard of people and institutions during civil protests. During a month long of social unrest, what caught peoples’ attention, apart from the protesters themselves, was the other end of the spectrum - the cordon of State Police exerting their duty in the harsh environment of an irritated crowd and their calls for destabilizing the capital and the country.

Two months of protests and ASP February and March has been characterized by political instability and social unrest, mainly in Tirana. The protests of the opposition turned violent in two separate occasions, on February 16th in the Prime Minister’s building and on March 16th in front of the Parliament. The protesters, led by the calls of the opposition to withdraw the government, with circumstantial objects (stones, iron rods, wooden spears and firecrackers among others) and hate rhetoric clashed with the State Police. The ASP did not react until the protesters forced the cordon trying to enter the Parliament building, in that occasion the ASP used lachrymose gas to push back the crowd. In anticipation to the protest ASP appealed to the political forces engaged in the riots to avoid rhetoric that promotes action against public order. Likewise, the State Police shared with the public the concern for inclusion in that rally of individuals with criminal precedents or promoted by third parties who aim to create a climate of instability in the country. By guaranteeing the right of assembly and the freedom of expression of citizens who manifest themselves for their political views, the State Police called upon all citizens who are not related to this rally, to take measures to limit their movement during the protests in the premises where protests will take place. It also informed that it will carry out intensive vehicle controls in several key axes in order to prevent the involvement of persons with criminal records in the protests of February and March for the interest and the security of its participants and other citizens. The protesters and the organizers have been properly warned, however, these warnings were not effective since there was no obedience from the protesters. Scenes of vandalism,

1 government buildings in siege and police forces trying to contain the crowd have been the highlight of every news editions. In the last protest of March 16th, the organizers of the protests had obtain permission from the authorities to rally in front of PM’s building, however, two hours into the scene and they called the protesters to head towards the Parliament, for which location they had no permission. Fortunately enough, the State Police was prepared to the eventuality and had dispatched 1200 of its members around the most neuralgic buildings of the capital. High resolution cameras were placed in order to identify the authors of criminal behavior and deal with these elements individually after the protest.

Who are these men and women in uniform trying to contain social upheaval and enforce law and order? In 2019, there are almost 11.000 police officers in different levels of career, with an average age of 44, mostly the head of a family – consequently the breadwinner of the household and are paid from 530.000 Lek (424 Euro) for the majority of them, up to 800.000 Lek (640 Euro) per month. The ASP has a hierarchy of nine ranks: Chief Director, Senior Director, First Director, Director, Chief Commissioner, Commissioner, Sub-commissioner, Inspector and Cadet. Its organogram is composed by six main units: Order Police, Border Police, Road Police, the Rapid Intervention Force, the Eagles (on domestic criminal activity) and RENEA (dep. of Neutralization of Armed Elements and counterterrorism). i There has been harsh and glorious times for the State Police, but for the time being it should be admitted all severe situations have been handled with maximum professionalism and sophisticated competence. Despite the possibility of facing dangerous situations while trying to contain the crowd, the man and women in uniform demonstrated impeccable patience even when harshly confronted and provoked, no single protester was harmed seriously. The State Police, with their due diligence managed also the aftermath of the protests, in fact, tens of arrests orders have been dispatched after the protest to participants of the same who are caught on video surveillance committing violent acts. While the politic discourse of the leaders of the opposition was addressing the government and specifically Edi Rama, the actions of some protesters were addressing the State Police. Frustrated individuals were not allowed to enter the Parliament, thus their rage targeted the State Police, a group of public servants, ready to put their lives on the line for the safeguard of the community while being paid a grotesque wage when compared to the risks and difficulties of the job.

ASP: what the blue uniform symbolizes for country and the society ASP was created just months after the Declaration of Independence (November 28th, 1912) on January 13th, 1913 by the first Albanian Prime Minister, Ismail Qemali. It was reorganized in1919, 1927 and after World War II was renamed Peoples’ Police, with the regime change in 1991, by means of a special Law the Public Order Police was created the and in November of the same year it was accepted as a member of Interpol. ASP today is primarily defined, by Law 108/2014 on State Police, as a public administration institution within the administrative responsibility of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Albania. The same Law assured a raise of almost 25% of the ASP wages, a long deserved retribution, while trying to modernize every aspect of the operational duties and responsibilities. For this upgrade a significant help was granted from the European Union through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) 2014-2020, on the Consolidation of Law Enforcement Agencies to Support to the Albanian State police, with a total amount of 13 million Euros in order to: “[…] improve the capacities of the Albanian state police (ASP) and the general prosecutor office (GPO) in meeting their objectives of tackling serious and organized crime and drug trafficking in a proactive manner, and in responding to local community needs in terms of public security and border management challenges in terms of flow of migrants and asylum seekers.”ii Besides the controversies that has surrounded the previous two Miniseries of Internal Affairs, Saimir Tahiri and Fatmir Xhafaj, being them the leaders of the ASP, it has to be mentioned that the last three General Directors of the State Police (Artan Didi, Haki Cako and Ardi Veliu) have demonstrated true commitment to their duty and have displayed highly valuable managerial skills. The camaraderie of the ASP within their ranks and their dedication to the society (especially in the last 4 years) has shifted the general public perception into better accepting their role and actions into the daily lives of Albanian communities.

The other side of the medal – ASP and politics: what the Albanian society has lost From 1992 nearly 80% police manpower, especially personnel who had served under the previous regime, were replaced by new recruits. With this move, the Democratic Party then in Power, left thousands of Police Officers (and Army members) without a job and zero financial support. It is hard to imagine such a drastic move applied to real patriots, whose only duty of and life experience had been to serve and protect the country. Some of these Police officers

3 were restored to duty in 1997-98 when the Socialist came to power, for than being removed once again in 2005, when the PD took the government again. The rotation of political parties in power meant the dismissal of thousands form duty. While the Socialists have been very sympathetic to these experienced officers, the Democrats, any time they had the governed would start massive dismissal of left-leaning or left-adjacent ASP members. Case study: One of many left aside. Associate Professor Dr. Pandeli Taçi is one of the most prominent elements of the ASP and a highly achieved academic, on a national and international scale. He is the author and the co-author of many books on Criminology iii and National Security, has published several academic papersiv on ASP work and is the only Albanian scholar cited in the World Police Encyclopedia.v During almost three decades of transition in Albania, Prof. Taçi has been serving in the ASP for less than 9 years; this is due to him being label from the right as leftist and serving the old regime. By all means this is not an isolated case, there are thousands of highly trained, well educated, immensely disciplined, experienced police officers whose acumen and contribution to the country has been sidelined for political motifs. It is incalculable for the entire society the loss in knowledge, background, judgment and skills of these police officers, left on their own devices, without adding here their personal and professional drama. The example of Prof. Taçi and demonstrates the harsh reality of a vile transition where everything is analyzed on party-lines perspective and not meritocracy and contribution to the nation. And yet again, even when they were not serving the country through the ASP, these distinguished patriots were serving the country in other ways, by publishing reports, books, papers; advising new generations of officers, by being exemplar members of their communities while waiting for the bureaucratic apparatus to call them back in duty.

Finally, the latest protests in Tirana have put in jeopardy not only the social security of the citizens but most of all the safety of the Blue Uniforms, who are risking their lives on daily bases for the safeguard of the entire community. These brave men and women were just following orders, because that is what they were sworn for. No provocation, no incident, no violence exerted on citizens protesting – at last, a display of professionalism in action.

i Available at: https://www.asp.gov.al/index.php/2014-09-22-09-11-14/departamentet-2/gradat-simbolet- uniformat-dhe-shenjat-e-policise-se-shtetit ii Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/pdf/albania/ipa/2015/ipa-2015- 038715-04-al-consolidation-of-law-enforcement-agencies.pdf iii University Textbook: Gjoncaj,L.,Gjoncaj,G. Taçi, P., Zanaj, F. Criminology. Adel.Co. 2013. iv Taçi, P. & Keri, N. Qualification of police personnel and ways of accomplishing it. Scientific Bulleting, Albanian Police Academy 2001, pp. 77-87.

Taçi, P. Bachelor study program for public order and security: the reforming of Police Education institutions. Policing and security. Periodical scientific publication. Security Academy, State Police, 2015, pp. 38-51.

Taçi, P. & Shkëmbi, H. Condition and Forecast of State Police Staff 2000-2010.Scientific Bulletin. Criminality, Order and Policing 2, 2001, pp. 38-59. v Citation available at: Das, Dilip K. World Police Encyclopedia: LZ, index. Vol. 2. Taylor & Francis US, 2006.