Bamir Topi about Juanary 21st

Paço: Mr.Topi, as former Head of the High Council of Justice and former President, what’s your opinion about this verdict that has caused so many controversies not only among politicians, but also for the victims’ relatives? Were you expecting that?

Topi: As President and citizen, I have declared and I still declare that I will not discuss the court decisions. But I cannot leave without commenting the climate. In 2013, all powers are centred on the Prime Minister, who is also creating a conflict with our international friends. I warned the Prime Minister and the opposition leader before the Constitutional amends were signed, to be very careful with them. I cannot comment the verdict, but I can say that the fight that I conducted as President to keep institutions independent is now over and today we have quite the contrary of that. The climate is dominated by the Prime Minister.

Paço: There were voices saying that you should also be held responsible for appointing these judges when you were Chairman of the HCJ.

Topi: I have always heard those voices, and those voices are untrue. The core of the conflicts I had with the majority as president was the way how candidates were appointed. My priority was professionalism, but all candidates were rejected by the majority without any motive. Some were introduced for the second time and were accepted by the majority. And what happened? Today it is very clear. This is the worst climate in the institutional relations.

Paço: The US Embassy expressed with strong tones against this court verdict, commenting maybe for the first time a trial process. The court answered by saying that this was a concerning intervention. What concerns you mostly as former President and active politician, the position of the US embassy or the court’s reaction?

Topi: The Court has never had the courage to enter a conflict with strategic partners. This is damaging. I will not say anything about the verdict, but I’m concerned for the fact that we have always received help from the US experts and we have also looked up to the US politics. It was the Prosecution that asked the US ambassador to include FBI in the investigation and its expertise, and when this expertise was not taken in consideration, we saw a political game that does nothing good to the country.

Paço: The US Embassy declared that this decision undermines the court credibility. The EU also appealed for a fair trial at the Court of Appeal. Where are these signals addressed to?

Topi: These signals are first of all addressed to the politicians, because their behaviour and way of communication leaves room to suspect their independence. This is one of the requests for reaching the EU standards, the preservation of the justice institutions independence. But we are entering a climate where the Prime Minister’s hand is trying to control all powers, not only the judiciary, but also the Secret Service, the Central Election Commission, etc. What CEC is unable to achieve by itself, is decided after by the majority, which can elect all institution leaders with only 71 votes. But this is not what we want. We have also discussed with the international partners about check and balance.

Paço: Do you think that this justice system guarantees free and honest decisions regarding the June 23rd elections?

Topi: I cannot say that all judges are equal, because many of them are professional and with high integrity, and have not been influenced. There are judges with direct political connections. I encourage all judges and prosecutors to do their job in front of the law and the Constitution. As for the election climate, the attempt to polarize CEC shows that there’s something wrong. I appeal everyone who have reason to believe on democracy to take their fate on their own hands and vote on June 23rd. What they chose is optional. The day after the elections is very important for those who are elected and those who elected them, and also for the Constitution.

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