“SPAK integrity or a gift?” – Krasniqi: Good news that for the first time politics had no knowledge of the operation

Political scientist Afrim Krasniqi described as positive news the fact that politics had no prior knowledge of SPAK’s operation against the State Intelligence Service.

On A2 CNN’s Off the Record, Krasniqi stressed this evening that time will tell whether SPAK showed integrity in the case of SHISH chief Vlora Hyseni, or whether it was a September gift because two new ambassadors from the U.S. and the EU have arrived in Tirana.

“There is one positive thing: the head of SPAK, Klodian Braho, was invited for the first time to the meeting of the National Security Council. It was the first time this was done, and it was important because it was the head of the Secret Service, with a written and oral report, and the message was: We have evidence and we have acted. This was SPAK’s first action of which the government had no knowledge, the SHISH chief had no knowledge that 24 hours earlier the court had decided to suspend her. And this is good news. Whether this SPAK decision shows high integrity or is a September gift because we have two new ambassadors in Tirana, from the U.S. and the EU, time will tell, but this is an operation about which politics, for the first time, had no information,” Krasniqi said on Off the Record with Andrea Danglli on A2 CNN.

For Krasniqi, after the arrest of Vlora Hyseni, Prime Minister Rama should have taken several steps when he returned from the UN, and the first should have been a public apology. According to him, the case requires an in-depth analysis to assess whether Albania’s strategic interests and national security have been harmed.

“The first act when he arrived in Rinas should have been a public apology, not attacking individuals who have criticised him. According to him, everyone should stay silent. The second state act should have been an inquiry process to see how much the case has affected the harming of the Albanian state’s strategic interests. Are we dealing with secrets or with a banal case, where an individual gets involved with the neighbourhood strongmen to do the machinations that are done in Albania? We lack this kind of analysis. The most wanted man was meeting the head of the secret service at the government villa in Durrës — not even in Hollywood scripts is this kind of scenario imagined. In such cases a person must have a kind of responsibility and integrity. Because it makes the state and Albania look ridiculous. Parliament should have taken a serious initiative. The security committee refused the lady’s reports to parliament regarding the accusations. Those who refused should have accepted responsibility, left the committee and created an ad hoc committee,” Krasniqi continued.

Speaking about the way the head of SHISH is selected, he called for more transparency on the professional criteria, integrity and the relationship with the state and the Constitution.

“How is it possible that for the head of SHISH there is no competition, no debate, no public CV, no information about professionalism, the relationship with the state, the constitution and integrity?”