Tirana– The head of the Soros Foundation in Albania, Andi Dobrushi, has spoken about the recent accusations from certain political circles about the influence the foundation has in Albania, mainly in politics. During a statement to the media, he stressed that the entire staff is proud to finance the justice reform, while the foundation is at the forefront of civil society. Dobrushi said that the foundation has taken on a role that others have not taken on, while the accusations are a soap opera before the elections to find the external enemy.
"We are proud to have been involved at the forefront of civil society, as participants in the justice reform. It is a reform that is supported by 96% of the population. I do not see the role of the foundation as wrong in responding to 96% of the population and taking on a role that others have not taken on. At this point, we have done the right thing, if there is someone who thinks we have made a mistake, let them come forward and we are ready to face it. We have been involved from the very beginning, we have financially supported the cooperation with the American embassy and European partners. The support that the foundation gives to the process, I reiterate, the reform process, was made with an agreement with the Albanian Parliament. All the soap operas that we see these days add to the arguments to create a new facade before the elections to find the external enemy," said Dobrushi.
Meanwhile, Andi Dobrushi stated that the entire staff of the 'Soros' foundation is Albanian, and that it collaborates with the best experts in the country. He also explained the foundation's role in justice reform.
"We are actually not external, we are internal, the staff is Albanian, we have had cooperation with the best experts in the country, we have had an expert, a former Strasbourg judge who has been a direct part of the process, (Kristaq Traja) while the rest of us have simply responded to the parliamentary reform committee. At this point, I am sorry to hear all kinds of slander and situations as if we have supported the reform. I have explained many times what the role of the foundation is in this process, what we have done and why we are doing this. For example, we have provided support for legal representation for the victims of January 21, support for 8 years for the families of the victims of the Gërdec massacre, these are things that we have done consciously because we have seen that this justice system has not functioned, does not provide justice. The Soros Foundation is a foundation for an open society, we are proud of the modest assistance we provide. The reform has today entered an implementation phase. We are capable of writing good laws, the problem lies in their implementation. The role of the Foundation will continue with all organizations that are interested in justice reform. We have not hidden anything. We have all the documents on our website. We are not the enemy, nor do we deal with conspiracy theories. I regret that those who accuse have not even had the time to see them,” said the head of the 'Soros' foundation in Albania.
(dd/BalkanWeb)
