The Minister of the Interior, Taulant Balla, is in Palermo to take part in the ministerial meeting on the 20th anniversary of the Palermo Convention, organized by the Italian government to discuss cooperation between states in the fight against transnational criminal activities.
He quoted the UN Secretary-General to emphasize the need and necessity for law enforcement cooperation between states.
“The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, once said: “When crime crosses borders, law enforcement must act in the same way. “When the rule of law is violated not only in one country but in many countries, those who defend it cannot limit themselves to national means,” said Balla.
In his speech on this occasion, Minister Balla focused on the dangers that the phenomenon of the use of narcotic substances, drugs, represents for the entire human society, especially for the young generations, for their future.
“Drugs are tearing our society apart, creating a breeding ground for crime, and destroying our youth and our future. No country is immune to the threat of drugs, and Albania is no exception. It is one of the greatest challenges we will face in the near future, as US Secretary Blinken said in his speech at the launch of the Global Coalition to Tackle Synthetic Drugs”.
Another issue that Minister Balla addressed was the response of the state and society to people who dared to raise their hands against a police officer on duty and in uniform. He illustrated this with a serious incident that took place a few days ago in Kosovo, where armed individuals fired at a Kosovo police patrol, killing one policeman and injuring another.
Commenting on this serious event, Balla said: “A few days ago, heavily armed criminals dared to raise their hand and take the life of an officer of the law enforcement forces of the Republic of Kosovo. But the worst signal that could be sent to the fight against crime, and of course to the entire international community, was the state of mourning that was officially declared in Serbia, a country neighboring Kosovo, for the members of the armed group that was destroyed by the police forces of the Republic of Kosovo, in a very professional reaction to the murder of their colleague. In which country in the world should the state police not react and beat anyone who dares to walk around armed, or even worse, shoot at the police? It is very important that the authors and organizers of this attack are brought to justice as soon as possible”.