Prime Minister Edi Rama participated in the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Global Forum, in a conversation with Eleni Giokos, CNN presenter and correspondent.
During the conversation, Rama also had a clash with the journalist, after the latter asked him about the project in Zvënrnec and the protests in Tirana.
He stated that most Albanians love the project and what is seen, according to him, is not what is happening.
Rama: Listen, don’t go there, because now you remind me that you’re from CNN and I’m sorry to say it, but I’ve learned the hard way that you’re not an objective source. But the fact that you’re Greek makes me feel obligated not to go there. Yes, the land was bought by investors. Yes, it’s private land. Yes, an environmental impact assessment is underway. Yes, no project has been approved yet. Yes, no building permit has been issued yet. Yes, there’s nothing that should worry any right-thinking environmentalist.
And yes, Albania will move forward, and Albania cannot save Europe in one thing: if social networks continue to function without restriction, Europe will collapse from within. And then even the shields against missiles and shells will be useless, because there will be nothing left to protect.”
CNN reporter: Mr. Prime Minister, very briefly, the EU Commission is saying that you have to respect environmental rules and is giving warnings. You also have the issue of the protests. How are you going to change the message so that it resonates with the protesters and make sure that the European Commission is on your side?
Rama: I have news for you. The majority of the Albanian people love the project. The city where the project will be developed is, in a very large majority, waiting for it and there are no protests. The community where the project will be developed wants the project. So, what you see is not exactly what is happening. The anger exists, I understand, but when it subsides and when I send a very special invitation to CNN to come to the inauguration, everyone will be happy. And I am sure that it will be a great opportunity for CNN to rehabilitate itself.”
Journalist: To be rehabilitated?
Rama: To be rehabilitated. You need rehabilitation. You need rehabilitation towards Albania, towards the Albanian people and even towards the birds. You know, you need a moment of rehabilitation, because the birds, the waters, the trees and everything else will be much better than they are today. The project aims to create 25% more green space than there is currently. Today, the waters of the lagoon are polluted and we will have a completely new system to clean them again. As you say in the United States: to make the waters clean again, not ‘to make America great again’.
Journalist: Okay!
Rama: It has been provoked mainly because Kushner and Trump, the shadow behind them, are enough to make many people from different countries and continents react immediately. But the amount of disinformation, of fake videos, of videos taken from protests in other countries and presented as protests in Albania, the amount of bots that have entered there from our enemy… We have an enemy, the only enemy is the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they have been carrying out a relentless cyber attack against Albania for three years and have also been involved in this issue.
This amount of madness is eroding our democracies from within and is taking the European space in directions that, sooner rather than later, will completely destroy the sense of politics, decision-making and compromise in this part of the world. It is therefore time for democracies to stop believing that ‘freedom of information’ is an extension of freedom of expression. Freedom of information is what every regime, through propaganda, has used to instill lies into every mind.