recessions over the past 2 sundays people have expressed in a peaceful and rational men now their concerns about the fugitive offenders ordinance and this satisfaction and this appointment with the government especially me for this i offer my most sincere apology so all people of hong kong the course in kenya is that to deliver a verdict 4 suspects charged in the 2015 attack on gristle university the foreman of face life in prison for the killing of 148 people most of them were students some of the survivors say the attackers initially killed indiscriminately but later released muslim students a 5th suspect was acquitted for lack of evidence those were the headlines as more news in half an hour here on al-jazeera but next it's talk to al-jazeera to stay with us.

you'd. see. albania was hoping to be asked to start european union membership talks this month but that now seems unlikely to happen either leaders want to see a country with stable democratic institutions but in the past week president has canceled local elections that were scheduled for the end of the month because the opposition democratic party refuses to take part in them making matters worse the ruling socialist party has questioned president met the constitutional authority to change the date there's no constitutional court to rule on the matter because it's judges finances a being investigated and they also suspended so albania presents

a picture of anything but a stable democratic state which is a precondition for membership today on talk to al-jazeera the president of the met . mr president thank you for talking to al-jazeera thank you very much for. into a showing to my country the situation in albania today is described as a constitutional crisis the constitution describes albania as a parliamentary republic which means that you are elected by parliament and. while you enjoy the trust of parliament parliament has the power to remove and replace you with a large majority as long as the constitutional court also ratify is parliament's decision. but it may only do so if you have committed an agreed

just silly unconstitutional act in parliament's opinion so do you think that you have committed such an act and do you think that parliament has indeed become such a process of replacing you is that what we saw in the censure motion brought to the floor of the parliament. yeah i want to assure you that i don't want to make use of this interview to talk about the parliament. and. about its responsibilities. but it is very clear according to the constitution that when the parliament can dismiss of the president and it's very clear when the president is doing a very grave. constitutional violation. which also should

be verified later from the constitutional court so i have to let you know that there is no article. in the constitution of the republic awful benno that has been violated from the president of the republic and they want to assure you that. the. constitutional order for by now is based on political pluralism and free and fair elections and what the president has that is exactly. showing his commitment. to to put attacked. political pluralism in the country and also to get on t.v. free and fair elections for all citizens of. obey not because of i was going to

have voting for 45 years during the communist regime but everyone knows that there is a big difference between the elections and the voting as you know last month millions of europeans went to the polls to elect a new european parliament. albania has had trouble elect. deciding when to elect 61 mayors. any of ready to join the european union. albanians the citizens of this country. they have been married the. even earlier to join to you. but. in the coming hours and in the coming days the political leadership of the country is going to be tested if it has the right maturity not to be an obstacle for the spirit.

of the albanian citizens because i hear more than i do 5 percent of the albedo so. eager to go into the european union and with my ear this is all i wanted to give time to leaders to reflect. to calm down. and to create the conditions for a reasonable dialogue that demonstrates maturity. first of all towards our citizens here but also to our so your opinion him that this country yes is ready to make a major step ahead all right but again going back to the constitutional issue the argument against you being expressed by the government is that you do not have the right to cancel an election. i am not talking about.

political. speculations. i showed you that this is a very solid. constitutional decision. the only. authority supreme authority is the constitutional court which. can. go on this. decree but what i want to assure you it's this is waste of time what they are discussing and what they are debating because these ikari was published in official newspaper and according to our constitution and legislation from that moment it is obligation of every state to show central or local to implement it. all right but politically speaking prime minister eddie roemer says i am not going

to go back to the dialogue with the opposition to find a consensual date for an election they had a chance to register they decided to abstain and i'm going to stick to what we originally agreed to before the president what what is the solution to this are you going to recognize the result of the local elections if they happen now after this decree. was signed in came into force there is no formal and legal date for the elections about 30 of you about this claim of the but i mean is that i want to let you know that. this president of. postponing good journal local elections in the country was created for the 1st time in 20062007 when he

was the opposition leader and mayor of tehran and he wanted to an additional document. to be. included in this technical process in order to participate in the elections and that time for the. very 1st time we had the such president which later also was repeated in different cases so this is not something you know of course this is not something normal because when everything is going. well. there is no reason to take a such. decision and. i hope that our prime minister is going to be more aware about the. ruling principle that the government bears greater responsibility for the whole country not only for its

supporters or. militants and i hope that living up to this response plus responsibility and reflecting girl so on are in the best interests of the country but we recognise the results if the government holds this election. there are no elections on 30 of these the committee has been published in the official newspaper and this is now. legation of everyone to implemented so there are 2 sharply distinct interpretations of the constitution which the constitutional court would have to adjudicate there is no constitutional court because its judges are undergoing ethical review being vetted yes there is only. one supreme.

authority that can such a decree which is the constitutional court and which is not functional for the moment as you rightly mentioned and everyone knows that the president of the republic has that every effort for a long time to avoid such a situation but this is not any more important and now in these conditions this. creek cannot be contested from any court in the country and of course it is. the creek which. i have signed in front of the albanian citizens taking all the responsibility for that and i'm sure. i have done. the best. to avoid this. further escalation of the conflict between the government and the opposition and to give to

both sides the possibility to calm down to reflect and to enter soon in dialogue for the best interests of all little bells and in particular. in these days before these 2 very important positions are going to be taken from the member countries of the european union about the european future of the albania let's talk about the domestic political aspects of your decree for a moment. you have as you say expressed in that to create the desire to see no threats to public security and no threat to democratic stability you've asked the 2 sides to come together under your aegis but so far the socialist party has not done so some of the smaller opposition parties have met with you and that seems to be the beginning of a dialogue but we have no indication that it will in compass the main players quite

the opposite the socialist led government says that it's going to proceed with the election and the democratic opposition says something rather cryptic but certainly not conciliatory mr basher on thursday said that it he calls upon citizens to do whatever european citizens are forced to do when they're faced with the prospects of an effective coup d'etat which is which is how he describes the government of. so are you concerned that your decree doesn't seem to have had the desired effect i am. very determined. to do my best. for. creating. the necessary conditions for by looking for a viable solution. because. this is.

very important not only for of the stability of the country and the democratic. citizens but the seas very important for the european should sort of. albania and with holding elections without opposition. this is completely an investment against the european should serve this country which is a national goal of all obey nelson no matter of. party affiliation and. also i'm realistic. that after these poor 5 miles of. confrontation as you have also fall and. reported the solution cannot in 2 days and 3 days but i'm not hopeless that also means that i will come back here and. other. leaders

we. conclude. agreement on the solution which will help the country. not only to avoid to avoid the these divisive climate but also which will help contrary to demonstrate to. european union and to all a part of. that i maturity and that this is a country which is improving the democratic standards and not downgrading let's talk about the european aspects of you know to create to cancel and postpone these elections you have said that you want to safeguard the copenhagen criteria of holding free and fair elections of guaranteeing democratic institutions function

properly with the greatest possible participation of the persons concerned. and on the 9th of june you issued the decree in which you stated these things very clearly on the 10th of june prime minister rama went to brussels and met with the president of the european commission he said that i am in favor that these elections should take place on june the 30th if not this would harm the european perspective of albania mr young has a completely different interpretation of what is in the interests of your european perspective to you how do you explain that. president you. he's also. a great friend of mine and he's a great democrat but i'm sure that he was not reported that. this election so 1st you have to know. practically or substantially were voting and

not elections because. they were. elections without the opposition i'm sure that he has not been fully aware about 8 in this frame i see what you are saying is a very correct but we know very well that now this is not anymore. but is still subject of the commission because a commission has made a positive accommodation for a way now now this decision is going to be taken that. the political level and the messages have been clear that the elections without opposition do not help the european. progress awful but now it does seem however that regardless albania will not receive an invitation this month to start membership talks with the european union how do you think this is going to be received in albanian society and what do you think is going to be the political impact i still

pray. that. oh boehner is going to open the negotiations. as soon as possible hopefully with a smile both with north and muscle tone now. but it's very important in the coming hours it's very important in the coming days that we show maturity to overcome this. crisis and this is the only way that obey now to. have a better chance is for a. positive a disease in june or in september. this is now not the most. important but this one a supposable but if the crisis is. going to. last

. the chances would be undermined 40 years not 4 months this is clear why do you say that do you think that the current political confrontation is the chief criterion for being invited to start membership talks the functioning of the market to secure so. is fundamental for every decision at the high speed to go low levels and as i have underlined the standards of the free and fair elections have been always decisive forward to such decisions o.b.l. was having some problems and concerns also in the past about the. elections and the if we don't up to show. normality and progress now related to. general local elections it will be

a disaster. there are also other kinds the european member states have expressed and they are recorded in the european commission's report particularly a disappointment with the lack of high level convictions of organized criminals and particularly in drug crime and trafficking. doesn't. continue to have a serious problem with organized crime in your view rule of law. and tangible progress in the fight against the organized crime and also corruption. is. fundamental for. going ahead albania has initiated. very important judiciary. reform but there is.

much more to be down to show more political will to implemented correctly and also to. be more reliable partner with all international partners in fighting this so organized crime so you think that there is still a lot of progress to be made why has it taken so long for the judicial review why has albanian then without a cause that you should know court for 18 months. the lack of course situational court it's a. big problem for the country and. it helps. government to. take. additional authority which is not in the constitution

a full day now. or for that but. anyway i hope that things will be improved in the coming. mounts but now it's important to address this. crisis and to take more time for all the reforms that are required to be prevented. and if. albania does not receive an invitation to open membership talks this month. do you think that there is going to be the danger of widespread emigration legal or illegal away from this country we're already seeing indications that there are large numbers in the 10s of thousands of albanians who are leaving albania to look for work elsewhere because salaries a low unemployment among adults is 12 percent but among young adults it is 22

percent very difficult numbers to manage i don't like to describe the worst scenario that you're mentioning. i am determined to fight for the best scenario. which means that soon we find a solution we show that i maturity. and our citizens. have more confidence for the european future of full benefit and also our partners . are more convinced that we deserve optic off negotiations as soon as possible. let me go back to what you have identified as the principal obstacle which is the the state the political situation in the country today extremely polarized very confrontational and you seem to be getting dragged into it now whereas you waded

into these very powerful political currents in order to try and save the system the system seems to be sucking un prime minister rudd impugns your neutrality in parliament on thursday and said that you have ceased to hold have the right to hold your office because you have effectively become partisan in your position you've effectively back to the position of the democratic party opposition and you have asked for the elections to be postponed the government position is the opposite do you think that you are in danger of losing at least the image of your neutrality in society. that i'm a has no reason to be disappointed with me because the. one of his strongest out a good amount when he proposed me as the president the full by now that time we were part of soon. ruling coalition. was exactly

that. he couldn't find. someone. that could. war to get on to that i'd say of the opposition. then mr matt one final question mr president does prime minister enjoy your trust and support as head of government in this country. and this. question. is. something good that was. earlier when i have confirmed him as. prime minister of albania. i was expecting from he may as. staying longer in office. to be

more flexible. and more copper to with the opposition. first of all. because of the challenges country is having go ahead can. be addressed successfully only based on the but old of cooperation and i'm looking forward to see him. to leave behind these devise of what i thought it was so that he. goes to match which is not helping go broader consensus was for to morrow all inclusive or. fall on what the company is to be united mr president thank you for talking to elvis or thank you thank you .

look. it's my privilege to name al-jazeera english the broadcaster of the year the cartels are fighting each other and we've been told that we can still hear this is still our just in this race and that's going to help direct your g.'s since over $700.00 which is why we're seeing some of the nurses who was at the front heard here morning think of it could be plastic. al-jazeera english from recipients of the new

york crystals called cost of the year award for the save your money. but i'm a clock in doha with the headlines here on al-jazeera and egypt's only democratically elected president mohamed morsi has been buried at a summit train car the day after he died in court security forces kept journalists away from the burial service egyptian state t.v. says it was he had a heart attack it being imprisoned since 2013 when he was toppled by the military well mosques around turkey holding a funeral press for mohammed morsi seen in kosovo this morning from istanbul. where it's. a very symbolic place for gatherings and has especially with regard to the

incidents and i'm just events in the middle east anderson company he's head of the .