“Everything is 'ok' as a pharmacy,” Mediu: What the Chief of Staff told me 15 days before the explosion in Gërdec

The leader of the Republican Party, Fatmir Mediu, who was Minister of Defense at the time of the Gërdec explosion, commented on details from the Gërdec file as it has been 17 years since the tragedy that shook the country.

In the studio of "Off the Record" by Andrea Danglli, Mediu chose not to comment on the process currently initiated against Mayor Erion Veliaj.

"When they asked me about Mr. Veliaj, whether he or SPAK will win, I told them I want justice to win. It doesn't matter who it is, Veliaj, Rama, Mediu. If I were Veliaj, I would have done what Veliaj did to me. He has been a judge and prosecutor for 17 years, he has spoken out as he has done well. I would like to see even the greatest opponent's freedom and rights not be violated until the end," declared Mediu.

Meanwhile, when asked if he has any reflections after 17 years, Mediu says that his reflection was immediate.

"I was the first minister to resign. Without anyone asking me. Because I think it was a moral responsibility... more important than whether or not I would be part of the NATO Summit, it was a moral stance in relation to Gërdec. There are 29 people tried, investigated, 24 have been convicted."

Regarding the accusation against him of "abuse of office", the PR chairman says that it has nothing to do with the explosion in Gërdec itself. 

"It has no connection whatsoever with the function and duties of the Minister of Defense. The Minister of Defense is a civilian. He does not deal with armaments, he does not deal with the transportation of ammunition...," he explains.

While emphasizing that he himself has never been to Gerdec, Mediu added that the minister could not have known that something was going wrong with the dismantling process unless something like that was reported to him.

"We were discussing policies. 15 days before the explosion, there was a staff meeting, where the Gërdec line was considered 100 times better than the Elbasan project."

Asked if he thinks they lied to him, Mediu replies:

"I think this was their knowledge and understanding of the process. I have not been in Gerdec for a single day, I have not had even one contact with them. The highest military structures, the chief of staff, have been in Gerdec and said that everything was functioning perfectly, like a pharmacy. Where could I find the information?"

He also added that neither the intelligence services, nor the military services, nor the command and enforcement structures brought him information that there was something wrong in Gërdec. (A2 Televizion)