"The tongue has no bones, but it breaks bones." With this popular expression, Belinda Balluku concluded her speech, as she officially handed over her duties as Minister of Infrastructure and Energy.
In a meeting with ministry employees, where new minister Enea Karakaçi was also present, the former deputy prime minister commented for the first time on the investigations that SPAK has launched against her.
Despite the debate of recent months and the resistance that the prime minister made to not immediately remove him from office, Balluku again attributed the merits for the justice reform to Edi Rama, saying that it is the product of his vision.
"If you go back to my statements, you will never find one statement contradicting the other. I believe that the new justice system will be free and independent, as a product of Edi Rama's vision. That reform was carried out to restore citizens' trust in a fair justice system," she said.
Even though he did not hand over his duties for about four months, while presenting evidence of witness intimidation to the SPAK Mandates Commission, Balluku stated that he believes in justice and that he did not obstruct the investigation.
"I believe in this justice and I will not anathematize it when this justice affects my personal interests. Prosecutors and judges will do their duties without being influenced by public trials, untruths or lies. I have never obstructed the investigation that has been underway for months, neither as a minister nor as a citizen," she said.
Balluku also publicly denied for the first time the accusations circulating in the public space about his vast wealth.
"I don't have 300 or 30 apartments. I don't have limousines, yachts, or helicopters. All of this is part of a public trial that is done with the greatest ease. I grew up with public trials and maybe my back is holding up because I've been through it since I was little," she said.
At the end of her speech, with her voice trembling, the former minister returned to the proverbs:
"People say that the tongue has no bones, but it breaks bones. Words leave scars and marks, but people also say that words eventually take the wind."
