Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of running Albania according to a model similar to the regime in Belgrade. He said citizens’ protests and the opposition’s resistance had shaken the foundations of those in power.
Speaking at a meeting with the heads and secretaries of Democratic Party branches, Berisha described the government as an authoritarian regime. He said the rule of law had been replaced by what he called a “narco-state.”
Të lidhura
None found
Berisha said the government was attacking freedom of expression and trying to restrict public debate. In his view, the way the country is governed has had serious consequences for Albania’s economy and society.
“I strongly condemn these authoritarian, dictatorial, mafia-like and inconceivable attitudes toward free speech and debate, in defense of the head of a criminal organization, in defense of Edi Rama, who is responsible for monstrous crimes and who replaced the rule of law in Albania—a NATO member and a country with a strong European orientation—with the rule of the mafia, with a narco-state, and is emptying the country more and more each month,” Berisha said.
Although, according to him, the government has brought institutions under its control, the Democratic Party leader claimed that citizens’ protests and the opposition’s resilience had weakened the prime minister’s position.
“But even if Edi Rama and the mafia in power decide everything in this country, thanks to the great commitment of Democrats and Albanian citizens, the foundations of the narco-state are more shaken today than ever before,” he said.
In his remarks, Berisha directly compared the government in Tirana with political developments in Serbia. He claimed that Edi Rama’s government was following in Belgrade’s footsteps.
“Today, there is a regime in Europe that is crumbling and following the Belgrade regime step by step, and that is the regime in Tirana,” the Democratic Party leader said.
Berisha praised the citizens and Democrats who had taken part in the protests, saying their resilience had also influenced international partners’ stance toward the Albanian government.
“And here, all those who stood their ground and did not bend deserve great credit. All those who, through their protests, showed that Edi Rama does not hold free elections but stages an electoral farce. Our friends in Europe and around the world, who nailed him to the wall and branded him in a series of resolutions by some of the most powerful international political organizations, of which we are also members,” Berisha said.
The Democratic Party leader went on to discuss the protests that began at the start of June, describing them as one of the largest civic mobilizations the country had ever seen.
According to Berisha, public anger stems from corruption, poverty, the emigration of Albanians and a lack of trust in institutions.
“It was against the backdrop of the rule of law being replaced by a narco-state, of Albanians being robbed and plundered more than under any other occupation, of their impoverishment and misery, and of their de facto expulsion from Albania through deliberately calculated conditions, that the largest, most massive, most beautiful and most magnificent popular protest in Albania’s entire history erupted at the beginning of June,” he said.
