Protests became a point of contention today between opposition and majority lawmakers in the Committee on Culture, Tourism and the Diaspora.
Committee chair Iza Zhupa said that only in Albania does the state fine protesters. She stressed that, in a democracy, every citizen has the constitutional right to protest. Socialist lawmaker Erion Malaj disagreed, saying protests must follow the law and that the city cannot be blocked for the interests of 50, 500 or 5,000 people.
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During the debate, Ina Zhupa said that, unlike in other European countries, protesters in Albania have been fined. Referring to fines issued on the road in front of the Ministry of Education, she insisted that no one needs permission to protest. In her view, the fines are unconstitutional, the court will overturn them and not a single lek will be collected. Zhupa described them as certificates of praise that protesters could frame, rather than punishments, and as a cowardly tool of repression that would not frighten citizens.
She asked where else people could protest if not in the streets, recalling that communism, too, was brought down on the boulevard. Zhupa said every Albanian has the right to protest and accused the majority of either using violence against protesters or fining them. She repeated that not a single lek would be collected from the fines.
Erion Malaj replied that the freedom to protest is recognized in the Western world as well, but is exercised in accordance with the relevant laws and rules. He said protests had continued for months and that violence was what became a problem. Addressing the fines, he said the city had not functioned properly for some time and that no one had the right to block the roads of a city where hundreds of thousands of people live. Protests should be allowed, he added, but must take place according to the rules.
Malaj also said a democracy needs a healthy opposition, adding that he had yet to see an opposition to the opposition. He said the fined citizens could defend themselves and, in his view, would not even let Zhupa attend the protest. The Socialist lawmaker said he was not pleased when citizens were fined, but that everyone’s freedom has limits and a city cannot be held hostage for the interests of 50, 500 or 5,000 people.
In response, Ina Zhupa told Malaj that he did not believe his own words. She said his legal knowledge was enough for him to understand that protesting is a constitutional right and that citizens can choose where to protest. The only obligation, she said, is to notify the authorities of the protest location so police can arrange traffic diversions.
Zhupa rejected the idea that the state should decide where citizens protest. Referring to a statement she said Gonxhja had made yesterday about protesting in Skanderbeg Square, she said a protest is not a concert. She went on to accuse the majority of having created the dictator, but said citizens who had chosen democracy could not be treated as though they lived under a dictatorship. In her view, they have the constitutional right to protest wherever they consider appropriate.
