Berisha to British media outlet “Truth Times”: Rama has turned Albania into his private property!

In an interview with “Truth Times,” Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha focused on the protests that have continued for 39 days in Tirana.

According to him, these youth-led demonstrations represent the country’s most important movement since the سقوط of communism, while citizens are demanding the immediate departure of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Berisha leveled accusations against the government, describing it as the creator of the first and only narco-state in Europe.

“Berisha’s broadest accusation was that Rama has built ‘the first and only narco-state in Europe.’ Albania, he claimed, is now the main exporter of cannabis to the continent, while Albanian cocaine cartels serve as the main transporters of drugs from Latin America to Europe and as major shareholders in the European market, controlling, according to his estimates, more than 63% of the market in the United Kingdom. The direct links between the Albanian government, and Rama personally, and these cartels have been ‘proven conclusively,’ he asserted. He tied the claim to the 532 secret projects: investigate their transactions, owners and developers, he predicted, and it will become clear that Rama has treated Albania as his private fiefdom, and has handed that fiefdom, together with the projects, over to Albanian drug cartels. These are among the most serious accusations raised by the opposition leader; none of them has been proven in court, and the government has repeatedly rejected them,” the article says.

Along the same lines, Berisha stressed that Rama and the socialist cabinet no longer have the legitimacy to continue governing.

“Berisha’s argument for resignation rests on a theory of legitimacy that he elaborated on at length. He compared Rama to Tunisia’s ousted president, Ben Ali, claiming that the prime minister secured his fourth term by arresting the leaders of the two main opposition parties during an election year while investigations were pending, by placing the leader of the third opposition party under criminal prosecution, and by violating both domestic law and international electoral principles. Rama lacks legitimacy for another reason as well, Berisha argued: because he, members of his family and his closest ministers, ‘like Balluku,’ face serious corruption allegations, and because he used the votes of his MPs to block the prosecution from arresting them. In every official act, Berisha said, the prime minister follows a policy of anti-transparency, relying on ‘mafia-style codes of conduct instead of transparency.’ His prescriptions for the crisis remain unchanged: Rama’s resignation and a non-partisan caretaker government to prepare free and fair elections,” the article says.