Doctor Ermal Pashaj appeals to Rama: You hold the keys! Resign—it’s nothing to be ashamed of!

Doctor Ermal Pashaj has appealed to Prime Minister Edi Rama, calling on him to step down to prevent the situation in the country from escalating further.

Pashaj said the prime minister should take political responsibility and avoid leading the country into a situation where citizens’ anger could spiral out of control.

He also stressed that a state leader’s judgment is especially important in difficult moments, when the country is facing tension and deep public dissatisfaction.

“The population’s anger is not being answered. It is being met with the same methods used for four months of surface-level narratives, talking about consequences but not causes. This issue can be resolved by one person alone, who holds the keys to resolving it. I call on the prime minister to change course; there is no time to reflect. He must not lead the country into a situation where an angry crowd has lost all sense of reason. That reason must come from sensible people. He claims to be a sensible person. He should resign; it is nothing to be ashamed of and does not show a lack of courage. The judgment of a statesman is also measured in days like these,” Pashaj said.

Pashaj criticized the way protests and students’ demands were being handled, saying citizens had received no answers to their concerns for months.

He expressed concern that the situation could worsen if clashes between protesters and the police continue.

“I have been in contact with my colleagues at Trauma Hospital and with some of the relevant agencies. I think this violence would have been justified only if we were in the context of an international war aimed at creating a state of paralysis. This seems to me like a context of rebellion. For so long, we have been demanding a state, not power, and the police have become an instrument of the state. The police’s actions were there to see yesterday. The young man’s injuries are not minor, but he was fortunate. He has a skull fracture. This is not normal. A line of riot police facing a few students will only breed hatred.

“Why should these people be confronted when they have gone unheard for months, have had enough, and have seen nothing but dismissive responses? The Constitution also protects the right to protest, yet the protests have been drawn into a deliberate narrative. The students were beaten on the first day. I pray I am wrong, but this fits a narrative that seeks to ignite fratricidal conflict and chaos among people. We are here against those in power. The police uniform should be something that makes citizens feel safe, not something used to abuse them. Who are the elements causing violence? We are in a tense situation. We are here to exclude them from the elements of violence; violence is not our language,” Doctor Pashaj said.