Progni Mocks the State’s Response: They Worried About Google Reviews, I Thought They Had Arrested Balluku, Agasi or Karçanaj

On the 40th day of the civic protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Office, IT expert and activist Genti Progni delivered a strong speech today, filled with irony and criticism of the way state institutions, in his view, are responding to citizens’ virtual revolt.

He referred to the State Police’s latest press conference, which he described as absurd because, according to him, it had been called solely because protesters were lowering the Google ratings of certain businesses.

“For the first time today, I sat down at the computer to work, because I was concerned about the reviews of these thieves who have stolen our money and lecture us while living in luxury hotels. I was working on those one-star reviews. And then they sent me a message saying the police director was holding a press conference. I said, thank God, Balluku has been arrested, thank God they’ve caught Ergys Agasi, Ermal Beqiraj. I said, thank God they’ve caught Ulsi Manja, thank God they caught Mirlinda Karçanaj… but what did I see, the patronage worker was worried about Google reviews! He didn’t make it clear, is it punishable by one star or by two stars? So we know how many reviews to give them,” Progni quipped, prompting laughter and applause from the crowd.

Later, in the second part of his speech, he called on intellectuals and others who appear only on television to stand physically alongside citizens in the streets, while also accusing media owners of hiding taxes and securing suspicious tenders.

“I also have a suggestion. I see many intellectuals speaking in the media, but we do not watch the media. I see them talking about assemblies and meetings, but we do not watch the media. Come here to the men’s square, so the people can hear you. If you want to represent us, come here,” he said.