Protest outside the prime minister’s office on day 106, Ilir Xhemalaj: Edi Rama must step down and make way for a caretaker government

The protest held outside the prime minister’s office has entered its 106th day, while activist Ilir Xhemalaj told News24 that the civic action would continue until Prime Minister Edi Rama resigns and the conditions are created for a caretaker government.

“I hope this protest ends as soon as tomorrow, with Rama resigning and each of us returning home to our own concerns and problems. But it seems he will make that difficult. Nevertheless, I believe we will definitely succeed,” Xhemalaj said at the start of the interview.

The activist also spoke about the involvement of the Albanian diaspora in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and other European countries. According to him, the diaspora led the protest for five consecutive days, taking the response into a phase of civil disobedience.

“The diaspora is the heart of the protest because it motivates and supports this resistance. Its presence has a major impact on citizens in Albania. When emigrants come to protest after traveling a long distance, a citizen from Tirana, Fier or Elbasan thinks: ‘If they are coming from the diaspora and protesting, why shouldn’t I go too?’” he said.

Xhemalaj also denounced the large-scale departure of young people from the country and the replacement of Albanian workers with foreign labor. “The main problem we are talking about is the depopulation of Albania. This appears to be a deliberate process aimed at driving Albanians away and bringing in other populations. We are a very small nation to cope with such a large flow of emigration,” the activist declared.

Explaining the reasons for the protest, he said the opposition was not related only to specific laws, but to what he described as the capture of the state as a whole.

“We have the law on protected areas, the sale of agricultural land to foreigners, the mountain package and KAYO, which constitutes the outright theft of Albanians’ tax money. All these laws have one thing in common: Edi Rama. For this reason, these laws cannot be repealed unless Edi Rama leaves. He must go, a caretaker government must be formed and electoral reform must be carried out,” Xhemalaj stressed.

At the end of his statement, the activist called on the justice institutions to take action against those responsible for the corruption that, according to him, has reached enormous proportions in the country.

“Every day, we have a group of young people protesting outside SPAK and calling for the investigations to be expanded. Ultimately, corruption money is funding taken away from hospitals, pensions and social assistance schemes. It is money that has been taken from us,” Ilir Xhemalaj concluded.